Item O6
3
CM
ounty of onroe
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Mayor George Neugent, District 2
Mayor Pro Tem David Rice, District 4
TheFloridaKeys
Danny L. Kolhage, District 1
Heather Carruthers, District 3
Sylvia J. Murphy, District 5
County Commission Meeting
February 15, 2017
Agenda Item Number: O.6
Agenda Item Summary #2662
BULK ITEM: DEPARTMENT:
Yes County Attorney's Office
TIME APPROXIMATE:STAFF CONTACT:
Bob Shillinger (305) 292-3470
None.
AGENDA ITEM WORDING:
Approval to advertise for a public hearing to consider an ordinance
amending Sec. 2-347 to add investigative services to the class of services currently eligible for
exemption from competitive bidding and amending Sec. 2-346 to provide a definition of
"investigative services".
ITEM BACKGROUND:
At the January 18, 2017 BOCC meeting, the Board authorized the
currently eligible for exemption from competitive bidding. The proposed ordinance would add
xempt from the requirements of
competitive bidding found in Section 2-
expertise in a particular field or type of investigation is of significant importance as opposed to price,
which is a minor concern when compared to competency and qualitative considerations.
This item requests the Board schedule a public hearing to consider adoption of the proposed
ordinance and authorizes the County Attorney to advertise the scheduled public hearing providing an
opportunity for public input.
PREVIOUS RELEVANT BOCC ACTION:
1/18/17 BOCC (N-1 County Attorney Report) Board
authorized the County Attorney to draft a propo
class of services currently eligible for exemption from competitive bidding
CONTRACT/AGREEMENT CHANGES:
N/A
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Approval to advertise a public hearing to be held at the March
15, 2017 BOCC meeting in Key Largo, FL at 3:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as may be heard.
DOCUMENTATION:
Proposed Ordinance exempting Investigative services from competitive bidding
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Sec. 2-346 and 2-347, MCC (Current)
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Effective Date: N/A
Expiration Date: N/A
Total Dollar Value of Contract: N/A
Total Cost to County: Advertising costs
Current Year Portion:
Budgeted:
Yes
Source of Funds:
CPI: N/A
Indirect Costs: None
Estimated Ongoing Costs Not Included in above dollar amounts: N/A
Revenue Producing: No If yes, amount:
Grant:
N/A
County Match
: N/A
Insurance Required:
N/A
Additional Details:
REVIEWED BY:
Bob Shillinger Completed 01/31/2017 1:26 PM
Budget and Finance Completed 01/31/2017 1:58 PM
Kathy Peters Completed 01/31/2017 4:49 PM
Board of County Commissioners Pending 02/15/2017 9:00 AM
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'966)28'3928='3()
Sec. 2-346. - Definitions.
Addendum.Additional directions or modifications during the county procurement process to a
solicitation which is issued as a separate advisory document after issuance of such solicitation by the
purchasing director or his designee.
Competitive bidding.Two or more bids or proposals submitted for the same item or services by
responsible bidders.
Competitive solicitation.Request for bids (RFB), request for proposals (RFP), request for
qualifications (RFQ), requests for applications (RFA), request for information (RFI) or any other
competitive solicitations authorized by general law to be exercised by non-charter counties.
Consultant's Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA).The official name for F.S. § 287.055, relating to
the procurement of architectural, engineering, landscape architecture, and registered land surveying
services. These services shall be procured by request for qualifications, and competitive selection and
negotiation.
Contract.A written agreement between two or more competent parties to perform or not perform a
specific act or acts. Any type of agreement regardless of what it is called for the procurement or disposal
of supplies, services or construction.
Contractor.Any person or firm having a contract with the county.
County.Monroe County, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, or any of its authorized
representatives pursuant to ordinance, resolution, or administrative code.
Department head.The person responsible for the operations of the department and employees
within that department.
