Guide to County Purchasing: Competitive Proposals for Insurance, High Technology Goods and Services and Special Services Exceeding the Statutory Limit

Competitive proposals allow for negotiation of contractual terms and conditions and price. Competitive proposals may be solicited through a Request for Proposals (RFP).

Request for Proposals

Formal "sealed" Request for Proposals (RFP) will be used to procure insurance, high technology goods and services and the special services of landscape maintenance, travel management and recycling which exceed the statutory limit. The RFP will solicit proposals from vendors in response to the County's requirements and contractual terms and conditions. A formal contract must be approved by the Commissioners Court.

"High technology" goods or services means goods or services of a highly technical nature, including:

* data processing equipment and software and firmware used in conjunction with data processing equipment;

* telecommunications, radio, and microwave systems;

* electronic distributed control systems, including building energy management systems; and

* technical services related to those goods and services.

Sealed proposals must be opened by the purchasing office and must be documented. Proposals are not opened publicly. Only the names of proponents submitting proposals should be announced. The purchasing agent will open the proposals on the date specified in the notice. The date specified in the notice may be extended by purchasing agent if an error is discovered in the original RFP.

Proposals will be opened so as to avoid disclosure of contents to competing proponents and will be kept secret during the process of negotiation. All proposals that have been submitted will be available and open for public inspection after the contract is awarded, except for trade secrets and confidential proprietary information contained in the proposals and identified as such if the solicitation provides for this information to be kept secret.