There is hereby established a mandatory administrative dispute resolution process applicable to any procurement in the county of Inyo in which formal or informal bids or quotes are collected as part of the procurement process.
(Ord. 1285 § 2, 2022)
1.
Only an individual or entity who has submitted a bid or a quote is eligible to submit a bid protest. Subcontractors are not eligible to submit bid protests. A bidder may not rely on the bid protest submitted by another bidder, but must timely pursue its own protest.
2.
All protests must be received within ten calendar days of the date of the written notification of the award. Materials submitted after the deadline will not be considered.
3.
Protests must be in writing and contain a complete statement of the basis for the protest and all supporting documentation. The protest must refer to the specific alleged irregularity upon which the protest is based. The protest must include the name, address, email, and telephone number of the person representing the protesting bidder if different from the protesting bidder.
4.
No hearing shall be provided unless requested by the protester in writing or deemed necessary by the purchasing officer. Any hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth in Section 22.12.040(E).
5.
A copy of the protest and all supporting documents must be transmitted by mail or by e-mail, by or before the bid protest deadline, to the county purchasing agent. Because protests must be received within ten days of the notification of the award, it is strongly recommended that notifications be transmitted via email.
6.
A copy of the protest must also be sent to the physical and email address to which the bid in question was submitted.
7.
The purchasing officer shall make a decision concerning the appeal, and notify the proposer making the appeal, within twenty days of the submission of the protest. The decision of county's purchasing director shall be deemed final.
(Ord. 1285 § 2, 2022)