Procurement shall be made by one of the following methods.
(A) Small purchases.
(1) Purchases of supplies, equipment, and services that cost over $200, but less than $20,000, will require written estimates, but no legal advertisement is required. The city will solicit written responses from at least three vendors, and if no such responses are available, a statement explaining the procurement will be prepared and filed.
(2) Purchases that cost between $50 and $200 require three over-the-telephone quotations of rate, price, and the like. A memorandum will be prepared setting forth the date of the calls were made, parties contacted, and prices obtained. For purchases of less than $50, efforts will be made to get the lowest and best price, but written records of such efforts are not necessary.
(B) Competitive sealed bids.
(1) Bidding will be employed when detailed specifications for the goods or services to be procured can be prepared and the primary basis for award is cost. When the cost of a contract, lease, or other agreement for materials, supplies, equipment, or contractual services other than those personal or professional exceeds $20,000, an invitation for bids (IFB) notice will generally be prepared. This notice will be published at least once in at least one official newspaper of general circulation within the community and either distribute the IFB to qualified contractors or publish the notice in a regionally circulated newspaper. This newspaper notice will appear not less than seven days and not more than 21 days before the due date for bid proposals. The city may also solicit sealed bids from responsible prospective suppliers by sending them a copy of such notice.
(2) The IFB will include a general description of the goods or services to be procured, the bid deposit and bond performance required (if applicable), the location where bid forms and specifications may be secured, the time and place for opening bids, and whether the bid award will be made on the basis of the lowest bid price or the lowest evaluated price. If the lowest evaluated price is used, the measurable criteria to be utilized must be stated in the IFB. The newspaper notice must also contain language that calls to the attention of bidders all applicable requirements that must be complied with such as § 3 of the 1968 Housing Act being 42 U.S.C. § 3603, § 109 of the 1974 Housing and Community Development Act being 42 U.S.C. § 5309, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 being 42 U.S.C. §§ 1404a et seq., Exec. Order 11246, and the Davis-Bacon Act being 40 U.S.C. §§ 276a to 276a-5.
(3) (a) In addition to price, the following are bid evaluation criteria which may be used with varying weight dependent upon the particular procurement to be made.
(b) The criteria and their weights will be established by the IFB:
1. The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the contractor;
2. The ability of the vendor to provide the material or service promptly or within the time specified, without delay or interference;
3. The quality of performance by the vendor on previous contracts, orders, or services; and
4. The ability of the vendor to provide future maintenance and service for all equipment purchased from the vendor.
(4) The criteria upon which a bid will be awarded will be established by a review committee which will include, if possible, persons with applicable technical skills. The city will appoint the reviewers, making certain that these individuals have no potential conflicts of interest with the firms or individuals under review. The committee will have no less than three members. The committee will maintain written records of its deliberations, including an evaluation of each bid received.
(5) Sealed bids will be opened in public at the time and place stated in the IFBs. The city will tabulate the bids at the time of bid opening. The results of the tabulation and the bid documents will be evaluated by the review committee, which will make recommendations to the city. The city will make the decision as to which the contract shall be awarded. After the city makes the bid award, a contract will be prepared for execution by the successful bidder. After the contract is signed, all bid deposits will be returned to all unsuccessful bidders.
(6) The city may cancel an invitation for bid or reject all bids if it is determined in writing that such is in the best interests of the city. The city may allow a vendor to withdraw a bid if requested at any time prior to the bid opening. Bids received after the time set for bid opening shall be returned to the vendor unopened.
(C) Competitive negotiation.
(1) (a) The city will utilize competitive negotiations, regardless of contract amount, upon a written determination that:
1. Specifications cannot be made specific enough to permit the award of a bid on the basis of either the lowest bid price or the lowest evaluated bid price (in other words, bidding is not feasible); and
2. The services to be procured are professional or personal in nature.
(b) With the exception of procurement of certain professional services (principally engineering services), competitive negotiations will proceed as follows.
1. Proposals will be solicited through newspaper advertisement; additionally, a request for proposal (RFP) may be prepared and mailed to qualified vendors. The newspaper advertisement must be published at least seven days and not more than 21 days before the date for receipt of the proposals. The RFP will describe services needed and identify the factors to be considered in the evaluation of proposals and the relative weights assigned to each selection factor. The RFP will also state where further details regarding the RFP may be obtained. The RFP will call attention to the same regulations discussed in the bidding process. Requests for proposals will always include cost as a selection factor except for engineering services.
2. Awards must be made to the offeror whose proposal is determined in writing by a review committee to be the most advantageous to the city. Evaluations must be based on the factors set forth in the request for proposal and a written evaluation of each response prepared. The review committee may contact the firms regarding their proposals for the purpose of clarification and record in writing the nature of the clarification. If it is determined that no acceptable proposal has been submitted, all proposals may be rejected. New proposals may be solicited on the same or revised terms or the procurement may be abandoned.
(2) For the procurement of certain professional services, an alternative to RFPs may be used. The city may publish a request for qualifications (RFQ). RFQs are handled in a similar method to RFPs with the exception that cost is not a factor in the initial evaluation. A review committee will evaluate the responses and rank them by comparative qualifications. The highest scoring person or firm will be contacted and the selection committee will negotiate cost. If the committee is unable to negotiate a satisfactory cost arrangement, the second highest scoring person or firm will be invited to negotiate. The committee will maintain a written record of all such negotiations.
(D) Non-competitive negotiations.
(1) Non-competitive negotiations may be used for procurements in excess of $20,000 when bidding or competitive negotiations are not feasible.
(2) The city may purchase goods and services through non-competitive negotiations when it is determined in writing by the city that competitive negotiation or bidding is not feasible and that:
(a) An emergency exists which will cause public harm as a result of the delay caused by following competitive purchasing procedures;
(b) The product or service can be obtained only from one source;
(c) The contract is for the purchase of perishable items purchased on a weekly or more frequent basis;
(d) Only one satisfactory proposal is received through RFP or RFQ; and
(e) The state has authorized the particular type of non-competitive negotiation (example - the procurement of services by an area development district).
(3) Procurement by non-competitive negotiation requires the strictest attention to the observation of impartiality toward all suppliers. The commonwealth must approve all procurements by non-competitive negotiation when only one supplier is involved or only one bid or response to an RFP/RPQ is received.
(E) The City of Olive Hill, by and through the City Council hereby adopts the Kentucky Model Procurement Code as set forth in KRS 45A.343 through 45A.460, along with any applicable amendments which the Kentucky General Assembly may adopt, said code to be incorporated in full herein by reference. Said adopted Code is to be made available to the public and located in the City Clerk's Office.
(Ord. 2002-01, passed 3-19-2002; Ord. 19-06, passed 9-17-2019)