Ohio Admin. Code 5101:9-4-07.1 - Procurement methods
(A) General purpose
Unless applicable local requirements are more restrictive, county family services agencies (CFSAs) and local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) areas shall use one of the following procurement methods when acquiring goods and/ or services paid for in whole or part with federal funds.
(B)
Informal
Procurement
procurement methods
(1) Micro-purchases
(a) CFSAs or local WIOA areas may acquire by
micro-purchase any supplies or services in which the aggregate dollar amount
does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold as set by the federal acquisition
regulation at 48 C.F.R. subpart 2.1.
(b) Micro purchases may be awarded without
soliciting quotes for acquisitions of supplies or services if:
(i) Price is considered reasonable
based on research, experience, purchase history or
other information and documents ; and
(ii) To the extent practical, micro-purchases
are distributed equitably among qualified suppliers.
(2) Small purchase procedure
(a) For purchases where price is the
overriding factor and which involve standardized products or services (e.g.,
office equipment and supplies) and where the aggregate acquisition costs are
greater than the micropurchase threshold but do not exceed
the lower of the local small purchase threshold
or the federal small purchase threshold
(currently set at one hundred fifty thousand
dollars
as set by 48 C.F.R. subpart 2.1
for purchases involving U.S. department of health and human services (HHS) and
U.S. department of labor (DOL) funds and U.S. department of agriculture (USDA)
food and nutrition service funds (FNS)),
CFSAs and local WIOA areas may use relatively simple and informal procurement
methods by obtaining price or rate quotations from an adequate number of
qualified sources but not less than three sources, if available.
(b) For purchases where price is not the
overriding factor but are relatively simple and straight forward purchases that
are greater than the micropurchase threshold and do not
exceed the lower of the local small purchase threshold or
but do not cost more than the
federal small purchase threshold
as set by 48 C.F.R. subpart 2.1 , and where
relative quality and performance must be evaluated (e.g., consultant services),
CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall seek proposals from an adequate number of
qualified sources, but not less than three sources if available. CFSAs and
local WIOA areas shall maintain a list of qualified sources from which to
solicit proposals, and the list shall include qualified sources that have
expressed an interest in providing products or services to the CFSA or local
WIOA area. The CFSA and local WIOA area must identify and document the
evaluation factors included in the solicitation
and their relative importance. Awards will be made to the responsible source
whose proposal is most advantageous to the program, with price and other
factors considered.
(C)
Formal
procurement methods
(3)
(1)
Competitive sealed
bidding
Sealed bids
(4)
(2)
Competitive proposals
Proposals
(5)
(3) Noncompetitive
procurement methods
(a) CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall use
competitive sealed
bidding
bids
(formal advertising) under the following conditions:
(i) A complete, comprehensive
adequate , and realistic specification or purchase
description is available;
(ii) Two
or more responsible bidders are willing and able to compete effectively for the
business; and
(iii) The procurement
lends itself to a firm fixed price contract and the selection of the successful
bidder can be made principally on the basis of price.
(b) CFSAs and local WIOA areas shall adhere
to the following procedural requirements in administering
competitive sealed
bidding
bids
(formal advertising):
(i) The invitation to
bid (ITB) will be publicly advertised and bids shall be solicited from an
adequate number of known suppliers, providing them sufficient time prior to the
date set for opening the bids;
(ii)
The ITB which will include any specifications and pertinent attachments, shall
define the items or services in order for the bidder to properly
respond;
(iii) All bids will be
publicly opened at the time and place prescribed in the ITB;
(iv) A firm fixed price contract award will
be made in writing to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Where
specified in bidding documents, factors such as discounts, transportation costs
and life cycle costs shall be considered in determining which bid is lowest.
Payment discounts will only be used to determine the low bid when prior
experience indicates that such discounts are usually taken advantage of
and any or all bids may be rejected if there is a
sound documented reason; and
(v) Any or all bids may be rejected if there
is a sound documented reason.