Evaluation or selection committee.The committee approved to review offers and responses to
requests for proposals (RFP) and requests for qualifications (RFQ) inaccordance with the policies and
procedures of the purchasing department, and when required, in accordance with the State of Florida
Competitive Consultants Negotiation Act (CCNA).
Legal services.Services of legal counsel authorized by the office of thecounty attorney, including,
but not limited to, expert witnesses, conflict counsel, division of administrative hearings (DOAH) services
and other services required by the office of the county attorney.
OMB.The county's office of management and budget.
Pre-bid conference (or pre-proposal conference).A meeting held with prospective bidders prior to
solicitation of or the date for receipt of bids or proposals, to recognize state of the art limits, technical
aspects, specifications, and standards relative to the subject, and to elicit expertise and bidders' interest
in submitting a bid or pursuing the task.
Proposal.An executed formal document submitted to the county stating the goods and/or services
offered to satisfy the need as requested in the requestfor proposal.
Professional services.An independent contractor in one of more of the following professional fields:
appraisal services (as per F.S. 125.355); audit and accounting services; consultants in planning,
management, and technological or scientific advisors; financial services in rating and underwriting of
bonds and investment services and medical services.
Purchase order.A document which authorizes the delivery of specific merchandise or the rendering
of certain services and the making of a charge for them.
Purchasing director.The person holding the position as head of the purchasing department.
Request for applications (RFA).A solicitation for applications for funding which from time to time may
be issued by the county or tourist development council for various programs.
Request for bids (RFB).A solicitation of the responses for prices and terms for procurement of goods
and/or services for which the scope of work, specifications or contractual terms and conditions can be
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closely defined. Evaluation of a bid is based upon price, conformance with the specifications and deemed
submitted by a responsible bidder.
Request for information (RFI).A written or electronically posted request made by an agency to
vendors for information concerning commodities or contractual services. Responses to these requests
are not offers and may not be accepted by the agency to form a binding contract. A letter of interest may
or may not be required as part of the RFI process.
Request for proposal (RFP).A solicitation of the responses for prices and terms for procurement of
goods and/or services for which the scope of work, specifications or contractual terms and conditions
cannot reasonably be closely defined by the county. Evaluation of a proposal is based on prior
established criteria which may include but may or may not be totally limited to price.
Request for qualifications (RFQ).A solicitation of responses from vendors whereby vendors are
invited to submit a summary of their particular qualifications and to state their interest in performing a
specific job or service for the county. From such submissions, the county selection committee determines
which of such vendors shall be short-listed, interviewed, and recommended to the board of county
commissioners for permission to negotiate for scope of work and fees.
Responsible bidder.An individual or business which has submitted a bid, offer, proposal, quotation,
or response which, as determined by the county, has the capability in all respects to perform fully the
contract requirements and the experience, integrity, reliability and capacity, facilities, equipment and
credit which give reasonable assurance of good faith and performance. The county may also consider
and give weight to the bidder's previous conduct and performance under previous contracts with the
county and other agencies (including but not limited to delinquency), and determine the quality of the
bidder's previous work.
Responsive bidder.An individual or business which had submitted a bid, offer, proposal, quotation or
response which, as determined by the county, conforms in all material respects to the solicitation which
may include but is not limited to pricing, surety, insurance, specifications of the goods or services
requested or any othermatter unequivocally stated in the invitation for bids as a determinant of
responsiveness. A lack of conformity in these matters which is nonsubstantive in nature may be
considered a technicality or irregularity which may be waived by the county commission.
Responsive bid.A bid or proposal which conforms in all material respects to the request to bid or
request for proposals.
Sole source.The only source of the item(s) which meets the needs of the using department as
determined by the required process under the Monroe County Purchasing Policies and Procedures.
Utility/local telephone services.Services from a utility whose rates are determined and controlled by
the public service commission or other governmental authority, including but not limited to electricity,
natural gas, water, sewer, wastewater, telephone, telecommunications, and cable television services.
