(A) Notices inviting sealed bids.
(1) Notices inviting sealed competitive bids in all cases where required by this section, state or federal law or regulation, shall be posted and publicly advertised at least five calendar days prior to the final date for submitting bids in the City Clerk’s office, on the city’s cable channel and website and/or through other alternative electronic bidding resources as deemed by the Purchasing Officer to provide sufficient notification to prospective bidders.
(2) Such notice shall indicate the goods, non-professional services, supplies, materials, or equipment desired, or the construction project to be undertaken, the place where bid specifications are available to be obtained, and the date, time, and place the bids are due. Bid specifications shall incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements for the material, product, or service to be procured, as well as identify all requirements which the bidders must fulfill and all other factors to be used in evaluating bids or proposals.
(3) In all cases where sealed bids are invited, the Purchasing Office shall mail, and/or make available copies of bid forms, sealed bid instructions, and specifications to at least three qualified vendors or contractors where possible in order to obtain competitive bidding. Bid lists shall be maintained by the Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, and shall be available for public inspection.
(B) Items not subject to competitive bidding.
(1) The City Council has determined that the following list of goods, services, materials and supplies need not be subject to the competitive bidding process, as it may not be to the city’s advantage to contract these services through competitive bidding:
(a) Advertisements in periodicals;
(b) Payments to arbitrators;
(c) Firms providing deposition and court transcript services;
(d) Dues and subscriptions;
(e) Medical services;
(f) Publications and copyrighted materials;
(g) Conferences, seminars, and classes;
(h) Travel expenses;
(i) Purchases covered by use of petty cash checks;
(j) Utility bills, including gas, electric, water, sewage, and local telephone service;
(k) Television and radio advertisements;
(l) Fuel purchases;
(m) Employee benefits payments, including, but not limited to, health, dental, vision, and life insurance, pension, and the like; and
(n) U.S. Postal, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, Airborne, or other delivery services; and
(o) Software license renewals.
(2) For the purpose of this division (B), the City Manager may recommend and approve payment and purchase of the above items without submitting proposed invoices for such services to City Council as long as the amounts are a specific category line item in the annual budget approved by City Council, and the City Attorney, or his or her designee, and City Manager have approved the contract as to form and substance.
(C) Bid, performance and labor and material bonds.
(1) Except as otherwise required by any applicable law or regulation, any bid in excess of $100,000 shall be accompanied by a bid bond, bank money order, certified check, or cashier’s check in the amount of 5% of the total amount bid.
(2) Except as otherwise required by any applicable law or regulation, a performance bond and a labor and material bond shall be furnished with the contract documents executed by the bidder prior to the award of each contract exceeding $50,000 for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work or improvement as provided by the Contractor’s Bond for Public Buildings or Works Act, Public Act 213 of 1963, being M.C.L. §§ 129.201 et seq., and each such bond shall be in an amount equal to the total amount of the contract and executed by the contractor and a corporate surety company authorized to do business in the state.
(D) Disqualification of bidders.
(1) In addition to any other remedies authorized by law, a bidder may be disqualified from bidding on any city contracts for up to three years by the City Manager if it has been determined that the bidder, after an award of a contract:
(a) Failed to provide the service or supplies required;
(b) Provided the service or supplies in an untimely manner causing delays and interference;
(c) Lacked financial resources and the ability to satisfactorily perform the contract or provide the services or supplies;
(d) Exhibited poor quality of performance in delivering the service;
(e) Delivered poor quality of goods;
(f) Failed to comply with laws and ordinances relating to contract performance;
(g) Defaulted on its quotations; and/or
(h) Such other action that leads the city to believe that the contractor’s duties will not comport or comply with the bid requirements.
(2) The City Manager may determine that the bidder has good cause not to abide by the bid for reasons such as, but not limited to, honest and reasonable mistake, contractual impossibility, or fraud or misrepresentation by another.
(3) When the City Manager believes grounds for disqualification exist, a notice shall be sent to the vendor of the proposed disqualification indicating the grounds for disqualification and procedure for requesting a hearing. If the vendor does not respond with a written request for a hearing within 20 calendar days, the City Manager will issue a final disqualification order without a hearing. If a hearing is requested, the City Manager will select a designee for the purpose of taking testimony from the contractor, or any other witnesses, concerning the decision to disqualify said contractor. The recommendation of the designee shall be sent to the City Manager for approval or denial. The decision of the City Manager is final.
(4) Any contractor disqualified a second time for any of the reasons set forth in division (D)(1) above may be permanently disqualified.
(5) Any contractor disqualified for fraudulent actions, theft, or other similar criminal behavior may not be reinstated and may be permanently disqualified.
