§ 4.12.030. Competitive sealed bidding.

A.

Conditions for Use. Contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in Section 4.12.020 of this code, Methods of source selection.

B.

Invitation to Bid. An invitation to bid shall be issued and shall include a purchase description and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement.

C.

Public Notice. Adequate public notice of the invitation to bid shall be given a reasonable time prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the standards board. The standards board may require different types of public notice on the basis of the size of the purchase or contract, or the type of supplies, services or construction. Such notice may include, but is not limited to, publication in a newspaper of general circulation a reasonable time prior to bid opening, mailing to suppliers on a list of established suppliers, and/or posting notice.

D.

Bid Opening. Bids shall be publicly opened 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 such other relevant information as may be specified by regulation, together with the name of each bidder, shall be read aloud and recorded and the record shall be open to public inspection.

E.

Bid Acceptance and Bid Evaluation. Bids shall be accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in this code. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation to bid, 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 to bid shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation to bid.

F.

Correction or Withdrawal of Bids; Cancellation of Awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before or after award, or cancellation of awards or contracts based on such bid mistakes, shall be permitted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the standards board. After bid opening no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the metropolitan government or fair competition shall be permitted. In accordance with regulations of the standards board, the purchasing division may correct mathematical errors. Except as otherwise provided by regulation, 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 purchasing agent.

G.

Multi-Step Sealed Bidding. When it is considered impractical to initially prepare a purchase description to support an award based on price, an invitation to bid may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by an invitation to bid limited to those bidders whose offers have been qualified under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation. The standards board shall adopt regulations governing the use of multi-step sealed bidding and establishing procedures. Discussions conducted for the purposes of facilitating understanding of technical offers or specifications may result in the obtaining of supplemental information, amendments of technical offers, and/or amendments of the specifications.

H.

Award. The contract shall be awarded with reasonable promptness by written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids.

I.

Rejection. The purchasing agent may reject any and all bids received for purchases or sales.

(Ord. 92-210 § 1 (3-202), 1992)