()
Ord. No. 006-2012, § 1
Sec. 2-347. - Competitive bidding procedures.
(a)The purposes of this section, requiring that certain county contracts will be let only after competitive
bidding, are to:
(1)Secure economy in the construction of county public works and in the expenditure of county
funds for services, materials, supplies and equipment needed by the county;
(2)Protect the taxpayers from collusive contracts, favoritism, fraud, extravagance, and
improvidence in the procurement of those things necessary for the operation of county
government; and
(3)To promote actual, honest and effective competition to the end that each proposal or bid
received and considered for the construction of county improvements or the supplying of
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services, materials and equipment for public use is in competition with all other bids upon the
same basis so that county contracts are secured at the lowest cost to the taxpayers.
Therefore, this section is to be liberally construed in order to effectuate the ends described in this
subsection.
(b)Forthe purposes of this section, the term "person" means individuals, firms, joint ventures,
partnerships, corporations, and other entities authorized to do business in the state.
(c)If a contract is awarded in violation of this section, the contractor is not entitled to, and may not
receive, any payment whether based on the contract price or based on quantum merit for work
performed.
(d)This section and any contract awarded by the county pursuant to competitive bidding, is subject to
the terms and conditions of any state or federal grant that may fund a county contract, or the terms of
any applicable federal or state statute or administrative rule. If there is a conflict between a
requirement of this section and such grant, statute or rule, the grant, statute or rule is controlling.
(e)This section applies to all county contracts, except as otherwise stated in this article, for services,
goods, and public works, that are, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles,
expected to cost $50,000.00 or more. A contract may not be split into multiple contracts for services,
goods or public improvements for the purpose of evading the requirements of this section.
(1)The county administrator may, in his discretion, require that contracts for services, goods or
public works that are expected to cost less than $50,000.00 comply with the terms of this
section.
(2)When the goods or services sought are expected to cost $50,000.00 or more and are available
to the county through an existing contract between a vendor and the state, the United States, or
another county of the state, municipality, special district, or other governmental entity or not for
profit association's competitively awarded contract, then compliance with the terms of this
section is not required. However, before any purchase is made through an existing contract, the
department head must first contact other South Florida vendors in order to determine if the
goods or services sought are available at a lower price than the price of the existing contract. If
the goods or services are available from another vendor at a lower price than the existing
contract, then the contract for the goods or services must be awarded to that vendor, unless the
price is only of minor concern compared to the qualitative considerations. The purchase of the
goods or services sought may be made through the existing contract if none of the other
vendors contacted by the department head offered the goods or services at a price lower than
the price of the existing contract. The results of the requests from vendors shall be submitted to
the purchasing director for verification before the contract is approved by the county.
(3)When the goods or services to be purchased are only available from a sole source, then the
purchase may be exempt from this section. However, the department head of the requesting
department must provide written justification, as outlined in the Monroe County Purchasing
Policies and Procedures, before approval of the contract or purchase is made.
(4)Persons who design county construction projects, or provide the specifications to the county for
such projects or provide the specifications for any goods or services, are prohibited from bidding
on the project construction work and are prohibited from bidding on the provision of the goods
or services. This prohibition does not apply to design/build contracts and design/build/operate
contracts, when authorized by general law and when the board of county commissioners has
specifically elected to proceed under those provisions of general law.
(5)The competitive bidding procedures are not required to apply to the following:
a.Professional service covered by the Consultants' Competitive Negotiation Act (F.S. §
287.055). Other professional services maybe exempted by the BOCC from the competitive
bidding process when price is only a minor concern compared to qualitative considerations;
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b.All purchases of services controlled by the public service commission or other
governmental authority including butnot limited to utility/local telephone services as
defined in section 2-346;
c.Cellular telephone services; on-going payments and fees for maintenance and support of
existing software technology which has been purchased in accordance with existing
procurement requirements; software packages for personal computers approved by the
county's technical services department;
d.Legal services, lobbying services, interpreter services, court reporter services, and
advertising services;
e.Change orders authorized under a lawfully executed county/contractor contract; and
f.All solid waste services including but not limited to collection franchise agreements and
operations and maintenance agreements.
g.All builder's risk insurance policies; or policies which due to the terms and conditions
required by the county are exclusive in the market and thus not benefitted by the
competitive bidding procedures.
