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Solicitation and Advertising

Method of Solicitation

Petty Cash and Micro Purchases

Ripley Housing Authority may contact only one source if the price is considered reasonable.

Small Purchases

Quotes may be solicited orally, through fax, via email, or by any other reasonable method.

Sealed Bids and Competitive Proposals

The solicitation must be done publicly. Ripley Housing Authority must use one or more following solicitation methods, provided that the method employed provides for meaningful competition.

  1. Advertising in newspapers or other print mediums of local or general circulations.
  2. Advertising in various trade journals or publications (for construction).
  3. The PHA may conduct its public procurements through the Internet using e-procurement systems. However, all e-procurement must otherwise be in compliance with 24 CFR 85.36, state and local requirements, and the PHA's procurement policy.

Time Frame

For purchases of more than $100,000, the public notice should run not less than once each week for two consecutive weeks.

Form 

Notices/advertisements should state, at a minimum, the place, date, and time that the bids or proposals are due, the solicitation number, a contact person who can provide a copy of, and information about, the solicitation, and a brief description of the needed item(s).

Time Period for Submission of Bids

A minimum of 30 days shall generally be provided for the preparation and submission of sealed bids and 15 days for competitive proposals. However, the Executive Director may allow for a shorter period under extraordinary circumstances.

Cancellation of Solicitations

An IFB, RFP, or other solicitation may be canceled before bids/offers are due if: 

  1. The supplies, services, or construction is no longer required;
  2. The funds are no longer available;
  3. Proposed amendments to the solicitation are of such magnitude that a new solicitation would be best; or
  4. Other similar reasons.

A solicitation may be canceled and all bids or proposals that have already been received may be rejected if:

  1. The supplies or services (including construction) are no longer required;
  2. Ambiguous or otherwise inadequate specifications were part of the solicitation;
  3. All factors of significance to the PHA were not considered;
  4. Prices exceed available funds, and it would not be appropriate to adjust quantities to come within available funds;
  5. There is reason to believe that bids or proposals may not have been independently determined in open competition, may have been collusive, or may have been submitted in bad faith; or
  6. For a good cause of a similar nature when it is in the best interest of the PHA.

The reasons for cancellation shall be documented in the procurement file and the reasons for cancellation and/or rejection shall be provided upon request.

Notice of cancellation shall be sent to all bidders/offerors solicited and, if appropriate, shall explain that they will be given an opportunity to compete on any re-solicitation or future procurement of similar items.

If all otherwise acceptable bids received in response to an IFB are at unreasonable prices an analysis should be conducted to see if there is a problem in either the specifications or the PHA's cost estimate. If both are determined adequate and if only one bid is received and the price is unreasonable, the Contracting Officer may cancel the solicitation and either;

  1. Re-solicit using an RFP; or
  2. Complete the procurement by using the competitive proposal method. The Contracting Officer must determine, in writing, that such action is appropriate, must inform all bidders of the PHA's intent to negotiate, and must give each bidder a reasonable opportunity to negotiate.

If problems are found with the specifications, the PHA should cancel the solicitation, revise the specifications, and re-solicit using an IFB.

Credit (or Purchasing) Cards

Credit card usage should follow the rules for all other small purchases. For example, the Contracting Officer may use a credit card for Micro Purchases without obtaining additional quotes provided the price is considered reasonable. However, for amounts above the Micro Purchase level, the Contracting Officer would generally need to have obtained a reasonable number of quotes before purchasing via a credit card.

When using credit cards, the PHA should adopt reasonable safeguards to assure that they are used only for intended purposes (for instance, limiting the types of purchases or the number of purchases that are permitted with credit cards).

No individual purchase shall be made on a PHA credit card that exceeds $500.00 without the prior written approval of the Executive Director. All purchases shall fit within the existing budget for that item. Adequate documentation shall be maintained by the user of the credit card so that when the bill is received for payment, each charge can be documented as to the reason for the charge.