(6) Such disqualification of a bidding contractor, company, corporation, partnership, or firm, shall also apply to its successors, assigns, officers, and/or principals.
(7) In addition to the foregoing, a bidder’s bid on any city contract will be disqualified if at the time the bid is received by the city, such bidder is in default to the city. A
DEFAULT is defined as when the city has placed the bidder on notice that monies are due and owing and the bidder has failed to pay said debt or enter into a payment plan with the city. Failure to file yearly income tax returns for taxable income under $1,000 or file an income tax affidavit or failure to file corporate income tax for city-based businesses, is considered to be a default. A debt that is a subject of an administrative appeal or contested court case is not considered to be in default.
(E) Form of bids.
(1) Bids submitted in response to any such notice shall be submitted according to the following instructions or the bid may be disqualified.
(a) Bids must be submitted on printed forms furnished by the City Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee. Voluntary alternates may be attached to the bid form, if necessary.
(b) Bids must be in ink or typewritten.
(c) Bids must contain bidder’s complete name, address, and telephone number.
(d) Bids must be signed in ink by an authorized agent of the bidder and dated.
(e) Bids must include delivery or completion time.
(f) If an addendum is issued, it must be signed, dated, and returned with the bid.
(g) A bid bond, bank money order, certified check or cashier’s check in the amount of 5% of the total amount bid must be submitted with any bid in excess of $100,000, unless any applicable law or regulation requires a different percentage.
(h) All erasures or corrections to pricing information must be initialed and dated in ink by the same individual signing the bid.
(i) In case of a discrepancy between a unit price and its extension, the unit price will be considered correct and the bid will be recalculated to determine the amount bid. All addition errors will be corrected and the total bid will be adjusted to reflect the corrections. All unit prices must be stated where requested.
(j) All bids must be in the city purchasing office by the date and time specified on the bid form.
(k) Each bid must be enclosed in a separate sealed envelope with the bid number marked on the front.
(2) The city reserves the right to accept or reject any and all bids, or parts thereof, and to waive any irregularities which do not materially affect the bid document or otherwise conflict with statute or ordinance. Any rejections of bids shall be made only if there is a sound documented reason for same.
(3) By signature, the bidder acknowledges that the signer has complete authority to execute the bid on behalf of the bidder and that the bid is genuine and not collusive in any manner; and that no other bidders were improperly induced to refrain from bidding or induced to submit a sham bid; and that the bidder agrees to have withheld from any payment due them, any amounts owed for taxes or other charges due the city; and that successful bidders are subject to mandatory city income tax withholdings.
(4) All bids for supplies, materials, or other commodities necessary for the regular operation of city functions must contain the following language: “The vendor hereby agrees to maintain the bid price for one year from the date of this bid, and the city reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to purchase such additional supplies as it deems necessary at said rate in an amount not to exceed the total contract price of the original bid.”
(F) Opening of bids. Sealed bids shall be opened in public at the time and place indicated on the bid form in the presence of an administrative committee known as the Purchasing Committee, consisting of the Purchasing Officer or his or her designee, City Manager or his or her designee, and the City Clerk or his or her designee. The head of the department, or a designated representative, shall also attend the bid opening when a bid is opened which affects his or her department or division. At least three of these persons shall be present at every bid opening.
(G) Review of bids.
(1) After opening the sealed bids, the Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, shall refer the bids to the affected department head and/or his or her designee for tabulation and review. The Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, may require a reference check for suitability prior to referring the bids to the affected department head.
(2) Upon review, the department head, or his or her designee, shall complete a bid evaluation form and electronically submit the tabulation to the Purchasing Committee for review and approval.
(a) The form must contain the following:
1. The bid number and date of opening;
2. The department name;
3. A brief description of each of the item(s) as it appeared on the actual bid document;
4. The quantity requested, unit cost of each item (where applicable), and extended cost;
5. The total amount submitted;
6. The name of the company submitting the bid; and
7. The company the department head, or his or her designee, recommends with an explanation for the recommendation.
(b) The city, where applicable, shall perform a cost or price analysis in connection with every procurement involving the expenditure of federal funds, as well as negotiate profit as a separate element of the price for each such contract. Estimated costs for contracts are allowable only to the extent such estimations are allowed under federal regulation. In no case, may the cost plus a percentage of cost and percentage of construction cost methods of contracting be used.
(3) The members of the Purchasing Committee will review the recommended bid(s), and electronically give its approval/disapproval response to the Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, or request further clarification. In the event such explanation cannot be satisfied by electronic means, the Purchasing Committee will formally meet to further discuss the recommendation. A majority vote of the Purchasing Committee is needed for approval.
