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4. INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

4.1. PURPOSE:

The purpose of this document is to provide general and specific information for use in submitting a proposal to supply Effingham County with services as described herein. All proposals are governed by the Code of Effingham County, and the laws of the State of Georgia. Any contract and/or agreement and any addendums to it that result from this RFP shall be governed by the laws of Georgia, with venue in Effingham County.

4.2. HOW TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS:

All proposals shall be:

Submitted via the County's eProcurement Portal.


Please check the County’s eProcurement portal prior to submission for any addendum to the RFP

PROPOSALS NOT RECEIVED BY THE TIME AND DATE SPECIFIED WILL NOT BE OPENED OR CONSIDERED.

4.3. HOW TO SUBMIT AN OBJECTION:

Objections from Vendors to this request for proposal and/or these specifications should be brought to the attention of the County Purchasing Agent either verbally at the pre-proposal meeting, or in writing at least two (2) days prior to pre-proposal meeting. The objections contemplated may pertain to form and/or substance of the request for proposal documents. Failure to object in accordance with the above procedure will constitute a waiver on the part of the business to protest this request for proposal.

4.4. ERRORS IN PROPOSALS:

Vendors or their authorized representatives are expected to fully inform themselves as to the conditions, requirements, and specifications before submitting proposals. Failure to do so will be at the Vendor’s own risk.

4.5. STANDARDS FOR ACCEPTANCE OF VENDORS FOR CONTRACT AWARD:

The County expressly reserves the right in its sole judgement, to accept or reject any or all proposals received as the result of this RFP with or without cause and to waive any technicalities or irregularities in proposals received whenever such rejection or waiver is in the best interest of the County. The County reserves the right to reject the offer of a Vendor who has previously failed to perform properly or complete on time contracts of a similar nature, or an offer from a Vendor whom investigation shows is not in a position to perform the contract. The County reserves the right to accept, reject, and/or negotiate any and all proposals or parts of proposals deemed by the Board to be in the best interest of citizens of Effingham County. The County may request re-proposals should it be deemed in its best interest to do so. Until such time as a contract is executed with successful proposers, the County may cancel all or any part of this RFP. The County reserves the right to lease and/or purchase more or less of each item or service at the unit price offered in the Vendor's system, unless the Vendor specifically and explicitly limits the response in this regard. The County reserves the right to negotiate with vendors regarding variations to the original proposal(s) that may be in the best interest of the County.

4.6. VENDOR:

Whenever the term "vendor" is used it shall encompass the "person," "business," "firm," or other party submitting a proposal to Effingham County in such capacity before a contract has been entered into between such party and the County. At times throughout this request for proposal the term “vendor” may be used interchangeably with the terms “contractor”, “proposer” and “bidder”.

4.7. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS:

The Vendor shall obtain and maintain all licenses, permits, liability insurance, workman's compensation insurance and comply with any and all other standards or regulations required by Federal, State or County statute, ordinances and rules during the performance of any contract between the Vendor and the County. Any such requirement specifically set forth in any contract document between the Vendor and the County shall be supplementary to this section and not in substitution thereof.

4.8. COUNTY:

Whenever the term "County" or "Owner" is used it is to refer to the Effingham County Board of Commissioners.

4.9. DEBARRED FIRMS AND PENDING LITIGATION: DOUBLE CHECK ATTACHMENT D

Any potential Vendor/firm listed on the Federal or State of Georgia Parties Listing (barred from doing business) will not be considered for contract award. Vendors shall disclose any record of pending criminal violations (indictment) and/or convictions, pending lawsuits, etc., and any actions that may be a conflict of interest occurring within the past five (5) years.

Proposals will not be accepted from any company, firm, person, party or parent subsidiary, against which Effingham County has an outstanding claim, or financial dispute relating to prior contract performance. If the County, at any time, discovers such a dispute during any point of evaluation, the proposal will not be considered further. Any Vendor/firm previously defaulting or terminating a contract with the County will not be considered.

Vendor acknowledges that in performing contract work for the County, Vendor shall not utilize any firms that have been a party to any of the above actions. If Vendor has engaged any firm to work on this contract or project that is later debarred, Vendor shall sever its relationship with the firm with respect to County contract.

** All Vendors are to read and complete the Vendors certification regarding debarment, suspension, ineligibility, and voluntary exclusion enclosed as Disclosure of Responsibility - ATTACHMENT D to be returned with response. Failure to do so may result in your proposal being rejected as non-responsive.

4.10. IMMIGRATION:DOUBLE CHECK ATTACHMENT E

On 1 July 2009, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act (SB 529, Section 2) became effective. All employers, contractors and subcontractors entering into a contract or performing work must sign an affidavit that he/she has used the E-Verify System. E-Verify is a no-cost federal employment verification system to insure employment eligibility. Affidavits are enclosed in this solicitation. You may download M-274 Handbook for Employers at http://www.dol.state.ga.us/spotlight/employment/rules. You may go to http://www.uscis.gov to find the E-Verify information. ** All Vendors are to read and complete the E-Verify affidavit enclosed as ATTACHMENT E to be returned with response. Failure to do so may result in your solicitation response being rejected as non-responsive.

4.11. PROTECTION OF RESIDENT WORKERS:

Effingham County Board of Commissioners actively supports the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which includes provisions addressing employment eligibility, employment verification, and nondiscrimination. Under the INA, employers may hire only persons who may legally work in the United States (i.e., citizens and nationals of the U.S.) and aliens authorized to work in the U.S. The employer must verify the identity and employment eligibility of anyone to be hired, which includes completing the Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9). The contractor shall establish appropriate procedures and controls so no services or products under the Contract Documents will be performed or manufactured by any worker who is not legally eligible to perform such services or employment.

4.12. RFP SCHEDULE:

Refer to Introduction Section Above for complete timeline