Page 86 - CONTRACT POLICY MANUAL

§4.5-103 Proprietary Source Requests

(1) Proprietary means confidentially owned and controlled. The term may be used to refer to
such items as property, computer software, or intellectual property. The party owning items
that are proprietary is known as a sole proprietor and there is no other source available
from which to purchase the goods or services.
(2) Determining if an item is proprietary rests with the Deputy Purchasing Agent and shall be
justified in accordance with the policies and procedures outlined in this Section. In the
event an item is justified as proprietary, the Deputy Purchasing Agent shall endeavor to
negotiate a price that is most advantageous to the County.
(3) Proprietary Specifications: A proprietary item or service is one that must meet particular
restrictive specifications but may be available from a number of sources, e.g., “Brand ‘X’
computers - no substitutions”. A detailed description of the proprietary specification shall
be attached to the requisition for approval. The requisition should contain a brief
justification for requesting the proprietary specification.

(4) Board Approval: Board approval is required for proprietary commodities and services in
accordance with applicable policy as provided in this Section, as well as those that may
apply in Section 3 of this manual.

§4.5-104 Emergency Requests

(1) Sole Source requests may be approved based upon emergency situations in which there is
not adequate time for competitive bidding. For additional policies regarding Emergency
Requests, refer to the appropriate contract type within Section 3 of this manual.

§4.5-105 Commodities – Sole Source Requests

(1) Approval by the Board of Supervisors is required prior to the execution of a Sole Source
commodity contract costing more than $250,000 annually.

§4.5-106 Capital Assets – Sole Source Requests

(1) In addition to the Board approval requirements stated in Section 3.2 of this manual,
approval by the Board of Supervisors is required prior to the purchase of a Sole Source
Capital Asset item costing more than $75,000.

§4.5-107 Service Contracts – Sole Source Requests

(1) Approval by the Board of Supervisors is required for the following:
a) Sole Source service contracts that exceed total annual amount of $75,000;

b) Sole Source service contracts that exceed a two (2) year consecutive term,
regardless of dollar amount. Contracts may not be intentionally split to avoid this
policy; and,
c) Renewal of Sole Source Service Contracts where the annual cost exceeds $75,000.

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