§ 2-213. Debarment and Suspension.

The County Manager may suspend and/or debar vendors, contractors, consultants and other interested and affected persons from active participation in obtaining County contracts upon approval of the Board. The purpose of any such action shall be to protect the County's interests and the integrity of the County's contracting process. The suspension and debarment processes shall be considered to be separate from and in addition to the award evaluation and vendor performance evaluation processes authorized elsewhere in this Procurement Ordinance.

1.

Definition of Terms: For the purposes of this section, the following terms have been defined as follows:

a.

Affiliate refers to associated business entities or individuals that control or could control the contractor or are controlled by the contractor or could be controlled by the contractor.

b.

Civil Judgment refers to a judgment or finding of a civil offense by any court of competent jurisdiction.

c.

Contractor means any individual or legal entity that:

(1)

Directly or indirectly (e.g.; through an affiliate), submits offers for or is awarded, or reasonably may be expected to submit offers for or be awarded, a County contract for construction or for procurement of commodities and services, including professional services; or

(2)

Conducts business, or reasonably may be expected to conduct business, with the County as an agent, surety, representative or subcontractor of another contractor.

d.

Conviction means a judgment or conviction of a criminal offense, felony or misdemeanor, by any court of competent jurisdiction, whether entered upon a verdict or a plea, and includes a conviction entered upon a plea of nolo contendere.

e.

Debarment means action taken by the County to exclude a contractor from County contracting and County-approved subcontracting for a reasonable, specified period as provided herein.

f.

Preponderance of the Evidence means proof by information that, compared with that opposing it, leads to the conclusion that the fact at issue is more probably true than not.

g.

Subcontractor: Any individual or legal entity that offers or agrees to provide commodities or services to a party deemed to be a contractor under this section.

h.

Suspension refers to action taken by the County Manager to temporarily disqualify a contractor from County contracting or County-approved subcontracting pending action of the Board.

2.

Suspension: The Procurement Services Director shall recommend to the County Manager the suspension of a contractor, subcontractor or person from consideration for award of contracts if there appears to be a reasonable basis for debarment as set forth herein. If a suspension precedes a debarment, the suspension period shall be considered in determining the debarment period. The suspension period shall not exceed six (6) months without the approval of the Board of County Commissioners.

3.

Debarment:

a.

Causes for Debarment: The prospective causes for debarment include one or more of the following:

(1)

Conviction for commission of a criminal offense as an incident to obtaining or attempting to obtain a public or private contract or subcontract, or in the performance of such contract or subcontract.

(2)

Conviction under state or federal law of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, receiving stolen property, or any other offense indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty which currently, seriously and directly affects responsibility as a contractor.

(3)

Conviction under state or federal antitrust laws arising out of the submission of bids, proposals or other competitive offers.

(4)

Violation(s) of County contract(s) provisions, which is (are) deemed to be serious and to warrant debarment, including the failure, without good cause, to perform in accordance with the terms, conditions, specifications, scope, schedule or any other provisions of the contract(s).

(5)

Refusal to provide bonds, insurance or other required coverage and certifications thereof within a reasonable time period.

(6)

Refusal to accept a purchase order, agreement or contract, or perform accordingly provided such order was issued timely and in conformance with the solicitation and offer received.

(7)

Presence of principals or corporate officers in the business of concern, who were principals within another business at the time when the other business was suspended or debarred within the last three (3) years under the provisions of this section.

(8)

Violation of the ethical standards set forth under applicable state or county laws.

(9)

Debarment of the contractor by another public agency.

(10)

Submitting false invoices or invoices that mislead, misrepresent the true costs incurred or falsely identify either a source of material or a provider of a service.

(11)

Any other cause deemed to be so serious and compelling as to materially affect the qualifications or integrity of the contractor.

b.

Procedure:

(1)

The county department requesting the suspension or debarment action shall submit to the Procurement Services Director a written complaint setting forth the reason(s) for seeking debarment.

(2)

The Procurement Services Director shall review the complaint, verify whether it is compliant with the provision of this Procurement Ordinance, direct any appropriate changes and forward the complaint to the contractor.

(3)

The contractor shall review the complaint and shall provide a written response (with supporting documentation) to each allegation. The response shall be provided to the Procurement Services Director within ten (10) business days of receipt of the notice of allegations. In the event that the contractor fails to respond to the complaint within the prescribed time period, the complaint, as forwarded to the contractor, shall become an effective suspension or debarment decision without further appeal.

(4)

In the event that the contractor files a timely and complete response to the complaint and the suspension or debarment action is based upon a conviction, judgment or other event(s) where there is no significant dispute over material facts, the Procurement Services Director shall determine the period of debarment on the basis of the undisputed material information set forth or referenced in the complaint, the contractor's reply and the parameters set forth in this section. In the event that the Contractor objects to the Procurement Services Director's recommendation, the Contractor shall have a maximum of three (3) business days to file an appeal of the debarment decision with the Procurement Services Director. The appeal will be forwarded to and considered by the County Manager, who will review the record compiled by the initiating department and the contractor. Should the County Manager overturn the Procurement Services Director's decision; the County Manager shall formally cite the reasons for doing so.

