A. Professional and/or other services with an estimated value of $30,000 or more shall be procured through a formal request for proposals. The procedure for formal request for proposals is established for the purpose of providing an alternative method to sealed competitive bid for the purchase of professional and other services. The procedural guidelines outlined in Subarticle III, §§ 3-5-61 through 3-5-81 of competitive sealed bids, also apply to RFPs. As with formal bids, the user department initiates the process and assists the purchasing agent in creating a specification, called a "Scope of Services".
B. When the RFP is ready, notice of the RFP is published in the newspaper for four consecutive days, and copies of the notice of RFP are sent to the current contractor (if applicable) and all those who have registered with the city as potential providers for the required services.
C. Proposals will be opened publicly at the time and place stated in the request for proposal. The request for proposal will include a statement of how the proposals will be evaluated, the relative importance of price and other factors, the general terms of the written contract, and that professional liability insurance may be required.
D. Questions from offerors regarding any clarifications of the RFP will be answered prior to the opening. If any question results in a change to the scope of work, an addendum will be made and distributed to all offerors who have requested a bid packet. Discussions with proposers may also be conducted after the opening. In conducting the discussions, no disclosure of other proposals shall be made.
E. Prior to award, the city may issue a written request for best and final offers. The request shall state the date, time, and place for the submission of the best and final offers. Best and final offers shall be requested only once unless the purchasing agent makes a written determination that it is advantageous to the city to conduct further discussions or change the city requirements. The request shall inform offerors that, if they do not submit a notice of withdrawal or a best and final offer, their immediately previous offer will be construed as their best and final offer.
F. All persons who submitted a proposal shall be given the opportunity to submit a best and final offer if one is requested. The proposals will be reviewed by the user department and the Purchasing Office, or evaluation committee. A recommendation will then be made to the City Council based on an evaluation of all factors stated in the RFP.
G. Upon City Council approval, award shall be made to the responsible offerors whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the city, taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation. The bid file shall contain the basis on which the award is made.
(Res. 2008-011, passed 2-19-2008)