§ 2-110. Appendix A—Definitions.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below whenever they appear in the procurement code:

Advertisement: Public notice in a newspaper of general circulation in the county and/or posted on the county's website listing of formal solicitations; notice should state the place, date and time that bids or proposals must be received.

Affiliate: A corporation that is related to another corporation by one owning shares of the other, by common ownership, or by other means of control.

Agenda items/requests: A written form of communication presented to the board for consideration. The agenda item/request includes a summary of the requested action along with supporting documentation.

Agreement: Written agreement between two or more competent parties that includes provisions necessary to define the responsibilities and rights of the parties to perform a specific act(s); any type of agreement, regardless of what it is called, for the procurement or disposal of goods, services or construction, usually an exchange of goods or services for money or other consideration. The term agreement may be used interchangeably with the term "contract" or "contract acceptance letter."

Amendment/contract amendment: Written modification, which revises specifications, price, quantity, or other terms of the agreement, upon mutual consent and with a formally executed document signed by both parties.

Bid: A formal written price offer by a vendor to the county to furnish specific goods, services, and/or construction in response to an Invitation for bids or a multistep bidding procedure.

Bid award: Award of a bid for goods or services by the appropriate level of authority after receipt of competitive quotes or bids, and determination of fund availability.

Bid bond/security: An insurance agreement, accompanied by a monetary commitment, by which a third party (the surety) accepts liability and guarantees that the bidder will not withdraw the bid. The bidder will furnish bonds in the required amount and if the contract awarded to the bonded bidder, the bidder will accept the contract as bid, or else the surety will pay a specific amount.

Bidder: Any person, firm, business or other group of individuals that submits a response to a solicitation. The term bidder may be used interchangeably with the term respondent.

Black-out period: The period that begins upon the issuance of a solicitation and concludes upon the final execution of the contract by the appropriate approval authority during which bidders and respondents are prohibited from contacting any board member, the county administrator, any requesting or evaluating department personnel and/or any member of the evaluation committee.

Board/BOCC: The Putnam County Board of County Commissioners.

Business: Corporation, firm, association, syndicate, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other legal entity.

Capital Improvement Project (CIP): Any public improvement which the county undertakes, including the construction or reconstruction in whole or in part, of any building, road, highway, street improvements, physical plant, structure, or facility.

Certificate of contract completion acceptance: A form which indicates that a project has been satisfactorily completed and the contractor has paid all labor, materials and other charges against the project in accordance with the terms of the contract.

Certificate of insurance: A document which is provided by the contractor/consultant to show proof of insurance according to the requirements stated by the county.

Change order: Modification, deletion or addition to an authorized purchase order or contract.

Communications: Services used by the county such as cellular telephone providers, cable television, and long distance services carriers.

Competitive solicitation/competition: Process of requesting and receiving sealed bids, proposals, or replies submitted by responsive Vendors in accordance with the terms of a competitive process, regardless of the method of procurement.

Conflict of interest: A clash between the public interest and the private pecuniary interest of the individual concerned. (Black's Law Dictionary, 299, 1990.) The term identifies those situations where contractors or public officials may obtain a benefit from a public contract. Conflicts of interest may result in a breach of ethics or an ethical code. Actual or perceived conflict of interest: Any action, decision or recommendation by an agent or public official acting in an official capacity, the effect of which could be to the private pecuniary benefit or detriment of the person or person's relative.

Construction: The process of constructing a building, structure, road or drainage utilities; altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing any structure or building; or other improvements of any kind.

Construction services: All labor, services, and materials provided in connection with the construction, repair, replacement, renovation, or demolishment, or any other improvement of any kind, to any real property.

Consultant: A person that possesses unique qualifications which allow them to serve and/or perform specialized and/or advisory services, usually for a fee.

Consultants Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA): Guidelines for the acquisition of professional architectural, engineering, landscape architecture, or surveying and mapping services, including definitions, procedures and prohibitions as defined in F.S. § 287.055, as amended.

Contract: Obligation, such as an accepted offer, between competent parties upon a legal consideration, to abstain from or to do some act or acts. The term contract may be used interchangeably with "agreement."

Contractor: Any individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity having a contract with the board of county commissioners to furnish goods, services, or construction for an agreed upon price.

Cooperative purchasing: procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, more than one public procurement unit.

Debar/debarment: An action taken by the board under this Code to prohibit a person of firm from participating in county procurements for an extended period of time.

Department/end user department/end user/division/office: An administrative department, division, or office of the county which utilizes any goods, services, or construction procured under the administrative code and correlating procedures. The terms may be used interchangeably.

Designee: A person who has been given the authority to act on the behalf of another person of authority.

Discussion: Communication between a bidder or respondent and the general services department for the purpose of: eliminating minor irregularities, informalities, or apparent clerical mistakes in the offer or response; clarifying any offer or response to assure full understanding of, and responsiveness to, solicitation requirements; resolving minor variations in contract terms and conditions; and/or establishing the competency or financial stability of any bidder or respondent.

Emergency procurement: procurement that is made when there is an unexpected turn of events beyond the control of the agency in the normal conduct of its business, involving health, welfare, safety, loss or significant operational delay or disruption to the county that can only be rectified by the immediate purchase of supplies and/or contractual services.

Employment services: Employee recruitment services, employee leasing, temporary employment services.

Ethics: Pertaining to or relative to moral action, conduct, motive or character; as ethical emotion; professionally right or benefitting; conforming to professional standards of conduct.

Evaluation committee (EC): An evaluation group established for the sole purpose of evaluating responses received from a county solicitation.

Filed: The delivery of applicable document(s) to the general services department. A time and date of receipt shall be documented by the general services department in a verifiable manner for purposes of filing.

Firm: Any business, individual, union, committee, club, organization or group of individuals.

General services administration (GSA) contract: Program established by the federal government for products and services procured from pre-vetted vendors. procurement from vendors offering GSA schedule pricing results in reduced costs and maximized efficiency due to federal volume procurement.

Goods: Any tangible property other than services or real property.

Grant: The furnishing by the county of assistance, whether financial or otherwise, to any person or organization; or the receipt by the county of assistance, whether financial or otherwise, from any governmental or private entity. Grant does not include an agreement whose primary purpose is to procure a specific end product, whether in the form of goods, services, or construction.

Gratuity: A payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services, or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless given without consideration.

Intent to recommend: End user department's written recommendation of bid award to the board or county administrator or designee depending upon approval thresholds.

Interlocal agreement: Permits local governmental units to make the most efficient use of their powers by enabling them to cooperate with other localities on a basis of mutual advantage and thereby to provide services and facilities in a manner and pursuant to forms of governmental organization that will accord best with geographic, economic, population, and other factors influencing the needs and development of local communities.

Invitation to bid (ITB): Solicitation documents, written or electronic, whether attached or incorporated by reference, which are used for competitive sealed bidding for the procurement of goods, services and/or construction. The invitation to bid is used when the county is capable of clearly defining the scope of work for which a contractual service or precise specification defining actual commodities that are being procured.

Lobbying: Any action taken by a person to influence the decision of a board member, the county administrator, any user department/division/office personnel, and/or any individual serving on an evaluation committee during the black-out period.

Lobbyist: An individual or group whose efforts are intended influence public and governmental policy.

Local preference: Preference given to a bidder during certain formal bid processes as described in section 2-100(b) of this Code.

Material Interest: Direct or indirect ownership of more than five percent of the total assets or capital stock of any business entity as set forth in F.S. ch. 112.

Materials: Items that are incorporated into or attached to an end item or consumed in performing a contract. Materials do not include land, a permanent interest in land, or leases of real property.

Minority Owned Business Enterprise: A Florida domiciled Small Business entity or firm:

• That is at least 51-percent-owned by minority persons who are members of an insular group that is of a particular racial, ethnic, or gender makeup or national origin, which has been subjected historically to disparate treatment due to identification in and with that group in an under representation of commercial enterprises under the group's control;

• For which the minority/women ownership exercises control and management over the daily business operations;

• That has been awarded certification as a valid minority business enterprise certified by the state, other government entity within the State of Florida, or the county, for meeting statutory criteria in certification; and

• That is legally organized to perform a specific line of business, or practice of profession; and

• Ownership by a minority person does not include ownership which is the result of a transfer from a non-minority person to a minority person within a related immediate family group if the combined total net asset value of all members of such family group exceeds $1,000,000.00. For purposes of this subsection, the term related immediate family group means one or more children under 16 years of age and a parent of such children or the spouse of such parent residing in the same house or living unit.

Minority person: A lawful, permanent resident of Florida who is:

• African American - a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of the African Diaspora, regardless of cultural origin;

• Hispanic American - a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, South America, Central America, or the Caribbean, regardless of race;

• Asian American - a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands, including the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778;

• Native American - a person who has origins in any of the Indian Tribes of North America prior to 1835, upon presentation of proper documentation thereof as established by rule of the Department of Management Services; or

• American woman.

Minority/Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE): A business that is either a minority-owned business enterprise or a women-owned business enterprise, or both.

Must: Denotes the imperative.

Negotiation: Legitimate, arm's length discussion and conferences to reach an agreement on terms or price.

Non-responsible: Refers to a bidder who does not have the capability to fully perform the contract requirements, or who does not have the experience, reputation, and/or reliability to assure performance.

