(a) Competitive proposals shall be required of any contract involving professional services unless excused by 187.24 (b).
(b) The Mayor may present a proposal for a professional services contract for Council approval without having received competitive proposals when authorized herein. Such exception shall require a clear justification for departing from the competitive process. Adequate justification shall include a need for confidentiality (e.g. litigation), an emergency requiring obtaining professional services in a time period that cannot be accomplished through the competitive process, the need to follow a non-bid consultant selection process which is a precondition to the receipt of federal and/or state funding for the contract, or other justification demonstrating that the City is best served by bringing the matter directly to Council for consideration.
(c) After it has been determined that a proposed professional service contract complies with the living wage provision where applicable, then evaluation of professional service contracts shall be based on the weighted rating factors listed in 187.24 (c) (1). The rating factors are subject to adjustment, within the indicated ranges, as determined by the department director seeking the professional service contract. Each proposal for professional service contract shall be rated on a zero (0) to five (5) point scale and multiplied by the rating factor to arrive at a weighted total score.
(1) The rating factors and the respective weights for each factor for evaluation of professional service contracts sought by the City of Toledo are: background and related project experience - zero (0) to fifteen (15), location (local office-staff accessibility) - zero (0) to ten (10), familiarity with local, state and federal standards and regulations - zero (0) to ten (10), current work load - zero (0) to five (5), performance on previous projects - zero (0) to fifteen (15), understanding of the project -zero (0) to fifteen (15), schedule, staffing - zero (0) to fifteen (15), fee and hours - zero (0) to fifteen (15), DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) participation zero (0) to fifteen (15), other department criteria to be identified in the Request For Proposal (RFP) - zero (0) to five (5).
(2) The following ten categories will be used as rating factors when reviewing professional services for the City of Toledo. Each category or criterion shall have a scoring range between zero (0) to fifteen (15) from which the evaluating division can choose in order to appropriately reflect their relative importance, e.g., not applicable to this particular project would be 0 versus highly important could be fifteen (15).
A. Background, related project experience - this consists of review of the professional services background and experience of the firm or individual. It should include a history of the firm or individual and the number of employees. It should include a listing of previous experiences similar to the requested work and should describe the facilities and equipment at the working offices.
B. The location - this should include the location of the primary office and whether or not a local office will be available. It should also include discussion on staff accessibility for the project. This should also include the amount of work to be performed in the City of Toledo. It should also list the home office inside the City of Toledo, as well as the primary office if located elsewhere. The location where the primary work will be done must be designated. If a portion of the work will be done at a location other than the primary location, designate the other location and the type of work to be done there. Note: A partial assessment of location points (no more than four (4) can be given to those businesses, which are located within the joint economic development zone of which the City of Toledo is a participant.
C. Familiarity with local, state and federal standards and requirements - this should include a description of the firm or individual's familiarity with all City of Toledo, State of Ohio and applicable federal standards and requirements. Specific local standards, ordinances, state laws, state requirements and federal regulations should be listed in this section.
D. Current work load - a description of the firm or individual's current work load is to be included in this section. This should include a listing of all major projects inside the City of Toledo and outside its boundary. Specific listing of any subcontracting work that the firm or individual does have with another company or project should also be included in this section.
E. Performance on previous projects - a specific listing of previous contracts with the City of Toledo or similar offices in the State of Ohio, State of Michigan or Federal Government should also be included. Included in this listing should be a summary of performance for each project relevant to timeliness, performance and any savings or benefits that were provided to the contractee. List the last ten (10) completed projects similar to the requested work.
F. Understanding of the project - the provider shall completely describe in detail the services to be rendered to complete the project, including all alternative considerations and evaluations which may be prudent in order to effectively minimize the project budget and most satisfactorily achieve the project goal. Specific points of understanding should be listed to include the professional approach to the project with any related economic benefits which may impact efficiency and effectiveness.
G. Schedule, staffing - this criterion shall have a project advancement schedule, including all tasks specifically listed for the project. Timeframes, review times, as well as timing for meetings with citizens and public meetings should be listed in this section. List your key personnel and their qualifications and experience. Designate the person who will manage this project. Designate your other personnel along with their experience and background who will also work on the project.
H. Fee - the specifics of the fee shall be listed. The cost can be prepared in an hourly format to include a not-to-exceed figure. However, a cost for specific hourly charges over the base project by specific category should be listed.
I. DBE Participation - a description of any joint ventures, partnerships or subcontracts with DBEs that are certified by the City's Office of Affirmative Action. The description should include the name of the company(s), the description of the work to be performed by the DBE and the amount and percentage of the contract that will be awarded to DBEs.
J. Other divisional criteria (identified in the request for proposal) - any other pertinent information that the requesting division believes is important that is not included above should be included in this section.
(Ord. 397-94. Passed 7-26-94)
(d) In all cases involving an expenditure of the amount of forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more not covered by Section 187.12(c) the contract shall be made with the lowest and best bidder after advertisement in the City Journal in the same manner as is hereinbefore provided for purchases. Among the elements to be considered in determining the lowest and best bidder shall be:
(1) The bidder's performance on previous work or contracts undertaken for the City or others including provision of specific information concerning previous work or contracts with the City, any state and the federal government.
(2) The bidder's history, background, quality of work and related experience in all matters concerned with performance of the involved purchase, work or contract;
If the contract covers both labor and materials advertisement shall require them to be separately stated in the bid with the price thereof.
(Ord. 105-03. Passed 2-4-03; Ord. 832-03. Passed 12-23-03.)