Policy definitions
§14-101 Definitions
The words defined in this Section shall have the meanings set forth below whenever they appear in this Policy, unless: (1) the context in which they are used clearly requires a different meaning or (2) a different definition is prescribed for a particular Section or provision.
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(1) Amendment means a written revision or clarification made to a solicitation.
(2) Architectural and Engineering Services means:
- (a) professional services of an architectural or engineering nature, as defined §287.055, Fla. Stat., if applicable, which are required to be performed or approved by a person licensed, registered, or certified to provide such services as described in this Policy;
- (b) professional services of an architectural or engineering nature performed by contract that are associated with research, planning, development, design, construction, alteration, or repair of real property; and
- (c) such other professional services of an architectural or engineering nature, or incidental services, which members of the architectural and engineering professions (and individuals in their employ) may logically or justifiably perform, including: studies, investigations, surveying, mapping, tests, evaluations, consultations, comprehensive planning, program management, conceptual designs, plans and specifications, value engineering, construction phase services, soils engineering, drawing reviews, preparation of operating and maintenance manuals, and other related services.
(3) Audit Services means services that include, but are not limited to, compliance audits, performance audits, operational audits, special investigations, technology audits, or other audits, which may involve retaining the services of audit firms, auditors, subject matter experts, or similar persons or firms deemed necessary by the County Internal Auditor or a Using Agency. With the exception of the County’s annual audit of the County’s financial statements and compliance audits mandated by state and federal regulatory agencies, no contract for audit services may be solicited or awarded without written approval of the County Internal Auditor.
(4) Bid Sample means a sample to be furnished by a bidder to show the characteristics of the item offered in the bid.
(5) Blanket Purchase Agreement means a purchase agreement that is created when the detail of the goods or services you plan to buy from a specific supplier in a period is known, but the delivery schedule and delivery quantities are unknown. Blanket Purchase Agreements are used to specify negotiated prices for items before actually purchasing them.
(6) Blind Trust means an independently managed trust in which the employee-beneficiary has no management rights and in which the employee-beneficiary is not given notice of alterations in, or other dispositions of, the property subject to the trust.
(7) Board of County Commissioners or Board means the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners.
(8) Brand Name or Equal Specification means a specification limited to one or more items by manufacturers' names or catalog numbers to describe the standard of quality, performance, and other salient characteristics needed to meet the County’s requirements, and which provides for the submission of equivalent products.
(9) Business means any corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture, or any other private legal entity.
(10) Business Day means every official business or working day of the week. Business Days are the days between and including Monday to Friday, and do not include County holidays and weekends. In computing any period of time prescribed by this Policy as Business Days, the day of the event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included, but the last day of the period shall be included unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or a County holiday, in which event the period shall run to the end of the next business day.
(11) Calendar Day means all days in a month, including Saturday, Sunday and County holidays. In computing any period of time prescribed by this Policy as Calendar Days, the day of the event from which the designated period of time begins to run shall not be included, but the last day of the period shall be included.
(12) Capability means, for the purpose of this Policy, capability at the time of award of the contract.
(13) Change Order means a written order signed or authorized by an approving authority, directing the contractor to make changes which the changes clause of the contract authorizes the approving authority to order without the consent of the contractor.
(14) Chief Financial Administrator means the Chief Financial Administrator or designee.
(15) Chief Information & Innovation Officer means the Chief Information & Innovation Officer or designee.
(16) Complex Contract Purchase Agreement means a purchase agreement that is created for a supplier who agrees on a schedule of "pay items" that specifies the work component, the associated dollar amount, and due date for completion. Complex Contract Purchase Agreements often involve construction and include “retainage,” which is an amount that is withheld from payments to the contractor as a means of assuring performance and subcontractor payments.
(17) Confidential Information means any information which is available to an employee only because of the employee's status as an employee of this County and is not a matter of public knowledge or available to the public on request.
(18) Conspicuously means written in such special or distinctive format, print, or manner that a reasonable person against whom it is to operate ought to have noticed it.
