3.8.010 Definitions

As used in this part, the following definitions apply:

"Cost-reimbursement contract" means a contract under which a contractor is reimbursed for costs which are allowable and allocable in accordance with the contract terms and the provisions of this chapter and a fee, if any.

"Established catalog price" means the price included in a catalog price list, schedule, or other form that:

1. Is regularly maintained by a manufacturer or contractor;
2. Is either published or otherwise available for inspection by customers; and
3. States prices at which sales are currently or were last made to a significant number of any category of buyers or buyers constituting the general buying public for the supplies or services involved.

"Invitation for bids" means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting bids.

"Purchase description" means the words used in a solicitation to describe the supplies or services to be purchased and includes specifications attached to or made a part of the solicitation.

"Request for proposals" means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting proposals.

"Responsible bidder or offeror" means a person who has the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability which will assure good faith performance.

"Term contract" means a contract in which supplies or services are purchased at a predetermined unit price for a specific period of time.

3.8.020 Methods of source selection

1. Unless otherwise authorized by law, all City contracts for supplies and services must be awarded by competitive sealed bidding, pursuant to 3.08.030, except as provided in 3.08.040 through 3.08.060. Supplies or services offered for sale, lease, or rental by public utilities are exempt from this requirement if the prices of the supplies or services are regulated by the Public Service Commission or other governmental authority.
2. At the time the City or a department opens bids or proposals, if a supplier's current publicly advertised or established catalog price is received at or before the time the bids or proposals are opened and is less than the bid of the lowest responsible and responsive bidder or offeror or improves upon the conditions for the best proposal received using the same factors and weights included in the proposal, the department or purchasing agency may reject all bids and purchase the supply from that supplier without meeting the requirements of 3.08.030 through 3.08.060.
3. An office supply procured through bulk purchase or procured under a term contract may be purchased, without meeting the requirements of 3.08.030 through 3.08.060, from a supplier whose publicly advertised or established catalog price is less than the price offered by or under the term contract. A City office supply term contract must include a provision by which the contracting parties acknowledge and agree to the provisions of this subsection.

3.8.030 Competitive sealed bidding

1. An invitation for bids must be issued and must include a purchase description and conditions applicable to the procurement.
2. Adequate public notice of the invitation for bids must be given a reasonable time prior to the date set forth therein for the opening of bids, in the same manner as provided in 7-5-4302 MCA. Notice may include publication in a newspaper of general circulation at a reasonable time prior to bid opening.
3. Bids must be opened publicly in the presence of one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids. Each bidder has the right to be present, either in person or by agent, when the bids are opened and has the right to examine and inspect all bids. The amount of each bid and such other relevant information as may be specified by rule, together with the name of each bidder, must be recorded. The record must be open to public inspection after the time of award at the City Clerk's Office.
4. Bids must be unconditionally accepted without alteration or correction, except as authorized in this chapter. Bids must be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability, such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award must be objectively measurable, such as discounts, transportation costs, and total or life-cycle costs.
5. After bid opening no changes in bid prices or other provisions of bids prejudicial to the interest of the City or fair competition may be permitted.
6. The contract must be awarded with reasonable promptness by written notice to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids. If all bids exceed available appropriated funds and the low responsive and responsible bid does not exceed such funds by more than 5%, the director is authorized in situations where time or economic considerations preclude re-solicitation of a reduced scope to negotiate an adjustment of the bid price, including changes in the bid requirements, with the low responsive and responsible bidder in order to bring the bid within the amount of available appropriated funds.

3.8.040 Competitive sealed proposals

1. When, not required by law, the City Manager or a department head determines in writing that the use of competitive sealed bidding is either not practicable or not advantageous to the City, a contract may be entered into by competitive sealed proposals.
2. Proposals must be solicited through a request for proposals.
3. Adequate public notice of the request for proposals must be given in the same manner as provided in 7-5-4302(2) MCA.
4. Proposals must be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing offerors during the process of negotiation. A register of proposals must be prepared and open for public inspection at the City Clerk’s Office after contract award.
5. The request for proposals must state the relative importance of price and other evaluation factors.
6. As provided in the request for proposals, discussions may be conducted with responsible offerors who submit apparently responsive proposals for the purpose of clarification, to assure full understanding of and responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. Offerors must be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals, and such revisions may be permitted, after submissions and prior to award, for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers. In conducting discussions, there may be no disclosure of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors. The City may require the submission of cost or pricing data in connection with an award under this section.
7. The award must be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration price, including the preference in 18-1-102 MCA, and the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals. No other factors or criteria may be used in the evaluation. The contract file shall contain the basis on which the award is made.

3.8.050 Small purchases

1. Any procurement not exceeding the amount established by 7-5-4302 MCA may be made in accordance with the procedures developed by the City Manager or his/her designee.
2. Procurement requirements may not be artificially divided so as to avoid compliance with the prescribed procedures developed in compliance with this section. (Ord. 2893, 2004; Ord. 2655, 1993)

3.8.060 Sole source procurement – records

A contract may be awarded for a supply or service item without competition when the City Manager or a department head determines in writing that there is only one source for the required supply or service item. The City may require the submission of cost or pricing data in connection with an award under this section.