(f)The competitive solicitations for contracts covered by this section must be made through published
notice.
(1)The published notice of competitive solicitations must set forth a brief summation of the service,
goods or public work desired together with a description of where and from whom a potential
bidder or proposer may obtain more detailed information. The notice must state that all
responses to competitive solicitations submitted must be sealed and must be submitted to the
purchasing department. The notice must state the date, time, and place where the responses to
competitive solicitations will be opened.
(2)The competitive solicitations notices shall comply with any applicable statutes and the
requirements of the Monroe County Purchasing Policies and Procedures.
(g)County departments must prepare the bid specifications in advance of the publication date. The
specifications must include, where applicable, plans, descriptions of the service or description of the
goods, the estimated quantities, the contract format, insurance and bonding requirements, all as
appropriate to the services, goods, or public improvements desired. The specifications may not be
drafted or structured in a way that only one person is capable of submitting a bid that meets such
specifications. The specifications must be sufficiently detailed, definite, and precise upon all the
essential elements that are to be a part of the contract so that a bid received will constitute a definite
offer for the contract that may be accepted by the board of county commissioners without further
negotiation. When the bid specifications are in final form, and before the publication date, the original
specifications, including an electronic version, must be delivered to the custody of the county
purchasing director by the department that prepared them. The purchasing director will retain
custody until after the bids are opened. The department may retain a copy of the specifications for its
use but, if there is a conflict between the terms of the specifications in the director's custody and the
department's, the specifications in the director's custody arecontrolling. Any amendments to the
specifications or addendum must be made through the purchasing director who shall be responsible
for notifying prospective bidders/proposers of the amendments or addendum.
(h)In order to determine if persons or entities submitting responses to competitive solicitations are
responsible, all responses to competitive solicitations for contracts to be awarded under this section
must contain, at a minimum, the following information:
(1)A list of the person's or entity's shareholders with five percent or more of the stock or, if a
general partnership, a list of the general partners; or, if a limited liability company, a list of its
members; or, if a solely owned proprietorship, names(s) of owner(s);
(2)A list of the officers and directors of the entity;
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(3)The number of years the person or entity has been operating and, if different, the number of
years it has been providing the services, goods, or construction services called for in the bid
specifications (include a list of similar projects);
(4)The number of years the person or entity has operated under its present name and any prior
names;
(5)Answers to the following questions regarding claims and suits:
a.Has the person, principals, entity, orany entity previously owned, operated or directed by
any of its officers, major shareholders or directors, ever failed to complete work or provide
the goods for which it has contracted? If yes, provide details;
b.Are there any judgments, claims, arbitration proceeding or suits pending or outstanding
against the person, principal of the entity, or entity, or any entity previously owned,
operated or directed by any of its officers, directors, or general partners? If yes, provide
details;
c.Has the person, principal of the entity, entity, or any entity previously owned, operated or
directed by any of its officers, major shareholders or directors, within the last five years,
been a party to any lawsuit, arbitration, or mediation with regard to a contract for services,
goods or construction services similar to those requested in the specifications with private
or public entities? If yes, provide details;
d.Has the person, principal of the entity, or any entity previously owned, operated or directed
by any of its officers, owners, partners, major shareholders or directors, ever initiated
litigation against the county or been sued by the county in connection with a contract to
provide services, goods or construction services? If yes, provide details;
e.Whether, within the last five years, the owner, an officer, general partner, principal,
controlling shareholder or major creditor of the person or entity was an officer, director,
general partner, principal, controlling shareholder or major creditor of any other entity that
failed to perform services or furnish goods similar to those sought in the request for
competitive solicitation;
f.Customer references (minimum of three), including name, current address and current
telephone number;
g.Credit references (minimum of three), including name, current address and current
telephone number;
h.Financial statements for the prior three years for the responding entity or for any entity that
is a subsidiary to the responding entity; and
i.Any financial informationrequested by the county department involved in the competitive
solicitation, related to the financial qualifications, technical competence, the ability to
satisfactorily perform within the contract time constraints, or other information the
department deems necessary to enable the department and board of county
commissioners to determine if the person responding is responsible.