(4) Upon approval of the recommended bid(s), the Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, shall instruct the department head, or his or her designee, to prepare the appropriate Council Communication, which shall be transmitted to the City Manager with his or her recommendation for Council approval.
(5) The bids and the tabulation shall be available for public inspection in the city purchasing office.
(H) Council action on sealed bids.
(1) Upon receipt of the tabulation of bids and the recommendation from the City Manager, the Council may reject the bids or determine the lowest and best bidder or bidders and award the transaction or transactions accordingly.
(2) In case the Council determines that it is not possible to choose between two or more suppliers of a commodity purchased regularly because the bids are equal, the transaction may be awarded to the bidder who was awarded the last transaction for the same commodity.
(I) Execution of transaction.
(1) Upon the approval of a transaction as hereinbefore provided, the Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, shall execute the transactions in the manner set forth in §§ 14.42 and 14.32 (where applicable).
(2) (a) All forms of acceptable cash, including bank money orders, certified checks, or cashier’s checks accepted in accordance with division (C)(1) above will be processed as follows.
1. Funds received from the top three companies/bidders shall be deposited by the Finance Director’s office.
2. Funds received from all other bidders shall be promptly returned to the respective companies following the opening of the bid(s).
3. Upon approval by City Council of the transaction/bid award, the Finance Director’s office will refund all funds held and deposited by way of city check.
(b) If any successful bidder fails or refuses to enter into the transaction as herein provided, the deposit accompanying the bid shall be forfeited and the Council may award the transaction to the next lowest and best bidder, or reject all bids and re-advertise.
(3) All transactions shall be executed by the vendor and Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee. For all transactions $2,000 or more, the Purchasing Officer or his or her designee, must first have Council’s approval before execution of the transaction.
(4) An executed copy of all written contracts shall be filed with the City Clerk, or his or her designee. An executed copy of all purchase order contracts shall be filed with the Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee.
(5) The department head or his or her designee, with the approval of the Finance Director and/or Budget Director, may allow for an increase or decrease in cost not to exceed 10% of the total purchase order contract for goods, non-professional services, supplies, materials, equipment, and the like, due to unforeseen circumstances, necessity or redundancy not contemplated in the bid. Such increase or decrease shall be mutually agreed upon in writing between the department head or his or her designee (with the approval of the Finance Director and/or Budget Director) and the contractor. Upon such authorization, a change order shall be processed by the purchasing office to effectuate the increase or decrease. Any and all bids/purchase order contracts for goods, non-professional services, supplies, materials, equipment, and the like, shall contain the following language:
“The Department Head or his or her designee, with the approval of the Finance Director and/or Budget Director, may allow for an increase or decrease of this purchase order contract/written contract by 10% of the total purchase order due to unforeseen circumstances, necessity or redundancy not contemplated in the bid. Such increase or decrease shall be mutually agreed upon in writing with the contractor. In no event, however, will this purchase order contract/written contract be increased over 10% of the total purchase order without the prior approval of City Council.”
(6) The City Engineer or his or her designee, with the approval of the Finance Director and/or Budget Director, may allow for an increase or decrease in cost not to exceed 20% of the total contract for construction projects for building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing any public structure or building, or other public improvements of any kind to any public property due to unforeseen circumstances, necessity or redundancy not contemplated in the bid, or an expansion or reduction of the scope of services due to unforeseen conditions. Such increase or decrease shall be mutually agreed upon in writing between the City Engineer or his or her designee (with the approval of the Finance Director and/or Budget Director) and the contractor. Upon such authorization, a change order shall be processed by the purchasing office to effectuate the increase or decrease. Any and all bids shall contain the following language:
“The City Engineer or his or her designee, with the approval of the Finance Director and/or Budget Director, may allow for an increase or decrease of this purchase order contract/written contract by 20% of the total purchase order due to unforeseen circumstances, necessity, or redundancy not contemplated in the bid. Such increase or decrease shall be mutually agreed upon in writing with the contractor. In no event, however, will this purchase order contract/written contract be increased over 20% of the total purchase order without the prior approval of City Council.”
(J) Records. The Purchasing Officer, or his or her designee, shall maintain records sufficient to detail the history of the procurement.
(K) Conflict of interest. No employee or officer of the city may participate in the selection, award, or administration of a contract if he or she has a real or apparent conflict of interest.
(Prior Code, § 14.24) (Ord. O-82, passed 6-1-2009, effective 6-11-2009; Ord. O-132, passed 10-24-2011, effective 11-3-2011; Ord. O-193, passed 7-24-2017, effective 8-3-2017)