3.8.070 Cancellation of invitations for bids or requests for proposals

An invitation for bids, a request for proposals or other solicitation may be canceled or any or all bids or proposals may be rejected in whole or in part, when it is in the best interests of the City. The option to cancel or reject shall apply whether or not it is specified in the solicitation.

3.8.080 Non-responsibility of bidders and offerors - nondisclosure

A written determination of non-responsibility of a bidder or offeror must be made and filed with the City Clerk. The unreasonable failure of a bidder or offeror to promptly supply information in connection with an inquiry with respect to responsibility may be grounds for a determination of non-responsibility with respect to such bidder or offeror.

3.8.090 Types of contracts

Subject to the limitations of this section, any type of contract that will promote the best interests of the City may be used, except that the use of a cost-plus-percentage-of-cost contract is prohibited. A cost-reimbursement contract may be used only when a determination is made in writing that such contract is likely to be less costly to the City than any other type or that it is impracticable to obtain the supplies or services required except under such a contract.

3.8.100 Approval of accounting system

Except with respect to firm fixed-price contracts, no contract type may be used unless it has been determined by the City that:

1. The proposed contractor's accounting system will permit timely development of all necessary cost data in the form required by the specific contract type contemplated; and
2. The proposed contractor's accounting system is adequate to allocate costs in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

3.8.110 Bid and contract performance security

1. For City contracts for the procurement of services in the amount established by 7-5-4302 MCA or less or of supplies, the City may in its discretion require the filing of:
   1. Bid security;
   2. Contract performance security to guarantee the faithful performance of the contract and the payment of all laborers, suppliers, material-men, mechanics, and subcontractors; or
   3. Both bid and contract performance security.
2. For City contracts for the procurement of services exceeding the amount established by 7-5-4302 MCA, the department shall require bid security and contract performance security, except small or sole source purchases as described in this chapter.
3. If security is required under subsection (1) or (2), the following types of security may be required to be made payable to and deposited with the City:
   1. A good and sufficient bond with a licensed surety company as surety;
   2. An irrevocable letter of credit not to exceed $100,000 in accordance with the provisions of Title 30, Chapter 5, part 1 MCA;
   3. Lawful money of the United States;
   4. A cashier's check, certified check, bank money order, or bank draft, any of which must be drawn or issued by any banking corporation incorporated under the laws of Montana or by a banking association located in Montana; or
   5. Certificates of deposit or money market certificates not to exceed $100,000 issued by any bank or savings and loan association licensed to do business in Montana.
4. The amount and type of the security mentioned above must be determined by the City to be sufficient to cover the risk, except that the same shall not be less than 10% of the bid price for bid security and 25% of the total contract price for contract performance security, and must be payable to the City of Great Falls. In determining the amount and type of contract performance security required for each contract, the City shall consider the nature of the performance and the need for future protection. In determining the need for an amount of bid security, the City shall consider the risks involved if a successful bidder or offeror fails to enter into a formal contract; such considerations shall include but are not limited to the type of supply or service being procured, dollar amount of the proposed contract, or delivery time requirements. The City may adopt rules to assist it in making these determinations and in dealing with irrevocable letters of credit. Bid and contract security requirements must be included in the invitations for bids or requests for proposals.
5. If a bidder or offeror to whom a contract is awarded fails or refuses to enter into the contract or provide contract performance security as required by the invitation for bid or request for proposal, after notification of award, the City may, at its discretion, require the bidder to forfeit the bid security to the City and become immediately liable on the bid bond, but not in excess of the sum stated therein. The liability of the bidder or offeror, the liability of the maker of the security or bid bond, or the liability on the bid bond shall not exceed the amount specified in the invitation for bid or request for proposal.
6. Negotiable instruments provided as bid security must be refunded to those bidders or offerors whose bids or proposals are not accepted.

3.8.120 Contracts - terms, extensions, and time limits

1. A contract, lease or rental agreement may be extended or renewed if the terms of the extension or renewal, if any, are included in the solicitation and funds are available for the first fiscal period at the time of the agreement. Payment and performance obligations for succeeding fiscal periods are subject to the availability and appropriation of funds therefore.
2. Prior to the extension or renewal of a contract, it must be determined in writing that:
   1. Estimated requirements cover the period of the contract and are reasonably firm and continuing; and
   2. The contract will serve the best interests of the City by encouraging effective competition or otherwise promoting economies in state procurement.
3. When funds are not appropriated or otherwise made available to support continuation of performance in a subsequent fiscal period, the contract must be canceled.

3.8.130 Reporting of anti-competitive practices

If for any reason collusion or other anticompetitive practices are suspected among any bidders or offerors, a notice of the relevant facts shall be transmitted to the Attorney General by the City.

3.8.140 Insurance requirements and limits

All bid specifications must contain a description of the required insurance and limits as pertains to the type of contract being let for bid. Work may not commence until such certificates of insurance and any endorsements are received, reviewed and accepted by the City.