The department requesting competitive solicitations and the county attorney reviewing the
competitive solicitations must make sure that all bid solicitations request the information required by
subsection (h). The department requesting the competitive solicitations must evaluate the information
received, and then prepare a recommendation to the board of county commissioners as towhether the
lowest bidder or the highest ranked proposer is responsible in the view of the information received. In
evaluating the information received, the requesting department is directed to give particular consideration
in preparing their recommendation to the bidder's/proposer's responses to subsection (h)(5)a.-i. of this
section. If the department or county attorney have a reasonable belief that any information furnished by a
bidder/proposer is false, misleading or omits relevant facts, the department is directed to investigate any
lawfully available information resource in order to be able to adequately advise the board as to whether a
bidder/proposer is responsible. If after the responses to competitive solicitations are received, it is
discovered that a bidder/proposer misrepresented or omitted information required by subsection (h), then
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his bid/proposal shall be automatically disqualified. If the misrepresentation or omission is discovered
after the contract is awarded, the board of county commissioners may, in its discretion, terminate the
contract with no liability to the county other than to pay the contract price or unit price for work that is
satisfactorily completed and useful to the county up to the date of the meeting of the board of county
commissioners terminating the contract. The foregoing must appear in all contracts covered by this
article.
(i)Each bid to a competitive solicitation for a construction project estimated to be $200,000.00 or more
must be accompanied by a good faith bid security in an amount equal to five percent of the bid price
by way of a bid bond from a surety insurer authorized to do business in Florida as a surety or any
method permitted in F.S. § 255.051, and as amended, pursuant to Monroe County Code section 2-
347(i). If the security is in the form of a check or draft, it shall be made payable to Monroe County
BOCC. The county administrator or his designee shall have discretion to require a good faith bid
security for construction projects estimated to be less than$200,000.00. A construction project may
not be divided into subparts to avoid the requirement of the bid security.
Each bid to a competitive solicitation for construction of water system improvements or sewer
improvements shall comply with F.S. § 153.10(3) and (4), and as amended.
Bid securities may remain in the custody of the county OMB for up to 90 days from the bid opening
date or until forfeited or released. The bid security of the successful bidder shall be returned to the
bidder after (a) the bidder executes the contract (b) delivers a good and sufficient performance bond,
payment bond and required proof of insurance as may be required in the contract documents and (c)
commences performance of the contract. If after the board of county commissioners accepts the bid
to a competitive solicitation the successful bidder refuses or is unable to execute the contract, to
provide the required contract bonds or proof of insurance, or commence performance, then the bid
security will be forfeited to, and become the property of, the county as liquated damages for the
county's loss of bargain.
The bid security of unsuccessful bidders may be returned to the bidder when the award of bid is
made and the successful bidder executes the contract, or if all bids have been rejected. Bid
securities in the county's possession for more than 90 days from the bid opening date shall be
returned to unsuccessful bidders.
Bidders may withdraw their bid and request, in writing, an earlier return of their bid security under the
conditions set forth below in subpart (1); however, this action removes the bidder from further
consideration should the lower bidders decline the award or withdraw their bids.
