Procurement Process
The amount of the individual expenditures for a specific commodity or service determines the level of competition required. The Procurement Threshold Table below summarizes the required competition.
| Dollar Limits | Competition Required |
|---|---|
| $0 – $4,999 | Department discretion (No competition required) |
| $5,000 – $9,999 | 3 documented quotes(by email) to Department or Procurement Office |
| $10,000 – $24,999 | Minimum 3 quotes in writing by vendor to Department of Procurement Office |
| $25,000 | Formal or Alternative Source Selection |
| $50,000 | Formal or Alternative Source Selection and Requires Town Council approval |
Formal Procurements Procedures
- Formal purchases are those over $25,000. Procurement issues Invitations for Bid (IFB), Requests for Proposals (RFP), Requests for Qualifications (RFQ), or Requests for Information (RFI). Solicitations are usually advertised in the Tri-Valley Dispatch/Florence Blade newspaper and on the Town’s Bids & RFQs Web page. The advertisement will state the date and time offers are due, the location where the solicitation will be opened, the general nature of the goods and services needed, and instructions on how to download the solicitation from the Town Web site.
- In some solicitations, pre-bid/pre-offer conferences are held where bidders/offerors may attend to ask questions, get clarifications or receive additional information regarding the solicitation.
- The formal competitive process from the issuance of a solicitation to the award of a contract generally takes approximately 90 days, although some complex solicitations may take longer.
- All solicitations are publicly opened and read aloud. Bidder/offerors are welcomed to attend openings on the date and time listed in the solicitation documents. For bids, certain dollar amounts are read aloud and for proposals, RFQs and RFIs, only the names of the firms are read aloud.
- Invitations for Bids are awarded to the bidder submitting the lowest priced, responsive and responsible offer. Request for Proposals are evaluated by an evaluation committee and scored based on evaluation criteria such as experience and expertise of the firm and staff, methodology, references, capabilities of the firm, cost, and compliance to the solicitation. Evaluation criteria will be specified within each proposal document. Awards are made to the highest scored offer or determined to have submitted the most advantageous offer to the Town.
Gifts and Gratuities Prohibited
Under no circumstances will any Town of Florence employee accept directly or indirectly gifts or other items of value from individuals or firms seeking to do business with the Town. Procurement activities will be handled fairly, objectively, without discrimination, and in the best interest of the Town of Florence.
Purchasing Procedures