§ 18-271. Appeal procedure.

(a)

Any person or business enterprise aggrieved by any decision or action of the coordinator made under authority of this division, other than the determination of project goals, may appeal to the county administrator by delivering a written notice of appeal to the county administrator not later than ten days following the receipt of notice of the coordinator's decision or action. The notice of appeal shall specify the decision or action appealed from and the reasons why the decision or action is believed to be in error. The person or business enterprise filing the notice of appeal shall serve copies of the notice of appeal by first-class mail or by hand-delivery on all persons or business enterprises known to have an interest in the outcome of the appeal. Service of copies of the notice of appeal on interested persons or business enterprises shall be documented in a certificate of service delivered to the county administrator with the notice of appeal. Failure to serve a copy of the notice of appeal on a person or business enterprise known to have an interest in the outcome of the appeal shall be grounds for denial of the appeal.

(b)

Failure to file a timely appeal shall constitute waiver of the right to appeal the coordinator's decision or action.

(c)

In the event that the outcome of the appeal may impact the award of a contract for which bids or proposals have been invited or requested before or during the pendency of the appeal, the county administrator, in his sole discretion, may delay award of the contract pending the outcome of the appeal.

(d)

Upon receiving the notice of appeal, the county administrator shall decide whether to conduct a hearing on the appeal personally, to appoint a designee or hearing officer to hear the appeal, or to refer the appeal to the contract fairness board established in section 18-272 for hearing and recommendation.

(e)

A hearing on the appeal shall be held within 21 days of the county administrator's receipt of the notice of appeal. At the county administrator's discretion, the hearing date may be extended for up to an additional 14 days. The county administrator may expedite the appeal or request that the contract fairness board expedite the appeal if he or she decides that it is in the interest of any interested party or the unified government to do so.

(f)

A bidder or proposer who has been declared an apparent successful bidder or proposer shall have the right to intervene in any appeal filed on that project. Any bidder, proposer, contractor, or other person or business enterprise whose interests will be affected by any appeal may be permitted by the county administrator or the contract fairness board (if the matter is referred by the county administrator to the board) to intervene in the appeal.

(g)

If the county administrator refers the appeal to the contract fairness board, the board shall report its findings and recommendations in writing to the county administrator within ten days of the conclusion of the hearing.

(h)

The county administrator shall send written notice of his decision on the merits of the appeal to the person or business enterprise appealing and to any known interested persons or business enterprises by first-class mail within 14 days after conclusion of the hearing or, if the appeal is referred to the contract fairness board, within ten days of receiving the board's findings and recommendations.

(i)

Exhaustion of the appeal procedure set forth in this section shall be a jurisdictional prerequisite to the commencement of a civil action in district court challenging any decision or action of the coordinator.

(Ord. No. O-17-09, § 1(18-171), 2-19-2009)