As used in this chapter, the following terms shall be defined
as follows:
ADDENDUM
A written change to an invitation for bids.
ALTERNATE BID
A dollar amount to be added to or subtracted from the base
bid price. The Director of Purchasing may request alternate bid prices
in order to compare various options that may be in the County's
best interest.
AWARD
A determination, after review, that a certain vendor will
be given the contract.
BID
A price submitted by a vendor for a product, service, or
construction.
BIDDER
Any person who submits a quote, proposal or bid.
CAROLINE COUNTY GOVERNMENT
The County Commissioners of Caroline County, Maryland, and
all departments under their authority and, for the purposes of purchasing,
the Caroline County Health Department.
CONDITIONAL BID
A bid submitted by a bidder on which the bidder has made
certain conditions for acceptance that are contrary to the conditions
of the IFB or that were not requested in the IFB.
CONTRACT
A legal agreement between a vendor and the County.
COUNTY
Caroline County, Maryland, a body corporate and politic.
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
The chief administrative officer for Caroline County, appointed by the County Commissioners and described in Chapter
18, §
18-7, of the Caroline County Code and as may be amended from time to time.
DEBARMENT
An action taken by the County to bar a vendor from doing
business with the County for a period of time.
DEBARMENT PANEL
A hearing body to which debarment decisions of the Director
of Purchasing can be appealed by the debarred vendor.
DEPARTMENT
Any functional division of the Caroline County government
and the Caroline County Health Department.
DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING
The County Administrator or any County employee so designated
by the County Administrator.
EMERGENCY
A sudden and unexpected occurrence or condition which the
County Commissioners reasonably could not foresee, posing an actual
and immediate threat to the continuance of essential normal operation
of a County agency or the need to cope with a public exigent condition.
FORMAL BID
A sealed bid for goods, services, or construction.
INCIDENTAL PURCHASE
The purchase of goods or services where the total value is
less than $1,000.
IN-COUNTY BIDDER
A bidder whose principal place of business is located in
Caroline County, Maryland. Determination of an in-County bidder shall
be made in the sole and exclusive discretion of the Director of Purchasing.
INVITATION FOR BIDS
A document or collection of documents or materials constituting
a solicitation for proposals or bids.
LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BIDDER
The bidder who has submitted the lowest price, has met all
specifications, qualifications, and requirements of an invitation
for bids, and is capable of carrying out the terms of the contract
as determined by the Director of Purchasing or his or her designee.
MAJOR PURCHASE
The purchase of goods, services or construction where the
total value is equal to or greater than $40,000.
MINOR IRREGULARITY
One which is merely a matter of form and not of substance
or pertains to some immaterial or inconsequential defect or variation
of a bid or proposal from the exact requirement of the solicitation,
the correction or waiver of which would not be prejudicial to the
other bidders as determined by the Director of Purchasing.
MINOR PURCHASE
The purchase of goods, services or construction where the
total value is less than $40,000 but equal to or greater than $1,000.
OPEN PURCHASE ORDER
An open purchase order effective for a stated period of time
and not to exceed stated dollar limits to which miscellaneous individual
similar purchases can be charged.
OUT-OF-COUNTY BIDDER
A bidder whose principal place of business is not located
in Caroline County, Maryland. Determination of an out-of-County bidder
shall be made in the sole and exclusive discretion of the Director
of Purchasing.
PERSON
An individual, corporation, partnership of any kind, limited
liability company, trust, unincorporated association, unincorporated
business, or any other form of business or entity of any kind, whether
or not recognized under the laws of the State of Maryland.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Services provided by physicians, auditors, attorneys, architects,
engineers, graphic designers, consultants or other individuals or
organizations possessing a high degree of technical skill.
PROPOSAL
The written submission of a firm price other than by sealed
bid.
PURCHASING AGENT
Any individual designated a Purchasing Agent pursuant to
this chapter.
PURCHASING CARD
A credit card, debit card, or other similar authority enabling
a Purchasing Agent, department head, or other authorized individual
to purchase materials, supplies, or services on and for the County's
account as provided for in this chapter.
QUOTE
The oral submission of a price.
SEALED BID
The secret submission of a price that will be opened and
read aloud in a public meeting.
SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE
The purchase of goods, services, or construction from a single
vendor without competitive bid or quotes.
SOLICITATION
The act of seeking bids, proposals, or qualifications from
potential vendors.
TIE BID
Responsive bids from bidders that are identical in price,
terms and conditions and which meet all the requirements and evaluation
criteria set forth in the invitation for bids.
VENDOR
A supplier of goods, services or construction.
VENDOR LIST
A list of qualified vendors maintained by the County.
The following procedures shall be used for routine purchasing
or lease-purchase of goods, services, and construction.
A. Incidental
purchases. While seeking three or more verbal or written bids is recommended,
it is not required.
B. Minor
purchases up to $5,000. Three or more verbal bids are required. Verbal
bids must be documented and are subject to internal audit.
C. Minor
purchase between $5,001 and $20,000. Three or more written bids are
required.
