Page 52 - CONTRACT POLICY MANUAL

b) Hourly rate/Time and Materials: If service contracts are priced with an hourly rate,
repetitive tasks should be given a fixed rate or “hours per job” guarantee. Materials are to
be reimbursed on an actual cost basis unless otherwise justified.
c) Contract Prices Based on Cost Plus: Contracts priced on a “cost plus” fixed fee basis shall
have a fixed fee for profit and overhead. Cost plus as a percentage of cost should be
avoided whenever possible. Additionally, when compensation is primarily based on cost
of labor as well as materials, the County will not use “cost plus percentage of cost” contract
pricing without specific approval by the Board of Supervisors.

(2) The method for allowing increases in the unit rates, if any, during the contract period will be stated
in the bid or proposal solicitation. Increases may be permitted on a fixed percentage basis to occur
during the contract period or may be tied to published index prices, such as the Consumer Price
Index.

§3.3-109 Vendor Selection

(1) With the exception of Sole Source service contracts, selection shall be based on the competitive
process. Solicitations shall be made as follows:

a) Contracts $50,000 or less Minimum of one written solicitation
over the life of the contract

b) Contracts above $50,000 Written solicitation issued on County’s
over the life of the contract bidding system

(2) Awards in Invitation for Bid solicitations will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible
bidder as defined in Section 4.2-103 of this manual. In the case of a negotiated procurement (RFP),
award shall be made to the vendor with the most responsive and responsible proposal as detailed
in Section 4.3-117 of this manual.

§3.3-110 Public Bid Opening

(1) In accordance with Section 4.2-111, a public bid opening will be held at a time and place announced
in the bid solicitation for purchases for services exceeding $100,000 annually. The amount of each
bid, together with the name of each bidder, shall be recorded and made available for public
inspection.
a) In cases where bids are submitted and tabulated electronically, bid openings will be
considered public as long as the individual bids are electronically accessible after the bids
close.

§3.3-111 Retroactive Contract Amendments/Changes

(1) In general, retroactive contracts or contract overruns are not permitted, and if they occur they are
invalid unless ratified by the Board of Supervisors, or unless one or more of the following
exemptions applies:

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