(19) Construction means the process of building, altering, repairing, improving, or demolishing any public infrastructure facility, including any public structure, public building, or other public improvements of any kind to real property. It does not include the routine operation, routine repair, or routine maintenance of any existing public infrastructure facility, including structures, buildings, or real property.
(20) Construction Manager Agent means a person or entity who has a contract with the County to provide contract administration, project management, and other specified services to the County in connection with the County’s administration of any of the project delivery methods. A Construction Manager Agent does not typically assume responsibility for the proper or timely performance of the County’s independent contractors, i.e., Designers, Builders, Construction Managers At-Risk, and Design-Builders.
(21) Construction Manager At-Risk (CMAR), as used in Chapter 5, means a person who has been awarded, through competitive sealed proposals or multi-step bidding, a separate contract with the County to construct (alter, repair, improve, or demolish any Infrastructure Facility using the Design-Bid-Build project delivery method defined in Section 5-101(2) of the Policy. A CMAR typically is subject to the same performance and payment bond requirements applicable to Builders. The CMAR process is generally a project-specific delivery method that is suited for medium to large capital or renovation projects. The CMAR provides technical assistance to the designer during the design phase, has a cost-capping feature (e.g., guaranteed maximum price or GMP), and may allow construction to begin before the design documents are 100% complete. The CMAR generally awards subcontracts much like a general contractor in a Design-Bid-Build project and assumes responsibility for the proper or timely performance of the same.
(22) Contract means all types of County agreements, regardless of what they may be called, for the procurement of supplies, services, or construction.
(23) Contract Modification means any written, unilateral (but within the scope of the changes clause), or mutually agreed upon (bilateral), change. A contract modification may introduce or cancel specifications or terms of an existing contract, while leaving intact its overall purpose and effect. Unilateral modifications are issued usually through a change order, the bilateral modifications through a contract modification or revision of a contract.
(24) Contract Purchase Agreement means a purchase agreement (order) that is created for suppliers who agree on specific terms and conditions without indicating the specific goods and services that will be purchased. Standard Purchase Orders are issued with a reference to a Contract Purchase Agreement.
(25) Contractor means any person having a contract with a governmental body.
(26) Cooperative Purchasing means procurement conducted by, or on behalf of, one or more governmental agencies.
(27) Cost Analysis is the evaluation of cost data for the purpose of arriving at costs actually incurred or estimates of costs to be incurred, prices to be paid, and costs to be reimbursed.
(28) Cost Data are information concerning the actual or estimated cost of labor, material, overhead, and other cost elements which have been actually incurred or which are expected to be incurred by the contractor in performing the contract.
(29) Cost-Plus-a-Percentage-of-Cost Contract means a type of contract that provides for a fee or profit as a specified percentage of the contractor's actual cost of accomplishing the work to be performed. This type of contract is expressly prohibited by this Policy.
(30) Cost-Reimbursement Contract means a contract under which a contractor is reimbursed for costs which are allowable and allocable in accordance with the contract terms and the provisions of this Policy, and a fee, if any.
(31) County means the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (Board) and all departments, divisions, and agencies under direct control of the Board.
(32) County Administrator or Administrator means the County Administrator or Designee.
(33) County Attorney means the County Attorney or Designee who shall have the sole authority to approve or recommend approval of outside legal and/or legal-related services.
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(34) Data means recorded information, regardless of form or characteristic.
(35) Descriptive Literature means information available in the ordinary course of business which shows the characteristics, construction, or operation of an item which enables the County to consider whether the item meets its needs.
(36) Design-Bid-Build (DBB) means a project delivery method in which the County sequentially awards separate contracts, the first for architectural and engineering services to design the project and the second for construction of the project according to the design.
(37) Design-Build (DB) means a project delivery method in which the County enters into a single contract for design and construction of an infrastructure facility.
(38) Design-Build-Finance (DBF) means a project delivery method in which the County enters into a single contract where the private sector constructs an infrastructure facility and finances the capital cost only during the construction period. Ownership of the infrastructure facility remains with the County.
(39) Design-Build-Operate-Maintain (DBOM) means a project delivery method in which the County enters into a single contract where the private sector designs, builds, operates, and provides hard facility management or maintenance services under a long-term agreement. Ownership of the infrastructure facility remains with the County.
