Any interested party may file a protest regarding the procurement decisions authorized under this chapter.
(a) Notice of Decision. After a decision regarding a procurement having a value over Forty-five Thousand and no/100th ($45,000.00) Dollars or as is reflected under Section 22020 of the Public Contract Code has been made, the Department Head or designee shall notify all persons who submitted a response to a City solicitation of intended award. If a bidder is rejected because the bid is found non-responsive or because the bidder is deemed not-responsible, the City will give written notice to said bidder of evidence reflecting such decision.
(b) Time to File Protest. All protests must be filed in writing and received by the Department Head within five (5) business days of the date on the notice of intended award.
(c) Form of Protest. All protests shall be in writing, state the grounds for the protest, state the facts relevant to the protest, and all evidentiary support to rebut adverse evidence that it or another bidder was either non-responsive or not responsible. All protests have to be filed in accordance with the instructions contained in the solicitation which is the subject of the protest.
(d) City Manager Review. The City Manager or designee shall review the protest and issue a written decision on the protest. The City Manager or designee may base the decision on the written protest alone or may informally gather evidence from the person(s) filing the protest or any other person having relevant information. For procurements having a value of less than the statutory limits contained in Public Contract Code Section 22020, currently set at One Hundred Seventy-five Thousand and no/100th ($175,000.00) Dollars, the City Manager's or designee's decision shall be final.
(e) Hearing on Protest. If a bid was rejected on the grounds that the bidder was not a "responsible" bidder, the protesting party must submit materials set forth in subdivision (c) above for consideration. A hearing will be set within a reasonable time to provide a decision before final approval of the selected low bid. For procurements having a value of less than the statutory limits contained in Public Contract Code Section 22020, currently set at One Hundred Seventy-five Thousand and no/100th ($175,000.00) Dollars, the City Manager's or designee's decision shall be final.
(f) Appeal of City Manager's Decision to City Council. For procurements having a value exceeding the statutory limits contained in Public Contract Code Section 22020, currently set at One Hundred Seventy-five Thousand and no/100th ($175,000.00) Dollars but subject to periodic changes by the state legislature, an appeal of the City Manager's decision may be filed with the City Council. All such appeals must be in writing, and shall be filed with the City Clerk within five (5) business days from the date of the City Manager's decision.
(g) Failure to Timely Appeal. An interested party who fails to file a protest within the times set forth in this section waives any right to protest the issue further. No appeal to either the City Manager or City Council of any decision to award a bid under Chapter 10 may occur once the contract has been awarded.
(§ 1, Ord. 1638-NS, eff. January 12, 2018)