Does the County Maintain a Bidder’s List?

Central Purchasing maintains a bidder’s list. Vendors may register to be on this list by completing a Vendor’s Application form. In accordance with County Policy the "maintenance of such a list shall not be construed as the acceptance of an obligation to notify any or all of the prospective offerors on such list of procurement transactions by the County "(Purchasing Ordinance, Paragraph 3-2).

What are the Competition Levels for Various Purchases?

Supported Departments and agencies are authorized to solicit quotes on purchases up to $15,000. They are not, however, authorized to place a valid order on the County’s behalf unless they can provide you with a Purchase Order Number. Between $15,000 and $30,000 Purchasing will solicit oral or written quotes providing ten days for you to respond. Purchases above $30,000 may be advertised and require approval by the Board of Supervisors (or School Board, as appropriate). All decisions by the Purchasing Agent or Board are final.  Many County and School personnel now use PURCHASE CARDS (P-Cards) for small purchases below $1,000.  The P-Cards are a VISA™ card issued by the Bank of America (picture ID required).

How Do I find out about Solicitations for Bids / Proposals

Purchasing mails (or FAXes) notices of Invitations for Bids (IFB) and Requests for Proposal (RFP), to prospective bidders from our Bid List (above). Notices are also posted on a bulletin board in Purchasing, may be published in the Daily Press Legal Ads section, broadcast on York County’s cable TV Channel 46, posted on the Commonwealth of Virginia's procurement web-site (eVA), and listed on Central Purchasing’s INTERNET site (http://www.yorkcounty.gov/purchasing/). The solicitation may require you to submit a bid bond. This information will be contained in the solicitation.  A new method is to SUBSCRIBE to a National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) group-code.  Email messages will be sent whenever a solicitation utilizing that group appears on our bid page (Click Here) or subscribe to our RSS.

Checks should be made payable to "Treasurer, County of York."  Purchasing will also accept cash or charge cards (Visa or MasterCard only).

How Does the County Evaluate Sealed Bids (IFB)

The following factors shall be considered, in addition to price, when determining the lowest responsible bidder and the responsiveness of the bid:

• The ability, capacity, and skill of the bidder to perform the contract.

• Whether the bidder can perform the contract or provide the service promptly, or within the time specified.

• The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the bidder.

• The quality of performance of previous contracts or services.

• The previous and existing compliance by the bidder with laws and ordinances relating to the contract or service.

• The sufficiency of financial resources and ability of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service.

• The quality, availability and adaptability of the goods or services to the particular use required.

• The ability of the bidder to perform future maintenance and service for use of the subject of the contract.

• The number and scope of conditions attached to the bid.

• Any other condition or criteria included in the request for bids or instructions for bidders (Purchasing Ordinance, Paragraph 3-12).

How Does the County Evaluate Proposals (RFP)?

When competitive negotiation is the method of procurement, the following factors shall be considered in a descending order of importance in determining the most qualified firm or individual:

• Any special qualifications or requirements set forth in the proposal documents.

• Qualifications of the project manager and project teams.

• Overall qualifications and experience of the firm and any subcontractors.

• Quality of the proposal and its responsiveness to the request.

• The sufficiency of financial resources and ability of the bidder to perform the contract to provide the services.

• Financial ability of the firm to perform future maintenance and service.

• The location of the office responsible for providing the services.

• Cost estimates (which may or may not be required at the time of submission of the proposal, depending upon the circumstances). (Purchasing Ordinance, Paragraph 3-13).

How Do I Use the Calendar Function of the Solicitation Page?

The Solicitation web-page now includes a Calendaring function for Pre-Bid/Proposal meetings or Bid/Proposal openings.  By selecting the calendar icon () on the web-page you can, if you have "iCalendar" compliant software [RFC2445] on your PC,  add the selected calendar-event to your personal calendar.  Depending on how your calendar software is configured, the 'event' will either (1) provide you with the opportunity to save the event to your local disk; or (2) open the event in your calendar-software program and ask if you wish to save it to your calendar.  Microsoft Outlook® and many other calendar-related programs are known to be iCalendar compliant.  If you save the event to your hard disk without opening your calendar program it will not be added to your calendar.  Typically, you can click on the event (*.ics) on your hard drive in a file manager application (e.g. Microsoft Windows Explorer®) and, if you have an "association" set with your calendar application, it will open your calendar program.  (NOTE: If the hour scheduled for a meeting in the calendar entry does not match what is shown, e.g. it is one hour "off", in the 'Current Solicitations' table; then the error is most likely the Daylight Saving Time [DST] setting on your computer.  To set DST on you computer (in Microsoft Windows): right-click on the digital time shown in the 'system tray' and select "Adjust/Date Time".  In the resulting dialog box, click on the 'Time Zone' tab.  Make sure the 'Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes' box is selected.)  Be sure you increase the 'Reminder' item of the event to allow you sufficient time to attend or respond (e.g. travel time, etc.).  If you have difficulty with the calendar functions, please let us know (Click here).