(1)All bids are irrevocable for 90 days from the bid opening date. If a bidder discovers an error in
his bid, he may withdraw the bid and request a refund of the bid security if the bid has not yet
been accepted by the board of county commissioners. The security may be returned only if the
bidder can show, to the satisfaction of the county OMB director, the following equitable factors:
a.The bidder acted in good faith in submitting the bid;
b.In preparing the bid there was an error of such magnitude that enforcement of the bid
would cause a severe hardship upon the bidder; and
c.The error was not a result of gross negligence or willful inattention.
(2)All bids must be sealed and submitted to the purchasing director before the time described in
the published notice for the bid opening. All bids must be opened at the time and place
described in the published notice. Any bid submitted after that time shall not be considered in
the competitive selection process.
(3)In order for a bid to be accepted by the board of county commissioners and a contract awarded,
the bid must be the lowest in price, must conform to the specifications, and have been
submitted by a responsible bidder. For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meaning:
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a.The term "lowest in price" means the lowest total economic cost to thecounty including,
but not limited to, the contract price and demands upon county equipment and county staff
time.
b.The term "conform to the specifications" means that there is no substantial variation
between the bid submitted and the county specifications. Slight or immaterial variations
from the specifications do not automatically create a nonconforming bid. However, any
variation that destroys the competitive character of the bidding process, causes or confers
a material change more favorable to one bidder than the others, or furnishes one bidder an
advantage or benefit not enjoyed by the other bidders is a substantial variation and results
in a nonconforming bid.
(4)Once the board of county commissioners has determined which bid conforms with subsection
(i)(3) above, the board may vote to accept that bid and authorize the mayor to execute a written
contract, reviewed and approved by the county attorney's office, on behalf of the county. If the
initially successful bidder refuses to execute the contract or, if after the execution, refuses to
commence performance, then the board may vote to accept the bid of the next lowest
conforming responsible bidder and so on. However, the board of county commissioners at all
times reserves the right to waive variations from the specification that do not render a bid
nonconforming, to reject all bids, advertise for bids, or to abandon any project, purchase of
goods, or request for bids. A contract is not entered into until the board of county
commissioners votes to accept a bid and directs the mayor to execute a contract on behalf of
the county. Regardless of any representations made by any county officer, employee or county
contractor or consultant, and regardless of any funds expended or work performed by the bidder
or a prospective contractor, the county is not liable or obligated to pay the bidder/prospective
contractor any money until the bid has been accepted by the board of county commissioners.
(j)All responses must be sealed and submitted to the office of the county purchasing department
before the time described in the published notice for the bid opening. Any responses submitted after
that time shall not be considered. All of the responses must be opened at the time and place
described in the published notice. All responses are irrevocable for 90 days from the bid opening
date. However, if the proposer discovers an error in his response, he may withdraw his response in
good faith.
(1)The board of county commissioners' determination as to the following isdiscretionary with the
board and is final: whether a bid is the lowest in price, based upon the same criteria set forth in
subsection (i)(3); whether a proposal is the highest ranked, with price as a consideration when
applicable; whether a bid variation from the county's specification is slight and immaterial or
substantial and material; whether a response is submitted by a responsive bidder and
responsible bidder, as defined in this chapter.
(2)Once the board of county commissioners has determined which response shall be awarded the
contract, the board may vote to accept that proposal and authorize the mayor to execute a
written contract, reviewed and approved by the county attorney's office, on behalf of the county.
If the initially successful proposerrefuses to execute the contract or, if after the execution,
refuses to commence performance, then the board may vote to accept the next highest ranked
responsive responsible bidder and so on. However, the board of county commissioners at all
times reserves the right to waive variations from the specifications that do not render a bid
nonconforming, to reject all competitive solicitations, re-advertise for competitive solicitations, or
to abandon any project, purchase of goods, or request for competitive solicitations. A contract is
not entered into until the board of county commissioners votes to accept a proposal and directs
the mayor to execute a contract on behalf of the county. Regardless of any representations
made by any county officer, employee or county contractor or consultant, and regardless of any
funds expended or work performed by a prospective contractor, the county is not liable or
obligated to pay the prospective contractor any money until the proposal has been accepted by
the board of countycommissioners.
