§ 29-153. Competitive sealed bidding.

(a)

Conditions for use. Contracts shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in section 29-152.

(b)

Invitation for bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include a purchase description, and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement.

(c)

Public notice. Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids shall be given a reasonable time prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids, in accordance with regulations promulgated by the unified government administrator. All formal solicitations shall be advertised once in the official unified government newspaper except when the purchasing director determines that due to technical or other circumstances the publication should be made in another newspaper or publication format.

(d)

Bid opening. Bids shall be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. The amount of each bid and such other relevant information as may be specified by regulation, together with the name of each bidder shall be recorded; the record and each bid shall be open to public inspection.

(e)

Bid acceptance and bid evaluation. Bids shall be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in this chapter. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life cycle costs. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluations that are not set forth in the invitation for bids.

(f)

Correction or withdrawal of bids; cancellation of awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before or after award, or cancellation of awards or contracts based on such bid mistakes, shall be permitted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the unified government administrator. After bid opening no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the unified government or fair competition shall be permitted. Except as otherwise provided by regulation, all decisions to permit the correction or withdrawal of bids, or to cancel awards or contracts based on bid mistakes, shall be supported by a written determination made by the purchasing director.

(g)

Award. The contract shall be awarded with reasonable promptness by written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder, who submits the best bid as determined by the unified government. In the event all bids for a construction project exceed available funds as certified by the appropriate fiscal officer, and the low responsive and responsible bid does not exceed such funds by more than five percent, the purchasing director or the head of a procuring agency is authorized in situations where time or economic considerations preclude resolicitation of work of a reduced scope, to negotiate an adjustment of the bid price, including changes in the bid requirements, with the low responsive and responsible bidder, in order to bring the bid within the amount of available funds.

(h)

Multi-step sealed bidding. When it is considered impractical to initially prepare a purchase description to support an award based on price, an invitation for bids may be issued requesting the submission of unpriced offers to be followed by an invitation for bids limited to those bidders whose offers have been qualified under the criteria set forth in the first solicitation.

(Ord. No. 64497, § 1(3-102), 6-27-1983)