(40) Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM) means a project delivery method in which the County enters into a single contract where the private sector designs, builds and finances an infrastructure facility and provides hard facility management or maintenance services under a long-term agreement. Ownership of the infrastructure facility remains with the County.
(41) Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) means a project delivery method in which the County enters into a single contract where the private sector designs, builds, finances, operates, and provides hard facility management or maintenance services under a long-term agreement. Ownership of the infrastructure facility remains with the County.
(42) Design Criteria Package means concise, performance-oriented drawings or specifications of the public construction project. The purpose of the design criteria package is to furnish sufficient information to permit design-build firms to prepare a bid or a response to an agency’s request for proposal, or to permit an agency to enter into a negotiated design-build contract. The design criteria package must specify performance-based criteria for the public construction project, including the legal description of the site, survey information concerning the site, interior space requirements, material quality standards, schematic layouts and conceptual design criteria of the project, cost or budget estimates, design and construction schedules, site development requirements, provisions for utilities, stormwater retention and disposal, and parking requirements applicable to the project.
(43) Design Criteria Professional means a firm who holds a current certificate of registration under Chapter 481, Fla. Stat., to practice architecture or landscape architecture or a firm who holds a current certificate as a registered engineer under Chapter 471, Fla. Stat., to practice engineering and who is employed by or under contract to the agency for the providing of professional architect services, landscape architect services, or engineering services in connection with the preparation of the design criteria package.
(44) Design Requirements means the written description of the infrastructure facility or service to be procured under Chapter 5, including:
- (a) required features, functions, characteristics, qualities, and properties that are required by the County;
- (b) the anticipated schedule, including start, duration, and completion; and
- (c) estimated budgets (as applicable to the specific procurement) for design, construction, operation, and maintenance.
The design requirements may, but need not, include drawings and other documents illustrating the scale and relationship of the features, functions, and characteristics of the project.
(45) Designee means a duly authorized representative of a person holding a superior position to the extent allowed and/or not prohibited by this Policy.
(46) Direct or Indirect Participation means involvement through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, preparation of any part of a purchase request, influencing the content of any specification or procurement standard, rendering of advice, investigation, auditing, or in any other advisory capacity.
(47) Director of Procurement or Director means the Director of Procurement as the head of the central procurement office (Procurement Services Department) of the County or designee.
(48) Discussions, as used in the source selection process, means an exchange of information or other manner of negotiation during which the offeror and the County may alter or otherwise change the conditions, terms, and price of the proposed contract. Discussions may be conducted in connection with competitive sealed proposals, sole source, and emergency procurement; discussions are not permissible in competitive sealed bidding (except to the extent permissible in the first phase of multi-step sealed bidding).
(49) Electronic means electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, or any other similar technology.
(50) Electronic Signature means the method(s) of authenticating the identity of a vendor, documenting that a vendor has verified its submittal, accepted the terms, conditions, and requirements of a solicitation, and preventing undetected alterations of submitted information.
(51) Employee means an individual drawing a salary from the County, whether elected or not, and any non-compensated individual performing personal services for the County.
(52) Established Catalog Price means the price included in a catalog, price list, schedule, or other form that:
- (a) is regularly maintained by a manufacturer or contractor;
- (d) is either published or otherwise available for inspection by customers; and
- (c) states prices at which sales are currently or were last made to a significant number of any category of buyers or buyers constituting the general buying public for the supplies or services involved.
(53) Financial Interest means:
- (a) ownership of any interest or involvement in any relationship from which, or as a result of which, a person has received, or is presently or in the future entitled to receive compensation;
- (b) ownership of such interest in any property or any business as may be specified by general law; or
- (c) holding a position in a business such as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, or the like, or holding any position of management.
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(54) Grant means the furnishing by the County of assistance, whether financial or otherwise, to any person to support a program authorized by law. It does not include an award whose primary purpose is to procure an end product, whether in the form of supplies, services, or construction; a contract resulting from such an award is not a grant but a procurement contract.
(55) Gratuity means a payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, service, or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value is received.
(56) Immediate Family means a spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and such other relatives as may be designated by general law.
