Page 71 - CONTRACT POLICY MANUAL

c) Proprietary Specification (no substitute): Proprietary specifications shall be used
only when the end user has presented justification that only the named product will
function in the end use required. Proprietary items will be competitively bid
whenever there is more than one supplier from whom the product is available.
d) Terms and Conditions: All IFBs will include terms and conditions which will
become part of the contract. The County Procurement Officer shall maintain, by
type of contract, applicable and appropriate terms and conditions to be included in
contracts and shall make these available to departments for inclusion in the
contracts they issue.

e) Bid and Performance Surety: When determined to be in the best interest of the
County, the County Procurement Officer or the Deputy Purchasing Agent may
include in the terms and conditions a requirement for bid and/or performance
surety. A bid surety will guarantee that a bidder enters into the contract per its bid,
and a performance surety will guarantee that the bidder will carry out the contract
per the specifications and terms and conditions set down by the County. Such
surety, when required, will not be designed to be restrictive, but will only be in an
amount necessary to protect the County’s interest. Bidders shall be permitted to
provide such surety in the form of a bond, certified or cashier’s check, letter of
credit, or certificate of deposit redeemable by the County. Upon award to the
successful bidder, all such sureties will be returned to unsuccessful bidders.

f) Indemnification: Where the County may experience financial or physical risk in
the performance of a contract by a vendor, the contract terms and conditions will
require that the vendor hold the County harmless from such risk.
g) Insurance: The County may also require that the successful bidder submit an
insurance certificate prior to contract award. Such certificate will be in an amount
adequate to protect the County and will name the County as an additional insured.

h) Criteria for Award: The IFB will include criteria for award. Award will be based
on lowest responsive and responsible bidder.

i) Responsiveness: A bidder’s responsiveness will be judged according to
requirements set forth in the invitation to bid. No criteria may be used in the
determination of a bidder’s responsiveness that is not set forth in the IFB. In order
to determine lowest responsive bidder, criteria which affect bid price and may be
objectively measured, such as discounts, transportation costs, and life cycle cost,
may be considered. Award may not be made to a bidder submitting a higher quality
item than the minimum required unless the bidder’s price is also determined to be
the lowest in accordance with the criteria established in the IFB. The unreasonable
failure of a bidder to promptly supply information or documents required for bid
review may be grounds for “determination of non-responsiveness” made by the
appropriate Deputy Purchasing Agent. All findings of non-responsiveness shall
be documented and made part of the contract award file.
j) Responsibility: A bidder’s responsibility will be judged according to the bidder’s
ability to successfully carry out the proposed contract. Criteria to be used may
include financial capacity, experience, facilities, equipment, and integrity. The
County may also consider any of its own past dealings with the bidder.

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