5.33.340 Electronic Procurement.

City Code Section

(Amended by Ordinances 183445185898 and 189878, effective March 4, 2020.)

  1. A.  The City may conduct all phases of a Procurement, including without limitation the posting of Electronic Advertisements and the receipt of Electronic Offers, by Electronic methods if and to the extent the City specifies in a Solicitation Document, a request for quotes, or any other Written instructions on how to participate in the Procurement.
  2. B.  The City shall open an Electronic Offer in accordance with Electronic security measures in effect at the City at the time of its receipt of the Electronic Offer. Unless the City provides procedures for the secure receipt of Electronic Offers, the Person submitting the Electronic Offer assumes the risk of premature disclosure due to submission in unsealed form.
  3. C.  The City’s use of Electronic Signatures shall be consistent with applicable statutes and rules. The Chief Procurement Officer may limit the use of Electronic methods of conducting a Procurement as Advantageous to the City. 
  4. D.  If the City determines that Bid or Proposal Security is or will be required, the Chief Procurement Officer will not authorize Electronic Offers unless the City has another method for receipt of such security.
  5. E.  Rules Governing Electronic Procurements. The City shall conduct all portions of an Electronic Procurement in accordance with these rules, unless otherwise set forth in this rule.
  6. F.  Preliminary Matters. As a condition of participation in an Electronic Procurement the Chief Procurement Officer may require potential Contractors to register with the City before the date and time on which the City will first accept Offers, to agree to the terms, conditions, or other requirements of a Solicitation Document, or to agree to terms and conditions governing the Procurement, such as procedures that the City may use to attribute, authenticate or verify the accuracy of an Electronic Offer, or the actions that constitute an Electronic Signature.
  7. G.  Offer Process. The Chief Procurement Officer may specify that Persons must submit an Electronic Offer by a particular date and time, or that Persons may submit multiple Electronic Offers during a period of time established in the Electronic Advertisement.  When the Chief Procurement Officer specifies that Persons may submit multiple Electronic Offers during a specified period of time, the City must designate a time and date on which Persons may begin to submit Electronic Offers, and a time and date after which Persons may no longer submit Electronic Offers.  The date and time after which Persons may no longer submit Electronic Offers need not be specified by a particular date and time, but may be specified by a description of the conditions that, when they occur, will establish the date and time after which Persons may no longer submit Electronic Offers.  When the City will accept Electronic Offers for a period of time, then at the designated date and time that the City will first receive Electronic Offers, the City must begin to accept “real time” Electronic Offers on the City’s’ Electronic Procurement System, and shall continue to accept Electronic Offers in accordance with Subsection 5.33.340 H.2. until the date and time specified by the City, after which the City will no longer accept Electronic Offers.
  8. H.  Receipt of Electronic Offers.
    1. 1.  When the City conducts an Electronic Procurement that provides that all Electronic Offers must be submitted by a particular date and time, the City shall receive the Electronic Offers in accordance with these rules.
    2. 2.  When the City specifies that Persons may submit multiple Offers during a period of time, the City shall accept Electronic Offers, and Persons may submit Electronic Offers, in accordance with the following:
      1. a.  Following receipt of the first Electronic Offer after the Day and time the City first receives Electronic Offers the City shall post on the City’s Electronic Procurement System, and updated on a real time basis, the lowest Electronic Offer price or the highest ranking Electronic Offer. At any time before the date and time after which the City will no longer receive Electronic Offers, a Person may revise its Electronic Offer, except that a Person may not lower its price unless that price is below the then lowest Electronic Offer.
      2. b.  A Person may not increase the price set forth in an Electronic Offer after the Day and time that the City first accepts Electronic Offers.
  9. I.  Failure of the Electronic Procurement System. In the event of a failure of the City’s Electronic Procurement System that interferes with the ability of Persons to submit Electronic Offers, protest or to otherwise participate in the Procurement, the City may cancel the Procurement in accordance with Section 5.33.660, or may extend the date and time for receipt of Electronic Offers by providing notice of the extension immediately after the Electronic Procurement System becomes available.