(57) Independent Peer Reviewer Services are additional architectural and engineering services provided to the County in design-build-operate-maintain or design-build-finance-operate-maintain procurements. The function of the independent peer reviewer is to confirm that the key elements of the professional engineering and architectural design provided by the contractor are in conformance with the applicable standard of care.
(58) Infrastructure Facility means a building; structure; or networks of buildings, structures, pipes, controls, and equipment that provide transportation, utilities, public education, or public safety services. Included are government office buildings; public schools; courthouses; jails; prisons; water treatment plants, distribution systems, and pumping stations; wastewater treatment plants, collection systems, and pumping stations; solid waste disposal plants, incinerators, landfills, and related facilities; public roads and streets; highways; public parking facilities; public transportation systems, terminals, and rolling stock; rail, air, and water port structures, terminals, and equipment.
(59) Invitation for Bids (IFB) or Invitation to Bid (ITB) means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting competitive sealed bids.
(60) Job-Order Contracting means an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity project delivery method used for construction, remodeling, repair, landscaping, and related projects and associated maintenance services. Pricing structures are based on competitively bid coefficients applied to pre-established unit prices.
(61) Legal Services are services that include, but are not limited to, retaining services of law firms, outside counsel, expert witnesses, trial consultants or similar persons or firms deemed by the County Attorney, for any reason, as necessary to address the County's legal needs. Such firms or persons shall be selected by the County Attorney.
(62) May denotes the permissive. However, the words "no person may" mean that no person is required, authorized, or permitted to do the act prescribed.
(63) Micro-Purchase. A micro-purchase is the acquisition of supplies or services, the aggregate dollar amount of which does not exceed $3,000 ($2,000 for acquisitions of construction subject to the Davis-Bacon Act) or as otherwise defined in the Federal Acquisition Regulation at 48 CFR Subpart 2.1 (Definitions). Where a procurement involves the expenditure of federal assistance or contract funds, the defined micro-purchase threshold may apply.
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(64) Novation. The substitution of a new contract for a previous contract, or the substitution of a new party for a previous party in a contract, so that the previous obligation is considered discharged, or the previous obligor released.
(65) Offer means proposal and Offeror means a person submitting a proposal when a procurement is made by a source selection method other than competitive sealed bidding.
(66) Official Responsibility means direct administrative or operating authority, whether intermediate or final, either exercisable alone or with others, either personally or through subordinates, to approve, disapprove, or otherwise direct County action.
(67) Operational Procedures means the procedures governing the internal functions of the Procurement Services Department.
(68) Operations and Maintenance means a project delivery method whereby the County enters into a single contract for the operation and maintenance of an infrastructure facility for a specified term. Ownership of the infrastructure facility remains with the County.
(69) Person means any business, individual, union, committee, club, other organization, or group of individuals.
(70) Piggybacking occurs when the County uses a contract awarded by another governmental agency to acquire the same goods or services at the same price and under the same conditions in lieu of the County issuing its own solicitation and awarding its own contract.
(71) Practicable denotes what may be accomplished or put into practical application. For purposes of this Policy, the terms "practical" and "practicable" shall be considered to have the same meaning.
(72) Prequalification for Inclusion on Bidders Lists means determining in accordance with §3-402 (Prequalification of Suppliers) that a prospective bidder or offeror satisfies the criteria established for being included on the bidders list.
(73) Price Analysis means the evaluation of price data, without analysis of the separate cost components and profit as in cost analysis, which may assist in arriving at prices to be paid and costs to be reimbursed.
(74) Price Data are factual information concerning prices, including profit, for supplies, services, or construction substantially similar to those being procured. In this definition, "prices" refer to offered or proposed selling prices, historical selling prices, and current selling prices of such items. This definition refers to data relevant to both prime and subcontract prices.
(75) Procurement means buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring any supplies, services or construction. It also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any supply, service, or construction, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation, and award of contract.
(76) Procurement Procedures or Procedures means the procedures and/or regulations promulgated by the Director of Procurement that govern the County’s procurement process in conformance with the Procurement Policy.
