§ 2-196. Procurement Methods.

Collier County's procurement methods may include, but are not limited to the following:

1.

Informal quotes may be solicited and awarded by designated Collier County employees as set forth in the Procurement Manual without public announcement and without formal competition.

2.

Request for Quote (RFQ) may be issued by either the Operating Division Staff or by the Procurement Staff. Any resulting contract shall be awarded to the responsible and responsive vendor submitting the lowest or best overall quote which meets all specifications.

3.

Invitations to Bid (ITB) shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director with public announcement and competition. Any resulting contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible bidder submitting the lowest or best overall bid which meets all specifications.

4.

Cooperative Purchasing.

a.

Piggybacking. The Procurement Services Director shall have the authority to procure goods or services from vendors who have been selected, as a result of a competitive selection process for a federal, state or municipal government, or any other governmental agency, political subdivision, or government-related association, provided that the originating entity utilized a competitive process similar to Collier County's. The Procurement Services Director shall annually bring forward to the Board of County Commissioners a list of recommended cooperatives for Board consideration.

b.

Consolidated Joint Purchasing. The Procurement Services Director shall have the authority to join with other government entities and consortiums in cooperative purchasing ventures when in the best interest of Collier County.

5.

Request for Proposals (RFP) shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director with public announcement and competition. Any resulting contract shall be awarded to the responsive and responsible proposer submitting the best proposal according to the criteria set forth in the solicitation.

6.

Request for Professional Services (RPS) shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director to procure professional engineering, architectural, landscape architectural or surveying and mapping services in accordance with the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA), F.S. § 287.055.

7.

Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director with public announcement and competition. An ITN is used when it is determined beneficial to issue a written solicitation for competitive sealed replies to select one or more vendors with which to conduct negotiations.

8.

Emergency Procurements may be used in the event of an unexpected and urgent need where health and safety or the conservation of public resources is at risk, or during Board absences (all efforts should be made to obtain Board approval prior to anticipated recesses), using such competition as is practical under the circumstances, as follows:

a.

Following a declaration of the existence of an emergency situation by the County, the Collier County Board of County Commissioners or their designee may declare the existence of an emergency procurement condition and may suspend any or all of the provisions of this article and authorize an emergency procurement.

b.

The Collier County Manager or his/her designee, on a case by case basis may approve an emergency purchase based upon the Procurement Services Director's good faith review of the available sources that may timely respond to the urgent need for goods and services and the documentation of the emergency conditions related to that purchase. Upon written determination and approval of the Collier County Manager, the emergency purchase may be made. The Collier County Manager will report to the Collier County Board of County Commissioners all such emergency procurements at the next available Board meeting.

c.

This section in no way constrains the provisions of Collier County's Civil Emergency powers and authority pursuant to F.S. ch. 252, Emergency Management.

9.

Invitation for Qualifications (IFQ) shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director when it is in Collier County's best interest to limit participation in the solicitation process to those bidders, proposers or offerors who demonstrate a capability to provide the goods and services required by the Collier County or when qualifications are the only criteria.

10.

Sole Source Procurement is a selection of one particular supplier to the exclusion of all others. This decision may be based on lack of competition, proprietary technology, copyright, warranty or a supplier's unique capability.

11.

Single Sourcing is a procurement decision whereby purchases are directed to one source because of standardization, warranty, or other factors, even though other competitive sources may be available.

12.

Reverse Auctions shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director when it is deemed to be the most efficient means of obtaining the best price through open competition.

13.

Requests for Information (RFI) shall be issued by the Procurement Services Director when it is in Collier County's best interest to request information from potential vendors prior to the issuance of a planned solicitation.

14.

It is the intent of the Board of County Commissioners to establish an amount of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) as the County's threshold for formal competitive solicitations to include IFB, RFP, RPS, ITN, IFQ, and Reverse Auctions administered under the supervision of the Procurement Services Director. Award of any resulting agreements or contracts shall be made by the Board except where otherwise provided for in this Procurement Ordinance or unless an exception is granted by the Board.

15.

Use of Past Performance Data: In order to promote the quality delivery of commodities and services, County departments shall record and consider the past performance of vendors in the award of contracts exceeding the competitive threshold. This objective shall be accomplished as follows:

a.

The Procurement Services Division shall be responsible for each of the following:

(1)

Developing, implementing and maintaining administrative procedures, instructions and technologies necessary to collect past vendor performance data.

(2)

Ensuring that relevant past performance data is properly gathered and considered prior to award of subsequent contracts.

b.

Operating departments shall be responsible for each of the following:

(1)

Conducting periodic performance evaluations of vendors under contract with the County pursuant to the procedures established in this Section.

(2)

Considering the past performance of vendors during the evaluation of bids and proposals pursuant to the procedures established in subsection 15.a.(2) of this Section.

(Ord. No. 2017-08, § 11)