(k)The board of county commissioners may dispense with the bidding provisions of this section and
contract directly for services, goods or public works in the case of an emergency.
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(1)For the purposes of this section, the term "emergency" means:
a.An immediate danger to the public health or safety;
b.A danger of loss of public or private property that requires immediate government action;
c.An interruption in the delivery of an essential governmental service; or
d.A substantial risk that a funding source of a contract will be diminished or lost because the
time required to competitively award bids after the funds become available exceeds the
time within which the funding source must be spent.
(2)The mayor, or in his absence, themayor pro tem, may waive the provisions of this section in an
emergency following a natural or manmade disaster. Such a waiver continues until the first
meeting of the board of county commissioners following the disaster. At that meeting the board
may elect to extend the waiver if the emergency so requires.
(3)Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit the mayor, mayor pro tem or other county
officer from directly contracting for goods and services on behalf of the county during an
emergency following a natural or manmade disaster when permitted by statute or the terms of a
state or local emergency declaration.
(l)The procedures provided for in this subsection are cumulative to those set forth in subsections (a)—
(k) of this section and the county purchasing policies. They do not supersede the authority or ability
of the county to determine the qualifications and bid responsiveness of any prospective contractor on
a bid-by-bid or contract-by-contract basis.
(1)The eligibility of persons to bidfor the award of county contracts may be suspended on account
of any of the following acts or omissions by the person, an executive officer of the person, or a
principal or director of the person:
a.Conviction for commission of a criminal offense as an incident to obtaining or attempting to
obtain a public or private contract or subcontract, or in the performance of such contract or
subcontract;
b.Conviction, under any state or federal statute, of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery,
falsification ordestruction of records, receiving stolen property, or any other offense
indicating a lack of business integrity or business honesty that currently, seriously, and
directly affects the person's responsibility as a county contractor;
c.Conviction under any state or federal antitrust statute arising out of the submission of a bid
or proposal;
d.Violation of contract, as set forth below, of a character that is regarded by the
administrative officer to be so serious as to justify suspension:
1.Failure without good cause to perform in accordance with the specifications or within
the time limit provided in the contract; or
2.A record of failure to perform or of unsatisfactory performance in accordance with the
terms of one or more contacts; provided that failure to perform or unsatisfactory
performance caused by acts beyond the control of the contractor is not a basis for
suspension;
e.A history of producing work that is shoddy or otherwise contains substandard
workmanship;
f.Failure to supply or furnish the county warranties required by a contract; and
g.Any other cause determined to be so serious and compelling as to affect responsibility as a
county contractor, including a suspension by another governmental entity for any cause
similar to those listed in subsections (l)(1)a.—f. of this section or a history of defaulting on
payments to suppliers or subcontractors.
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(2)The county OMB director or, in the case of building contractors, the county engineer
(collectively the administrative officer), may suspend a person's eligibility to be awarded a
county contract after determining that one or more of the acts or omissions listed in subsections
(l)(1)a.—g. of this section occurred.
(3)If the administrative officer decides to suspend a person's eligibility for the award of county
contracts, the officer must reduce his decision to writing, state in detail the reason for the
suspension, and furnish a copy of his decision to the person affected, either by hand delivery,
special delivery return receipt requested, or by a private delivery service. The suspension is
effective when received by the person affected and will remain in effect until vacated or modified
by the vendor committee or a court of competent jurisdiction. However, the filing of a request for
hearing de novo under subsection (l)(4) of this section will stay the suspension until the vendor
committee affirms or modifies the administrative officer's decision.