(77) Procurement Staff means the full-time procurement professionals employed by the Board of County Commissioners who are assigned to the Procurement Services Department and report directly or indirectly to the Director of Procurement.
(78) Proposal Development Documents means drawings and other design related documents that are sufficient to fix and describe the size and character of an infrastructure facility as to architectural, structural, mechanical and electrical systems, materials, and such other elements as may be appropriate to the applicable project delivery method.
(79) Protest means a written statement concerning any unresolved disagreement or controversy arising out of the solicitation or award by the County filed in accordance with the provisions set forth in Hillsborough County Code of Ordinances and Laws, Part A, Chapter 2, Article VI, Division 3, entitled Hillsborough County Procurement Protest Policy and Procedures (Protest Policy).
(80) Protestor means any actual or prospective bidder, offeror, or contractor who is aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or the award of a contract and who files a protest.
(81) Public Notice means the distribution or dissemination of information to interested parties using methods that are reasonably available. Such methods will often include publication in newspapers of general circulation, electronic or paper mailing lists, and web site(s) designated by the County and maintained for that purpose.
(82) Purchase Description means the words used in a solicitation to describe the supplies, services, or construction to be purchased, and includes specifications attached to, or made a part of the solicitation.
(83) Purchase Request or Purchase Requisition means that document whereby a Using Agency requests that a contract be entered into for a specified need, and may include, but is not limited to, the technical description of the requested item, delivery schedule, transportation, criteria for evaluation, suggested sources of supply, and information supplied for the making of any written determination required by this Policy.
(84) Practicable means possible to practice or perform.
(85) Qualified Products List (QPL) means an approved list of supplies, services, or construction items described by model or catalog numbers which, prior to competitive solicitation, the County has determined will meet the applicable specification requirements.
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(86) Regulation means a statement, having general or particular applicability and future effect, designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy, or describing organization, procedure, or practice requirements, which has been promulgated in accordance with this Policy.
(87) Request for Proposals (RFP) means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting competitive sealed proposals.
(88) Request for Information (RFI) means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting information when the County does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to an RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the County to form a binding contract.
(89) Request for Quotation or Quote (RFQ) means all documents whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting informal quotations.
(90) Request for Solution (RFS) means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting innovative solutions by providing general instructions regarding an identified problem while laying minimal restrictions on technology and/or approach.
(91) Request for Professional Services (RPS) means all documents whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting qualifications for architectural, engineering, and other professional services in accordance with §5-205.
(92) Responsible Bidder or Offeror means a bidder or offeror who has reasonable capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements and the tenacity, perseverance, experience, integrity, reliability, capacity, facilities, equipment, and credit which will ensure good-faith performance.
(93) Responsive Bidder or Offeror means a bidder or offeror who has submitted a response to a solicitation, which conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in the same.
(94) Revision means a written amendment or clarification made to a solicitation.
(95) Services means the furnishing of labor, time, or effort by a contractor, not involving the delivery of a specific end product other than reports which are merely incidental to the required performance. This term shall not include employment agreements, collective bargaining agreements, or professional services which are covered by the Consultants' Competitive Negotiations Act (§ 287.055, Fla. Stat.).
(96) Shall denotes the imperative.
(97) Signature means a manual or electronic identifier, or the electronic result of an authentication technique attached to or logically associated with a record that is intended by the person using it to have the same force and effect as a manual signature.
(98) Solicitation means an Invitation for Bids, a Request for Proposals, a request for quotations, or any other document issued by the County for the purpose of soliciting bids or proposals to perform services or provide supplies to the County.
(99) Specification or Scope of Work means any description of the physical or functional characteristics, or of the nature of a supply, service, or construction item. It may include a description of any requirement for inspecting, testing, or preparing a supply, service, or construction item for delivery.
(100) Standard Purchase Order means a purchase order that is generally created for one-time purchases of items when the item details, cost, quantity delivery schedule, accounting distribution, etc. are known. If encumbrance accounting is used, the Standard Purchase Order may encumber funds since the required information is known.
(101) Standard Specification means a specification that is to be used for all or most purchases of an item; describes all required physical and functional characteristics of a good, service or construction.
(102) