A. Conditions for Use. All contracts for materials and services shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in Sections 11.12.020 Competitive sealed proposals, 11.12.030 Professional Services, 11.12.040 Small purchases, 11.12.050 Sole source procurement, and 11.12.060 Emergency and other limited competition procurement.
B. Invitation for Bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall set forth:
1. The specifications for materials and services,
2. The evaluation criteria,
3. Any and all minimum submission requirements, and
4. The due date and time by which all submissions shall be received.
C. Public Notice. Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids, including but not limited to any one or more of the following: advertisement, notice of recommendation for award, award, rejection or cancellation, shall be given as required by law or county procedure. Under such procedures as the procurement director may provide, posting on the internet shall be considered adequate public notice, unless otherwise required by state or federal law or regulation.
D. Prebid Conference. A prebid conference may be conducted prior to bid opening for the purpose of explaining the bid requirements.
E. Late Bids. A bid is late if it is received physically or electronically after the due date and time at the location designated in the invitation for bids. A late bid shall be rejected. A late bid shall be returned to the bidder and shall not be opened except for identification purposes.
F. Bid Opening. Bids shall be opened publicly at the opening time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid and other relevant information together with the name of each bidder shall be announced or recorded. Unless otherwise determined by the procurement director, this record shall be open to public inspection no later than the first business day following bid opening.
G. Correction or Withdrawal of Bids—Cancellation of Awards. The procurement director is authorized to approve the correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before or after bid opening and recommend cancellation of awards or contracts based on bid mistakes, only as follows:
1. Mistakes discovered before bid opening may be corrected or the bid withdrawn by written notice received by the procurement department before the time set for bid opening.
2. After bid opening, and before bid award, a bidder may be permitted to withdraw its bid without penalty if the bidder submits evidence which clearly and convincingly demonstrates that a mistake was made, provided that a bid mistake is evident on the face of the bid, but the intended bid is not obvious.
3. After bid opening, and before bid award, the bid may not be withdrawn and shall be corrected to the intended bid if a bid mistake is evident on the face of the bid and the intended bid is obvious.
4. Mistakes shall not be corrected after award of the contract except where the Procurement Director, with the written agreement of the County Administrator, makes a written determination that it would be unconscionable not to allow the mistake to be corrected.
5. If correction or withdrawal of a bid after bid opening is permitted or denied under paragraphs (2), (3), or (4) of this section, the Procurement Director shall prepare a written determination showing that the relief was permitted or denied under these provisions.
H. Multi-Step Sealed Bidding. When it is considered impractical or not advantageous to initially prepare a specification to support an award based on price, multi-step sealed bidding may be used. A solicitation may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by a solicitation limited to those bidders whose offers have been determined to be technically acceptable under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation. Multi-step sealed bidding shall be conducted pursuant to written procedures.
I. Bid Evaluation and Award. Bids will be evaluated to determine which bid is the most advantageous to the county concerning price, conformity to the specifications and other factors.
1. A product acceptability evaluation may be conducted according to the criteria and requirements specified in the invitation for bids to determine whether a bidder's product meets specifications and is acceptable. This evaluation is used to decide whether to accept or reject a bid and not to determine whether one bidder's product is superior to another.
2. A bid that does not meet specifications is not acceptable and shall be rejected as nonresponsive.
3. The procurement director may reject all bids if rejection is in the public interest. Any such rejection shall be publicly noticed in the same manner provided in Section 11.12.010(C).
4. The contract shall be awarded to the responsible bidder whose bid is determined to be the most advantageous to the county concerning price, conformity to the specifications and other factors. Evaluation of price shall be made without regard to applicable taxes.
5. Multiple contracts may be awarded if determined to be in the best interest of the county.
(Ord. 2017-27 § 3 (part), 2017; Ord. 2011-14 § 3 (part), 2011; Ord. 2006-90 § 1, 2006; Ord. 2005-44 § 3 (part), 2005; Ord. 1997-45 § 1, 1997)