(A) Conditions for use. All contracts to the city, to include all sales of personal property which has become obsolete and unusable, shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding, except as otherwise provided in § 39.10 of this chapter. Contracts for construction shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding, as defined in A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 23 (Arizona Procurement Code) and A.R.S. Title 34 (Public Buildings and Improvements) except as otherwise provided in § 39.25 of this chapter.
(B) Invitation for bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued, and shall include specifications and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement. The Chief Procurement Officer shall solicit sealed bids from responsible prospective suppliers who have requested their names to be added to a "Bidders' List" which the Chief Procurement Officer shall maintain, by sending them a copy of the newspaper notice or other notice as will acquaint them with the proposed purchase or sale, either electronically or via mail. Invitations sent to the vendors on the bidders' list shall be limited to commodities that are similar in character and ordinarily handled by the trade group to which the invitations are sent.
(C) Public notice. Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given a reasonable time, but not less than 14 calendar days prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids, unless otherwise allowed by state law. Notices shall meet all state Procurement Code requirements, and procedures shall be identified through administrative procedures which will be periodically updated and made available to prospective bidders.
(D) Bid opening. Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses, at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid, and other relevant information as the Chief Procurement Officer deems appropriate, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded. This record shall be open to public inspection. The bids shall not be open for public inspection until after a contract is awarded. To the extent the bidder clearly designates, in writing, any trade secrets or other proprietary information, using the term "confidential" contained within the bid documents, and the city agrees, shall remain confidential, in accordance with Arizona State Law.
(E) Bid acceptance and bid evaluation. Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in this chapter. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluations that are not set forth in the invitation for bids.
(F) Correction or withdrawal of bids; cancellation of awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before bid opening, or cancellation of awards or contracts, may be permitted where deemed appropriate by the Chief Procurement Officer. After bid opening, no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the city or fair competition shall be permitted. All decisions to permit the correction or withdrawal of bids, or to cancel awards or contracts based on bid mistakes, shall be supported by a written determination made by the Chief Procurement Officer.
(G) Award. The contract shall be awarded, with reasonable promptness by appropriate written notice, to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids. In the event the low responsive and responsible bid for a construction project exceeds available funds, as certified by the city's budget officer, the Chief Procurement Officer is authorized, when time or economic considerations preclude re-solicitation of work of a reduced scope, to direct an adjustment of the bid price with the low responsive and responsible bidder, in order to bring the bid within the amount of available funds.
(H) Multi-step sealed bidding RSoQ (Request for Statement of Qualifications). When it is considered impractical to prepare initially a purchase description to support an award based on price, a RSoQ (Request for Statement of Qualifications) may be issued as defined in A.R.S, Title 41, Chapter 23.
('76 Code, § 3-8-3) (Ord. 903, passed 7-23-92; Am. Ord. 2008-012, passed 6-12-08; Am. Ord. 2016-008, passed 12-8-16)