§ 2-510. Competitive sealed proposals.

(a)

Procurements for the following are eligible for award by competitive sealed proposals:

(1)

For materials and services when the purchasing agent determines in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the city;

(2)

For professional services; and

(3)

For city improvements.

(b)

Procurements accomplished pursuant to this section shall be solicited through a request for proposals.

(c)

Public notice shall be given and shall include the proposal title, place, date and time of proposal opening.

(d)

Proposals shall be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. A register of proposals shall be maintained containing the name of each offeror and shall be open for public inspection after the award of the contract in the office of the purchasing agent in the same manner as are other public records.

(e)

The request for proposals shall state evaluation factors and their relative importance.

(f)

After proposal opening, interviews may be conducted with the highest ranked responsible offeror for the purpose of clarification and to ensure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, solicitation requirements. Offerors selected for interview shall be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals. Revisions may be permitted after submissions and prior to award in order to reflect clarifications in the proposal's scope of work or contract amount. In conducting interviews, there shall be no disclosure by the city or any officer, employee or committee thereof, of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors, nor shall there be any disclosure of information discussed by the evaluation committee in selecting the highest ranked offeror. After the contract has been awarded and a written contract executed with the selected offeror, the total points of the evaluation committee will be retained by the purchasing agent for a period of time consistent with the city's record retention policy. Individual rating sheets and notes prepared or utilized by members of the evaluation committee shall not be made available for public inspection.

(g)

Prior to award of contract, the city attorney shall review the contract provisions. The contract shall be awarded with reasonable promptness by written notice to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the city, taking into consideration the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation.

(h)

The purchasing agent is authorized to negotiate the final price and precise scope of work with the selected offeror.

(Ord. No. 04-10, § 1(3-2-40), 8-17-2004)