(4)The person suspended by the administrative officer may request a hearing de novo by filing a
request for a hearing with the county administrator's office within ten days after his receipt of the
administrative officer's suspension. The county administrator must schedule a hearing before
the vendor committee within 21 days of the county administrator's receipt of the request. The
vendor committee consists of: the county administrator, a county commissioner appointed by
the board of county commissioners; the county attorney; another employee selected by the
county administrator whose department has infrequent or no business dealings with the
suspended person; and, if the person was suspended by the OMB director, the county
engineer; if the person was suspended by the county engineer, the OMB director. All vendor
committee hearings are public hearings (meetings) under F.S. § 286.011. Published notice of a
vendor committee hearing must be five days or more in advance of such hearing, excluding the
date of publication and the date of the hearing. The hearing must be informally conducted. At
the hearing, the suspended person and the administrative officer may offer such evidence as
each deems necessary to support each party's respective position, although the vendor
committee may exclude immaterial, irrelevant or repetitious evidence. All other evidence of a
type commonly relied on by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs may be
entertained. The vendor committee must, in writing, affirm, vacate, or modify the administrative
officer's suspension within ten days after the conclusionof the hearing. The vendor committee's
decision is the final administrative action of the county.
(5)Suspensions ordered under this section must be for a minimum of six months, but shall not
exceed three years. The length of the suspension should be determined based on the number
of acts or omissions detailed in subsections (l)(1)a.—g. of this section that were found to be
committed by the person suspended as well as the severity of those acts or omissions.
(6)When the person suspended is a business entity other than an individual, a suspension will
apply to a successor entity in the same or similar business. For the purposes of this subsection,
the term "successor entity" means any business entity that:
a.Purchases the stock of a suspended corporation or entity;
b.Has stock that was exchanged for the debt of the suspended entity;
c.Has substantially the same principals, members, shareholders, officers or directors as the
suspended entity; or
d.Has substantially the same individuals who were the principals, members, shareholders,
officers or directors of the suspended entity as creditors.
(7)When the suspended person is a business entity or partnership that, in order to lawfully conduct
business, must be qualified by a state certified or registered contractor, or by an individual
holding a professional license issued by the state department of business regulation, and the
qualifier is also a shareholder, officer, director, partner or creditor of the suspended entity or
partnership, then any suspension extends to a subsequent entity or partnership with the same
individual as the qualifier, if that individual is a principal, member, shareholder, officer, director,
partner, or creditor of the subsequent entity or partnership.
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(8)When any corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship is suspended due to operations or
activities of an officer, director, partner or employee who qualifies the business through the
issuance of a state or county certificate of competency for contractors, or the issuance of a
professional license by the state department of business professional regulation, the
suspension will extend to any other business of which the same individual is the sole qualifier.
(9)A person suspended under this section may not be a sub-subcontractor or subcontractor on any
county project. The county OMB director must maintain a list of suspended persons and make
that list available to all prospective bidders in order to ensure that a suspended person is not
employed as asubcontractor or sub-subcontractor on a county project. A bid is automatically
nonconforming if it lists a suspended person as a subcontractor or sub-subcontractor. After the
contract is awarded, the employment of a suspended person is a material breach of the
county/contractor contract and entities the county, in its discretion, to terminate the contract with
no further liability to the contractor beyond payment of the portion of the contract price that may
be due for work satisfactorily completed up to the date of termination. A sentence similar to the
preceding must appear in all county contracts where the use of subcontractors or sub-
subcontractors is contemplated, expected or authorized.
(m)The county administrator is authorized to prescribe administrative instructions to implement this
section but no such instruction may contradict a substantive or procedural provision.
(Code 1979, § 2-541; Ord. No. 32-1998, §§ 1—14; Ord. No. 19-1999, §§ 1—3; Ord. No. 31-
2000, §§ 1, 2; Ord. No. 012-2004, § 1; ;;
Ord. No. 006-2012, §§ 2—7Ord. No. 035-2013, § 1 Ord.
, § 1; , § 3; , § 1)
No. 015-2015 Ord. No. 025-2015 Ord. No. 020-2015
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