§ 321-37. Bid; Award to Lowest and Best.

(a)

Selection of Lowest and Best in Award of City Contracts: Except where otherwise provided by ordinance, the city purchasing agent shall award a contract to the lowest and best bidder.

(b)

Environmentally Preferable Comparison Bids: In invitations to bid designated by the city purchasing agent as an environmentally preferable comparison bid, the city purchasing agent, in determining the lowest and best bid, shall deem as favorable the fact that the bidding company offers supplies that contain recycled material, and shall select such bidder as the lowest and best bidder if its bid does not exceed by more than five percent to a maximum of $25,000.00 any other lowest and otherwise qualified non-recycled bidder.

In such circumstances where more than one bidder offers supplies with recycled material that do not exceed by more than five percent to a maximum of $25,000.00 any other lowest and otherwise qualified non-recycled bidder, the city purchasing agent may consider all information otherwise relevant to determining which bid is lowest and best.

The decision of the city purchasing agent or designee, including whether the environmentally preferable product satisfies the bid requirements, shall be final in the determination of the award.

(c)

SLBE or ELBE Preferable Comparison Bids: In compliance with CMC Section 323-13, the city purchasing agent, in determining the lowest and best bid, may award a contract valued between $250,000 and $1,000,000 to a certified SLBE or a contract valued between $50,000 and $100,000 to a certified ELBE that submits a bid that is no more than ten percent greater than the lowest and otherwise best bid unless:

(1)

The award to the certified SLBE or ELBE would result in a total contract cost that is, on an annual basis, $25,000.00 or more higher than the lowest and otherwise best bid; or

(2)

The award to the certified SLBE or ELBE would cause the total contract cost to exceed the city's budgeted funding for the contract.

(d)

MBE or WBE Preferable Comparison Bids: In compliance with CMC Section 324-33, the city purchasing agent, in determining the lowest and best bid, may award a prime contract for non-professional services or supplies to a certified MBE or WBE that submits a bid that is no more than five percent greater than the lowest and otherwise best bid unless either of the following applies:

(1)

The award to the certified MBE or WBE would result in a total contract cost that is, on an annual basis, $25,000.00 or more higher than the lowest and otherwise best bid; or

(2)

The award to the certified MBE or WBE would cause the total contract cost to exceed the city's budgeted funding for the contract.

(e)

Factors to be Considered: Other factors that the city purchasing agent may consider in determining the lowest and best bid include, but are not limited to:

(1)

Information concerning the bidder's performance on prior and current contracts with the city;

(2)

Information concerning the bidder's current, past and proposed payment of prevailing wages;

(3)

Information concerning compliance with CMC Section 324-17(a)(2) or the "Subcontracting Outreach Program" rules and regulations issued by the city manager pursuant to CMC Section 323-37; or

(4)

Information concerning compliance with the contract participation goals and the subcontractor utilization program provided in CMC Sections 323-11, 323-17, 324-15 and 324-19.

(f)

In the event that the selection of the lowest and best bidder is based primarily upon factors 3 or 4 above, the contract award may be made subject to the following limitation: the bid may not exceed an otherwise qualified bid by ten percent or $25,000.00, whichever is lower.

Total Preference Percentages Permissible: The total accumulation of all preference percentages from all preference programs now in existence or hereafter established shall not exceed fifteen percent to a maximum of $75,000.00.

(Ordained by Ord. No. 426-1992, eff. Oct. 23, 1992; a. Ord. No. 11-1994, eff. 2-11-94; a. Ord. No. 141-1994, eff. 6-3-94; a. Ord. No. 398-2003, eff. 11-26-03; a. Emer. Ord. No. 177-2008, § 4, eff. June 29, 2008; Emer. Ord. No. 376-2015, § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2016)