D. Minor
purchases between $20,001 and $40,000. Three or more written proposals
are required where such proposals shall be sent to the Director of
Purchasing, the Director of Finance or a designee.
E. Major
purchases. Three or more sealed bids are required.
The following procedures may be used for purchasing of goods,
services, and construction under the specific circumstances described
therein:
A. Cooperative (piggyback) purchases. As a matter of policy, the County
strongly supports cooperative purchasing. This includes the authority
to purchase goods, services and construction and the ability to enter
into contracts based on existing purchasing, procurement, or contracts
of other units of government, including but not limited to the federal
government, the State of Maryland, other Maryland counties and municipalities,
neighboring local or state governments whether or not such contracts
have specifically provided for such cooperative purchasing. Cooperative
purchasing or contracts may be done when determined by the Director
of Purchasing or his or her designee to be in the County's interest.
B. Emergency purchases. In the event of an emergency, the President
of the Board of County Commissioners shall have the power to suspend
requirements of this chapter for such purchases and contracts to secure
such goods or services as deemed immediately necessary to protect
public health, safety, and welfare. After any instance where the requirements
of this chapter are suspended in the event of an emergency, the President
and Director of Purchasing shall make a full report to the Board regarding
any and all such expenditures at the next scheduled Commissioners'
meeting.
C. Sole source. Sole source purchasing may be authorized when 1) only
one specific good or service will produce the desired result or is
the most appropriate for a given situation; 2) the good or services
is only available from one source; and 3) the use of such sole source
is economically feasible and operationally in the County's best
interest. A request for sole source purchase shall be submitted to
the Director of Purchasing and shall include a comprehensive justification.
When a sole source purchase is approved, only the President of the
Board of Commissioners, the Director of Purchasing, or the Director's
designee shall be authorized to sign the contract and/or purchase
order.
D. Professional services. Contracts involving professional services,
such as accounting, architecture, auditing, engineering, law, planning
and surveying may be negotiated by the Director of Purchasing or a
designee rather than competitively bid, with the approval of the County
Commissioners.
E. Service, repair, and maintenance contracts. The nature of service
and repair contracts may make it impractical to solicit prices by
invitation for bids. Therefore, the Director of Purchasing or his
or her designee may request proposals rather than engage in a formal
bid process. The Director of Purchasing may consider ongoing vendor
relationships in the selection process, as well as other appropriate
criteria to justify the final selection.
F. Services price fixed by law. Services for which the rate or price
is fixed by a public authority authorized by law to fix rates or prices
may be purchased without competitive bidding.
G. Lease or purchase of real estate. Because of the nature of limited
availability of real property and the specific needs of the County,
leases for real property may be made through direct negotiation by
the Director of Purchasing and are not otherwise subject to the provisions
of this chapter. Leases and fee simple purchases for real property
shall be approved by the County Commissioners.
The County Commissioners reserve the right to show preference
to local bidders in the purchase, lease, or lease-purchase of goods,
services, and construction. The amount of preference shall not exceed
5% in purchases up to or equaling $100,000 and 2.5% in purchases greater
than $100,000. Any in-County bidder in default on payment of any County
or state tax shall not be eligible to receive preference until all
taxes due are paid.
Mistakes made by County officials or employees during the purchasing
process which do not substantially affect the purchase, but which
are contrary to the provisions of this chapter may be waived by the
County Commissioners or the Director of Purchasing at their discretion.
Mistakes shall not include unauthorized purchases.
No contract or purchase shall be subdivided to avoid the requirements
of this chapter.
The Director of Purchasing or his or her designee shall ensure
proper inspection and review of all goods, services, and construction,
and shall determine conformance with specifications or requirements
set forth in bid documents, purchase orders, and/or contracts. The
Director of Purchasing, department heads, Purchasing Agents, or individuals
to whom such duties may be delegated shall indicate the receipt and
acceptance of goods, services, or construction by completion of a
receiving form as provided by the Office of Finance.
The Director of Purchasing, Purchasing Agents, department heads, and every official and employee of the County are expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded any rebate, gift, money or anything of value whatsoever, except where given for the use or benefit of the County, or except as otherwise allowed under the County's Code of Ethics as embodied in Chapter
33 of this Code.
Unless otherwise directed by the Director of Purchasing, all
material relevant to purchases made pursuant to this chapter shall
be maintained by the department at whose direction or upon whose behalf
a contract for goods or services is made. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
all documentation required to be submitted to the Director of Purchasing
or to the Director of Finance shall be so submitted with originals
or copies, as the case may be, to be retained by such department,
including, but not limited to, titles, registrations, warranties,
and instructional and operating manuals. Wherever possible, such materials
shall be referenced to the applicable item or service and the contract
relating thereto.
The Director of Purchasing is authorized to prepare a purchasing
manual and additional regulations as necessary where such manual and
additional regulations may be adopted by the County Commissioners
by resolution.
Whenever in the Code of Public Local Laws of Caroline County,
or in any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder or pursuant thereto,
reference is made to the "Purchasing Officer," such reference shall
be deemed to be to the "Director of Purchasing" as if the same had
been originally placed or substituted therefore in such provision.