Page 100 - CONTRACT POLICY MANUAL

69. Multi-Department Contracts: Those contracts issued by the County Procurement Officer or
department Deputy Purchasing Agents for the purchase of services and commodities, which
may be used by more than one department of the County under the condition that the
department is named on the contract as an authorized user.

70. Negotiation: The discussion or correspondence between the County and the preferred
contractor in order to develop a contract with terms and conditions that serve the best interests
of the County.

71. One-Time Purchases: Purchases for particular goods or services which cover a particular
need. These types of purchases are distinguished from annual or blanket contracts which
cover a continuing need of an item or service.

72. Opportunity Buys: A situation where necessary commodities are for sale at significantly
reduced rates from what is normally offered in the general market or where an alternative
product to the one being bid represents significant savings.

73. Performance Surety: See Bid Surety.

74. Petty Cash: Funds set aside as a cash reserve in a revolving fund for single expenditures
under $1,000 each made within established policies and controls.

75. Pre-Bid/Pre-Proposal Conference: A meeting set up between the County parties issuing a
bid/proposal solicitation and the potential bidders/proposers for the purpose of clarifying the
bid/proposal solicitation and answering any questions the bidders/proposers may have.

76. Prequalification: A process used prior to solicitation of bids to determine if potential bidders
have the ability to fulfill the contract requirements for which the solicitation will be issued
and/or to determine if the potential bidders’ products will meet the cost and performance
criteria required to meet the County’s needs.

77. Procurement Appeals Board: A body comprised of County department senior management
and a member of the public chaired by the County Procurement Officer for the purpose of
hearing vendor protests to a specific County procurement process.

78. Proposal: The executed document submitted by a proposer in response to a Request for
Proposal (RFP). A proposal includes a detailed description of the goods or services to be
provided to the County per the scope of work included in the Request for Proposal (RFP),
including, but not limited to cost, time frame for completion of work or delivery of goods,
and method of accomplishment of services.

79. Proposer Interviews: Sessions conducted by the proposal evaluation committee for the
purpose of interviewing proposers who submitted acceptable proposals within competitive
range for clarification to assure full understanding of and responsiveness to the solicitation
requirements.

80. Proprietary Product: An item or service that must meet particular restrictive specifications,
but may be available from multiple sources.

81. Protest: A written objection of grievance from an actual or prospective bidder who alleges
an error or impropriety in the solicitation or award of a contract.

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