(5)

In the event that the contractor files a timely and complete reply to the complaint and where the facts are in dispute, the Procurement Services Director will convene a committee (hereinafter referred to as "the committee") consisting of at least three individuals who will review the complaint and the contractor's reply. The County Manager shall formally appoint the committee, which will generally consist of county employees, none of whom shall be a member of the department initiating the complaint. At the discretion of the County Manager, a member from private industry with a particular area of relevant expertise may be appointed to the committee, provided that this member is not a direct or indirect competitor of the firm in question. The Office of the County Attorney shall appoint a representative to attend the committee's review of the findings. The representative shall not be considered a voting member of the committee, but shall be available to provide legal counsel to the committee as necessary. All members appointed to serve on the debarment committee shall disclose, to the Procurement Services Director any actual or prospective conflicts of interest at the time of appointment or at the time in which the member becomes aware of the actual or prospective conflict.

(6)

The Procurement Services Director shall chair the committee and serve as the Procurement Department's representative to the committee. The Procurement Services Director shall preside over and facilitate the deliberations of the committee as a non-voting member and serve as the County's liaison to the Contractor. All voting committee members are prohibited from having any communication regarding the issue outside the committee deliberations with any of the parties involved in the specific suspension or debarment or their representatives until after the committee decision has been issued or, in the event of an appeal of that decision by the contractor, until the conclusion of the appeal process. All committee deliberations are subject to F.S. § 286.011.

(7)

Where the material facts are in dispute, the committee shall evaluate the evidence, judge the credibility of witnesses and base its decision upon the preponderance of the evidence. Should the contractor fail to appear at the hearing, the contractor shall be presumed to be unresponsible and or non-responsive and shall be subject to suspension or debarment. The committee decision shall be by a majority vote of those voting members in attendance. The committee shall be the sole trier of fact. In the event that the committee decides to impose a debarment, the decision will formally include, but not be strictly limited to the following information:

(i)

The specific reasons for the action;

(ii)

The scope of the debarment; and

(iii)

The period of debarment, including the effective and expiration dates.

The committee's decision shall be issued in writing within 20 business days of the conclusion of the hearing unless the committee extends this period for good cause.

(8)

The Procurement Services Director shall forward the committee's decision to the contractor and affiliates involved. Should the contractor object to the committee's decision, the contractor shall have a maximum of three (3) business days to file an appeal of the decision with the Procurement Services Director. The appeal will be forwarded to and considered by the County Manager, who will review the record compiled by the initiating department, the contractor and the committee. Should the County Manager overturn the committee's decision; the County Manager shall formally cite the reasons for doing so.

Final recommendation for debarment shall be approved by the Board.

c.

Debarment Period:

(1)

The committee shall recommend the period of debarment. The debarment period shall be commensurate with the severity of the cause(s) and approved by the Board.

(2)

The committee (having the same or different composition) may recommend to the Board a reduction in the debarment period upon a written request from the contractor to do so, based on one or more of the following reasons:

(i)

Newly discovered material evidence;

(ii)

A reversal of the conviction, civil judgment or other action upon which the debarment was based;

(iii)

Bona fide change in ownership or management;

(iv)

Elimination of other causes for which the debarment was imposed; or

(v)

Other reasons that the committee might deem appropriate.

The contractor's request shall be submitted to the Procurement Services Director in writing and shall be based on one or more of the aforementioned reasons.

(3)

The decision of the Board regarding a reduction of the debarment period is final and not subject to appeal.

d.

The Effects of Debarment:

(1)

Debarred contractors are excluded from receiving County contracts. Departments shall not solicit offers from, award contracts to, or consent to subcontractors with debarred contractors. Debarred contractors are excluded from conducting business with the County as agents, representatives, subcontractors or partners of other contractors.

(2)

The Procurement Services Division-shall maintain a list of firms places under a Suspended or Debarred category and shall make that list known as a public record.

(3)

Divisions may not renew or otherwise extend the duration of current contracts with debarred contractors in place at the time of the debarment unless the Board determines that it is in the best interests of the County to allow the contractor to continue or finish the work within an additional, limited period of time.

(4)

When a debarred contractor is proposed as a subcontractor for any subcontract subject to County approval, the department shall not consent to subcontracts with such contractors.

(5)

The County shall not be responsible for any increases in contract costs or other expenses incurred by a contractor as a result of rejection of proposed subcontractors, provided that the subcontractor was debarred prior to the submission of the applicable bid or proposal offer.

e.

The Scope of Debarment: Debarment applies to all officers, Directors, Managers, principals, Procurement Services Directors, partners, qualifiers, divisions or other organizational elements of the debarred contractor, unless the debarment decision is limited by its terms to specific divisions, organizational elements or commodity/services. The committee's decision includes any existing affiliates of the contractor if they are specifically named and are given written notice of the proposed debarment and an opportunity to respond. Future affiliates of the contractor are subject to the pre-existing terms of the committee's decision.

(Ord. No. 2017-08, § 28)