Non-responsive: Refers to a bidder whose submittal does not conform to the mandatory or essential requirements of the solicitation.

Opening: Date and time set for opening of bids, receipt of statements of qualifications or receipt of proposals in competitive sealed proposals, or in the case of a reverse auction, the date and time set for the auction close.

Owner direct purchase program: Materials and commodities that will be purchased and paid for directly by the county that are incorporated into any public work project, which is under the direction or management of a contract administrator.

Person: Any consultant, business, individual, union, committee, club, representative, other organization, or group of individuals.

Procurement: Buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring of any goods and/or services for public purposes in accordance with the laws, rules, regulations and procedures intended to provide for the economic expenditure of public funds. It includes but is not limited to all functions which pertain to the obtaining of any supplies, materials, equipment and/or services including construction projects and capital improvement projects, as defined herein, required by any division/department/office or agency of county government regardless of the source of funds.

Procurement card (P-Card): An instrument used to purchase goods/services in accordance with established procedures.

Procurement card (P-Card) program: A program designed to improve efficiency in processing low dollar purchases of commodities or services from any provider that accepts a credit card.

Professional services (PS): Any architectural, engineering, landscape architectural, registered land surveying, or planning activity as defined and prescribed under F.S. § 287.055, as amended.

Proposal: An executed formal document submitted by an offeror to the county stating the good(s) and/or service(s) offered in response to a request for proposal or request for information.

Public notice: Written announcement made by the county concerning a solicitation or other information of general public interest.

Purchase: The same as procurement, as defined herein.

Purchase order: The county's document used to authorize a purchase transaction with a vendor; contains provisions for construction, goods and/or services ordered; applicable terms as to payments, discounts, date of performance and transportation; and other factors or conditions relating to the transaction.

Quotation: An oral or written informal offer to the county by a vendor for furnishing specific goods and/or services at a stated price.

Receipt: Actual receipt of an item being delivered or the first attempted delivery by certified mail, or by any other means that provides conclusive evidence of the attempt to deliver to the last known address of party.

Request for letters of interest (LOI): A non-binding solicitation method used to obtain information for services or projects that cannot be quantified.

Request for proposals/competitive proposal solicitation (RFP): A solicitation method used to solicit proposals from potential providers of goods, services, and construction. Price is not the only determining factor in an RFP and an award of a contract may be accomplished in a single step or multi-step process.

Request for qualifications/qualifications based solicitation or professional services (PS): Solicitation method used to solicit proposals from potential providers of specific services where price is not an evaluation factor.

Request for quotations (RFQ): An informal solicitation where oral or written quotes are obtained from the required number of providers, without formal advertising or receipt of sealed bids.

Respondent: A person, business, firm or other group of individuals that submits a response to a solicitation. The term respondent may be used interchangeably with the term bidder.

Responsible bidder/offeror/responsible respondent: An individual or business which has submitted a bid, offer, proposal, quotation or response, which has the capability, as determined by the county, in all respects, to fully perform solicitation requirements with the integrity and reliability which give reasonable assurance of good faith and performance.

Responsive bidder/offeror/responsive respondent: An individual or business which has submitted a bid, offer, proposal, quotation or response, which conforms to all material aspects of the solicitation, as determined by the county.

Services: The furnishing of labor, time, and/or effort by professionals or contractor, wherein the submission of goods or other specific end products other than reports, studies, plans, advisories, contractual documents or other documents relating to the required performance is incidental or secondary.

Shall: Used to denote the imperative.

Single source: Single source is procurement in which, although two or more vendors supply the commodities or services, there is only one reasonable source for the required goods or services. "Reasonable source" may be based on geographic distribution areas, vendor location, delivery schedule, maintenance requirements, etc.

Small business enterprise: Any person, sole proprietor, self-employed individual, independent contractor, firm, corporation, partnership, or association that is actively engaged in business, has its principal place of business in this state, employed an average of at least one but not more than 50 employees on business days during the preceding calendar, year, the majority of whom were employed in this state, and employs at least one employee on the first day of the current calendar year.

Sole source: The only existing source of the item which meets the needs of the user department/division/office as determined by a reasonably thorough analysis of the marketplace.

Solicitation: An invitation or request by which the county invites participation in the procurement process.

Suspend/suspension: Action taken by the county administrator under the administrative code to temporarily disqualify or exclude a person from participating in county procurements for a definite period of time.

Threshold: The dollar value which determines the methods for the purchase or solicitation of goods and services and authorization approval.

Used or pre-owned: Used to identify an item or equipment that is not new.

Vendor: A supplier/seller of goods, services, and/or construction. The term vendor may be used interchangeably with provider or supplier.

(Ord. No. 2018-20 , 9-25-2018)