A. Condition for Use. Contracts amounting to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or more shall be awarded by competitive sealed bidding except as otherwise provided in Section 3.08.140.

B. Invitation for Bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued in an efficient and economical manner to include specifications and all contractual terms and conditions applicable to the procurement.

C. Notice. Adequate notice of the invitation for bids shall be given at a reasonable time prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids. Such notice shall include publications in a local newspaper of general circulation in the county or through a means of central electronic advertising as approved by the chief procurement officer.

D. Receipt and Safeguarding of Bids. All bids (including modifications) received prior to the time of opening shall be kept secure and unopened, except as provided for by regulation of the Colleton County council.

E. 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 and in the manner prescribed by regulation. 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 tabulated. The tabulation shall be open for public inspection after contract award.

F. Bid Acceptance and Bid Evaluation. Bids shall be accepted unconditionally without alteration or correction, except as otherwise authorized in this code. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. No criteria may be used in bid evaluation that are not set forth in the invitation for bids. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids and in accordance with the regulations of the Colleton County council.

G. Correction or Withdrawal of Bids; Cancellation of Awards. Correction or withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids before bid opening, withdrawal of inadvertently erroneous bids after award, or cancellation and re-award of awards or contracts, after award but prior to performance may be permitted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the board. After bid opening no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the county 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, after award but prior to performance shall be supported by a written determination of appropriateness made by the chief procurement officer or head of a county department/division/unit.

H. Discussion with Bidders. As provided in the invitation for bids, discussions may be conducted with apparent responsive bidders for the purpose of clarification to assure full understanding of the requirements of the invitation for bids. All bids, in the procuring agency’s sole judgment, needing clarification shall be accorded such an opportunity. Clarification of any bidder’s bid must be documented in writing by the procurement officer and shall be included with the bid.

I. Tie Bids. If two or more bidders are tied in price while otherwise meeting all of the required conditions, awards are determined as follows:

1. If there is a South Carolina firm tied with an out-of-state firm, the award must be made automatically to the South Carolina firm.

2. Tie bids involving South Carolina produced or manufactured products, when known, and items produced or manufactured out of the state must be resolved in favor of the South Carolina commodity.

3. Tie bids involving South Carolina firms must be resolved in favor of the South Carolina firm located in the same taxing jurisdiction as the governmental body’s consuming location.

4. Tie bids involving South Carolina firms in the same taxing jurisdiction as the governmental body’s consuming location must be resolved by the flip of a coin in the office of the chief procurement officer or the head of a county department/division/unit or either officer’s designee witnessed by all interested parties.

5. In all other situations where bids are tied, the award will be made by the purchasing department/division/unit to the tied bidder offering the quickest delivery time, or if the bidders have offered the same delivery time, the tie shall be resolved by the flip of a coin in the office of the chief procurement officer or the head of the county department/division/ unit or either officer’s designee witnessed by all interested parties.

J. Award. Unless there is a compelling reason to reject bids as prescribed by regulation of the county council, notice of an intended award of a contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidders whose bid meets the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids shall be issued a award letter. Prior to the award letter, the procuring county department/division/unit may negotiate with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder to lower his bid within the scope of the invitation for bids.

K. Request for Qualifications. Prior to soliciting bids, the procuring department/division/ unit, acting through the authorized procurement officer, may issue a request for qualifications from prospective bidders. Such request shall contain at a minimum a description of the goods or services to be solicited by the invitation for bids, the general scope of the work, the deadline for submission of information, and how prospective bidders may apply for consideration. The request shall require information concerning the prospective bidders’ product specifications, qualifications, experience, and ability to perform the requirements of the contract. Adequate public notice of the request for qualifications shall be given in the manner provided in subsection (C) of this section. The use of the request for qualifications is subject to the approval of the Colleton County administrator or designee, the Colleton County administrative services director and/or the Colleton County finance director. After receipt of the responses to the request for qualifications from prospective bidders, the prospective bidders shall be ranked from most qualified to least qualified on the basis of the information provided. Bids shall then be solicited from at least the top two prospective bidders by means of an invitation for bids. The failure of a prospective bidder to be selected to receive the invitation for bids shall not be grounds for protest.

L. Provisions Not to Apply. The provisions of this section shall not apply to maintenance services for aircraft.

M. Minor Informalities and Irregularities in Bids. A minor informality or irregularity is one which is merely a matter of form or is some immaterial variation from the exact requirements of the invitation for bids having no effect or merely a trivial or negligible effect on total bid price, quality, quantity, or delivery of the supplies or performance of the contract, and the correction or waiver of which would not be prejudicial to bidders. The procurement officer shall either give the bidder an opportunity to cure any deficiency resulting from a minor informality or irregularity in a bid or waive any such deficiency when it is to the advantage of the county. Such communication or determination shall be in writing. Examples of minor informalities or irregularities include, but are not limited to:

1. Failure of a bidder to return the number of copies of signed bids required by the solicitation;

2. Failure of a bidder to furnish the required information concerning the number of the bidder’s employees or failure to make a representation concerning its size;

3. Failure of a bidder to sign its bid, but only if the firm submitting the bid has formally adopted or authorized the execution of documents by typewritten, printed, or rubber stamped signature and submits evidence of such authorization, and the bid carries such a signature or the unsigned bid is accompanied by other material indicating the bidder’s intention to be bound by the unsigned document, such as the submission of a bid guarantee with the bid or a letter signed by the bidder with the bid referring to and identifying the bid itself;

4. Failure of a bidder to furnish cut sheets or product literature;

5. Failure of a bidder to furnish certificates of insurance;

6. Failure of a bidder to furnish financial statements;

7. Failure of a bidder to furnish references;

8. Failure of a bidder to furnish its bidder number; and

9. Notwithstanding, the failure of a bidder to indicate his or her contractor’s license number or other evidence of licensure, provided that no contract shall be awarded to the bidder unless and until the bidder is properly licensed under the laws of South Carolina. (Ord. 03-O-04 (part), 2003)