§ 3.08.160. Competitive sealed proposals.

A.

Conditions for use. When a purchasing department/division/unit determines in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the county, a contract may be entered into by competitive sealed proposals subject to the provisions of section 3.08.240 and the ensuing regulations, unless otherwise provided for in this section. County council may provide by regulation that it is either not practicable or not advantageous to the county to procure specified types of supplies, services, or construction by competitive sealed bidding.

B.

Public notice. Adequate public notice of the request for proposals shall be given in the same manner as provided in section 3.08.150(C).

C.

Receipt of proposals. Proposals shall be opened publicly in accordance with regulations of the Colleton County council. A tabulation of proposals shall be prepared in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Colleton County council and shall be open for public inspection after contract award.

D.

Request for qualifications. Prior to soliciting proposals, the procuring department/division/unit, acting through the chief procurement officer, may issue a request for qualifications from prospective offerors. Such request shall contain at a minimum a description of the goods or services to be solicited by the request for proposals and the general scope of the work and shall state the deadline for submission of information and how prospective offerors may apply for consideration. The request shall require information only on their qualifications, experience, and ability to perform the requirements of the contract. After receipt of the responses to the request for qualifications from prospective offerors, the perspective offerors shall be ranked from most qualified to least qualified on the basis of the information provided. Proposals shall then be solicited from at least the top two prospective offerors by means of a request for proposals. The failure of a prospective offeror to be selected to receive the request for proposals shall not be grounds for protest.

E.

Evaluation factors. The request for proposals shall state the relative importance of the factors to be considered in evaluating proposals but shall not require a numerical weighting for each factor. Price may but need not be an evaluation factor.

F.

Discussion with offerors. As provided in the request for proposals, discussions, for the purpose of clarification to assure full understanding of the requirements of the request for proposals, may be conducted with offerors, who are determined, by the department/division/unit head in conjunction with the purchasing official and/or the county administrator, to have submitted proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award.

G.

Selection, ranking and notification. Proposals shall be evaluated by the department/division/unit in conjunction with the purchasing official and, where applicable, the proposal advisory group, using only the criteria and any weightings stated in the request for proposals. Based upon these evaluations, offerors shall be ranked in priority order from best to least qualified. A written report ranking the five top persons or firms shall be produced with data substantiating such rankings. When the ranking report is final, written notification shall be sent to all firms interviewed.

H.

Negotiations. The procuring department/division/unit, through the purchasing official, may negotiate as follows:

1.

If price were included as an evaluating factor in the request, then price negotiations may be conducted first with the highest ranked offeror. If a satisfactory price cannot be agreed upon, negotiations with that offeror shall be formally terminated. Negotiations shall commence in the same manner with the second and then the third, fourth and fifth most qualified offeror until a satisfactory contract is negotiated. If no agreement is reached with one of the top five ranked offerors, the remaining offerors from the original request for proposals in order of their evaluated ranking may be selected for negotiation.

2.

Matters affecting the scope of the contract, so long as the overall nature and intent of the contract are not changed, may be negotiated first with the highest ranked offeror. If a satisfactory contract cannot be negotiated with the highest ranking offeror, negotiations with that offeror shall be formally terminated. Negotiations shall commence in the same manner with the second and then the third, fourth and fifth most qualified offeror until a satisfactory contract is negotiated. If no agreement is reached with one of the top five ranked offerors, the remaining offerors from the original request for proposals in order of their evaluated ranking may be selected for negotiation.

3.

In conducting negotiations, there must be no disclosure of any confidential information derived from proposals or negotiations of competing offerors.

I.

Reissuance of request for proposals. If the negotiation process does not yield a satisfactory contract, the request for proposals may be amended and readvertised. All offerors who responded to the original RFP must be allowed to submit new proposals. The process for evaluation, negotiation, and award shall be the same as for the original request.

J.

Award. The purchasing official shall make a recommendation to the county administrator as to which proposal is the most advantageous to the county based on the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals and/or any factors determined through the negotiation process provided in subsection H of this section. The administrator shall present such recommendation to county council for consideration for approval and award of contract. Following such approval, the notice of award shall be made in writing to the offeror. The contract file maintained by the purchasing official shall contain the basis on which the award is made and must be sufficient to satisfy external audit requirements as determined by the finance director.

(Ord. No. 03-O-04, (part), 2003; Ord. No. 06-O-16, §§ 1—5, 2006)