7.1 Generally. A Procurement Official shall select the manner of procuring any supplies and services, and the official has broad discretion to choose the methods appropriate for a particular procurement. Generally, sealed proposals should be used to procure most professional services, and may otherwise be used as determined to be beneficial to the City. Offerors may first be prequalified using a request for qualifications or similar process.
7.2 Proposal Procedures. Each procurement unit may develop written proposal procedures that comply with the Procurement Code and Rules to guide operational matters.
7.3 Administration Process. An RFQ or RFP shall be administered in the following manner:
A. Selection Committee. A Procurement Official shall approve a selection committee to oversee the administration of an RFQ or RFP process, and shall notify the Chief Procurement Officer of the names of all persons serving on the committee. The selection committee shall be formed as follows:
1. Generally, the committee shall consist of an odd number of voting members that is not less than three, together with one nonvoting member. However, a Procurement Official has discretion to determine how many members will be on the committee, and whether any members will be nonvoting members.
2. Whenever possible, all voting members shall be persons with experience or expertise in the subject matter of the solicitation. They may be City employees, consultants to the City, or other members of the community. All committee members shall comply with federal, state and local ethics and conflict of interest requirements (see Procurement Rules Chapter 10), and any other restrictions relevant to forming the committee.
3. Whenever possible, at least one voting member shall be a City employee who shall work with the supplies or services being solicited after the award of the contract.
4. Whenever possible, a nonvoting committee member, or other committee member(s) as appropriate, shall be designated as a contact person or persons for communications with prospective offerors. The names of other committee members shall not be revealed to prospective offerors, and they shall not enter such communications.
5. Nonvoting member(s) of a committee, if any, shall assist the committee with negotiations and with administrative matters.
B. Submissions. Submissions shall be made as follows:
1. RFP Submissions. Prior to the solicitation, the Procurement Official or that person's delegee shall determine what materials must be submitted by respondents. Submissions may, but are not required to, include a price proposal, and the City shall specify how and when price proposals shall be delivered to the selection committee. At the City's discretion, costs or fees may be submitted as a range.
2. RFQ Submissions. Prior to the solicitation, the Procurement Official or that person's delegee shall determine what materials must be submitted by respondents. Submissions shall initially include qualifying information, and may, but are not required to, include a subsequent technical proposal and/or price proposal. The City may limit the persons who may submit a technical and/or price proposal to those who are short-listed by the selection committee. The City shall specify how and when technical and/or price proposals shall be delivered to the selection committee, and the City may issue a request for technical proposals or other materials giving guidance to offerors. At the City's discretion, costs or fees may be submitted as a range.
3. Effect of Submission. At the time when any submission is due, the proposal on record with the City at that time shall be a binding offer. The City may re-open the submission time period as it shall determine.
C. Opening and Evaluating Submissions. All submissions shall be opened privately to prevent disclosure of their contents or any confidential information. The City may use any fair and equitable means to assist the City in evaluating submissions and determining what is in the City's interest, including the following:
1. Discussions, Research and Revisions. The committee may conduct oral or written discussions with respondents through non-voting members of the committee or as otherwise directed by a Procurement Official. They also may conduct independent research, request additional information, or take other action. Offerors shall be accorded fair and equitable treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussions or revisions of proposals. The City may make any inquiries it desires to make during the solicitation process.
2. Interviews. The committee may conduct interviews with respondents, giving each equal opportunity to make a presentation to the committee.
3. Demonstrations. On an equitable basis, the committee may require any tests, demonstrations, examinations, submissions of additional information, or other matters which it may determine.
4. Negotiation/Discussion Guidelines. The Procurement Official, in consultation with the department director, city council, or other authority responsible for making a determination, shall designate who may discuss matters or negotiate on behalf of the City, and such person(s) shall be person(s) well suited to achieve the City's objectives. In the context of informing a selection committee of information submitted by offerors, that person will often be a non-voting member of the committee. For technical negotiations, that person will often be the City employee on the committee who will work with the supplies or services after an award of the contract. No parties other than those designated by the Procurement Official shall conduct discussions or negotiations. All discussions will be conducted in a manner to prevent the disclosure of any confidential information, or the disclosure of the contents of any proposal or other submission to any other person.
5. Evaluation. Each voting member of the committee shall evaluate and/or rank each response using an evaluation form prepared by a non-voting member of the committee, or prepared in such manner as the Procurement Official may direct. The criteria in the evaluation form shall assist the committee with examining the respondents' qualifications or determining what offer is most advantageous to the City in light of the needs described in City's request. If separate price proposals are submitted, normally the committee will not open price proposals before evaluating and/or ranking respondents.
6. Short Listing Respondents. The selection committee may form a short list of respondents who will be evaluated further. The selection committee shall select at least three respondents who appear to be qualified to perform work or submit offers to the City. If there are not three qualified respondents, a Procurement Official or department director responsible for the procurement may determine to negotiate with any qualified persons and make an award when in the City's interest. The Procurement Official may also cancel the solicitation, and may resolicit.
7.4 Selection Process. Selections shall be made as follows:
A. Ranking. After the selection committee has completed its evaluation, it shall rank all offers in the manner established by the Procurement Official. Submissions may be evaluated on the basis of ability to perform the work, with price to be established by negotiations with the best ranked offeror. However, before any price proposals are opened, the Procurement Official may determine to place additional weight on them.
B. Recommendation. After evaluating and ranking all offers, the selection committee shall submit such rankings to the department director, city council, or other authority responsible for making a determination. Such rankings shall be submitted in the manner directed by the Procurement Official, and shall constitute a recommendation based on the best judgment of the selection committee. The department director, city council, or other authority responsible for making a determination shall carefully consider the recommendation of the selection committee, and shall determine which offer is most advantageous to the City in light of the evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation materials and in the Procurement Code and Rules. Such determination shall constitute the top-ranked offeror, and other offerors may be ranked as necessary.
C. Negotiations and Award. When the City solicits a fixed bid price as a part of a proposal, negotiations over price are not necessary. Otherwise, the City may enter negotiations with the top-ranked offeror to obtain a favorable price, and may reject that offer if the City is not satisfied with the offer. If the City rejects an offer, it may proceed with negotiations with subsequently-ranked offerors in similar manner to obtain an acceptable offer, or may reject all offers. Any award shall be made by the department director, city council, or other authority responsible for making a determination, to the offeror proposing the offer that is most advantageous to the City in light of price and the evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation materials and in the Procurement Code and Rules.
7.5 Modifying or Withdrawing Proposals. Proposals or other submissions under this chapter may be modified or withdrawn at any time before the City accepts an offer as follows:
A. Modification. Any offeror prior to shortlisting, or a short-listed offeror thereafter, may modify a proposal at any time by delivering a written notice of the modification signed by the offeror. The modification must be set forth clearly.
B. Withdrawal. Upon providing proof of identity, an offeror may withdraw a proposal at any time by physically retrieving the proposal, or by delivering an original, signed notice that the proposal is withdrawn. The Procurement Official has sole discretion to determine whether to permit the release of any securities.
C. Delivery. It is solely the offeror's responsibility to properly deliver any written modification or withdrawal. Delivery must be made to the Procurement Official with responsibility for the proposal.
CURRENT REFERENCES: Salt Lake City Code §§ 3.24.100
PRE-1996 REFERENCES: Salt Lake City Procurement Policy 3.09.002 Part 4, 3.09.002(2), Salt Lake City Procurement Procedure 3.09.003(2)
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 21, 1997