(a) CFSAs
and local WIOA areas shall use competitive
proposals when the conditions are not appropriate for the use of
competitive sealed
bidding
bids ,
micro-purchases, small purchases, or non-competitive proposals
procurement .
The technique of competitive proposals is
normally conducted with more than one source submitting an offer, either a
fixed price or cost reimbursement type contract is awarded, and the following
conditions are met:
(i) The complex and
technical nature of the procurement cannot be described in bid specifications;
and
(ii) It is logical to award a
contract on factors other than price.
Evaluation factors other than price can only be used when they are clearly explained in the purchasing agency's request for proposal (RFP).
(b) CFSAs
and local WIOA areas shall comply with the following procedural requirements in
administering competitive proposal procurements, commensurate with the scope
and complexity of the acquisition:
(i)
Requests for proposals will be publicized and identify all evaluation factors
and their relative importance. Any response to publicized requests for
proposals shall be honored to the maximum extent practical.
(ii) Proposals will be solicited from an
adequate number of qualified sources
offerors .
(iii) CFSAs and local WIOA areas will have a
written method for conducting technical
evaluations of the proposals received and for selecting awardees. A technical
evaluation is a review to verify that the technical requirements contained in
the request for proposals are met.
(iv) Awards will be made to the responsible
firm
offeror
whose proposal is most advantageous to the program, with price and other
factors considered.
(v) CFSAs and
local WIOA areas may use competitive
proposal procedures for qualification based procurement of
architectural/engineering (A/E) professional services whereby competitor's
qualifications are evaluated and the most qualified competitor
offeror is
selected, subject to negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation. The
method, where price is not used as a selection factor, can only be used in
procurement of A/E professional services. It cannot be used to purchase other
types of services through A/E firms that are a potential source to perform the
proposed effort.
If after solicitation of an adequate number of qualified
sources
areas may use a small purchase procurement method as
detailed in paragraph (B)(2) of this rule. In this instance,
the CFSA or local
WIOA area has completed a legitimate and reasonable competitive
procurement
(a) CFSAs and local WIOA areas may use
noncompetitive procurement methods only
when the award of a contract is infeasible under the micropurchasing threshold,
small purchase procedure, competitive sealed bidding
or competitive proposals, and one of the following conditions applies:
(i) The item is available only from a sole
source. This type of noncompetitive proposal means only one source exists for
the goods or services being procured; an example being the procurement of
proprietary products. Business justification or longterm relationships with a
particular contractor does not constitute justification as sole source
procurement. Sole source procurements do not require prior approval.
(ii) The public exigency or emergency for the
requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation.
This type of noncompetitive procurement is mainly reserved for emergencies
caused by natural disasters. Public exigency or emergency procurements do not
require prior approval.
(iii) The
federal awarding agency or ODJFS authorizes noncompetitive procurements
in response to a written request .
(iv) The purchases are for equipment or
services where the prices are established by law for technical equipment
requiring standardization and interchangeability of parts with existing
equipment.
(v)
A failed formal competitive procurement as described in
paragraph (C)(2)(b)(v) of this rule.
(b) Noncompetitive proposals
procurement
require
requires the mutual discussion and arrangement of
terms of a transaction or agreement for the purpose of arriving at a common
understanding of contract essentials such as technical requirements, schedules,
prices, and terms. From any noncompetitive proposal
procurement
in excess of the small purchase threshold, written documentation must be
included in the records to show why a noncompetitive proposal
procurement
was used instead of competitive sealed
bidding. Such justification must include the following items:
(i) Copies of the public
advertisements;
(ii) A list of
providers contacted;
(iii) Copies
of all letters received from prospective bidders or respondents, including
those indicating a bidder's lack of interest in competing for the
contract;
(iv) Any other materials
which would justify the agency's use of noncompetitive procurement methods;
and
(v) Cost analysis, the
projections of the data, and the evaluation of the specific elements of costs
and profit. Independent estimates must be made before receiving bids or
proposals.
(1) State purchasing contracts
(d)
(c) A CFSA or local WIOA area may also use the price
contained in a state purchasing contract in other competitive selection
procedures performed pursuant to this rule.
(a)
If the county is
a member of the department of administrative services cooperative purchase
program,
Purchases
purchases may be made by CFSAs and local WIOA areas
under the competitively bid state purchasing
contracts. Because the state completes competitive procurement, purchases made
through state purchasing contracts excluding master
maintenance agreements (MMA)
that meet
all of the requirements contained in section
125.04 of the Revised Code are
not subject to the requirements contained in paragraphs
(B)(1)
(C)(1)
to (B) (4)
(C)(2) of this rule.
(b) An agency cannot access state purchasing
contracts when competitive bidding by the county has already occurred unless
the state purchasing contract has the same terms, conditions, and
specifications at a lower price.
(c) To participate in state
purchasing contracts, a certified copy of a resolution by the board of county
commissioners must be filed with the department of administrative services
(DAS) office of state purchasing. The resolution must request that the agency
be authorized to participate in the purchasing contracts, agree that the agency
is bound by terms and conditions set by DAS, and agree that the agency will
directly pay the contractor under each purchase contract.
(2) State term schedules
State purchasing contracts are not to be confused with state
term schedules, which are non-competitive schedules of products or services and
shall be treated only as a pre-qualified vendor contractor list. State term
schedules do not represent competitive procurement. Purchases made by a CFSA or
local WIOA area using the state term schedule to obtain a pre-qualified vendor
list must follow the requirements contained in paragraphs
(B)
(B)(4)
(3) Foster
care maintenance purchases and child welfare service purchases
(a) Purchases for foster care placement
services that include public and private agency foster homes, group homes,
children's residential centers, residential parenting facilities, adoption
services and other services performed by a public children services agency
(PCSA) in the discharge of its duties under Chapter 5153. of the Revised Code,
including services on behalf of a child in the custody of a PCSA and purchases
made pursuant to rule
5101:2-47-23.1 of the
Administrative Code, will generally be considered to follow the small purchase
procedures or noncompetitive proposals of this rule when they are purchased for
individually specific cases. The need for these purchases shall be documented
by the PCSA in records that support each case.
(b) When purchasing case specific services
other than foster care placement and adoption services, and where there are
contractors in close proximity providing substantially similar services, and
who are equally qualified to meet the service need presented; the PCSA shall
document that the process of awarding the contract was done in a manner that
demonstrates that a cost comparison of the contractors has been
performed.
(c) A PCSA may not
establish an exclusive or preferential relationship with foster care
maintenance providers, adoption services providers, or other service
contractors to the exclusion of all other foster care maintenance providers,
adoption service providers or service contractors, with the exception of those
relationships resulting from the competitive means as described in this rule.
In addition to following such procurement procedures, the PCSA shall also
document the reasons for seeking an exclusive relationship with the foster care
maintenance provider, adoption service provider, or service vendor. Such
documentation shall include a demonstration that the foster care maintenance
provider, adoption service provider, or service contractor is qualified to meet
the needs of all children and families who will receive services from the
provider or vendor, and provide assurances that no child or family will be
denied services due to the exclusive nature of the relationship with the foster
care maintenance provider, adoption service provider, or service
contractor.
(d) Procurements of
goods and services made by a PCSA shall conform to the requirements of this
rule. This includes the purchase of child welfare services that benefit
children and families that are not purchased in response to a specific case
need. Examples of such services include, but are not limited to, outreach and
recruitment campaigns; promotional items; training for staff, adoptive
families, and foster parents; master contracts for home studies from third
parties; visitation center leases; child abuse prevention campaigns; and foster
parent liability insurance master contracts.
Notes
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 5101.02
Rule Amplifies: 153.54, 307.86, 307.87, 307.88, 307.89, 307.90, 307.91
Prior Effective Dates: 09/20/1980, 08/13/1982, 01/01/1986 (Emer.), 04/01/1986, 10/01/1986 (Emer.), 12/15/1986, 05/01/1996, 09/05/1997, 09/12/2005, 10/30/2006, 01/30/2012, 07/06/2015, 04/25/2016
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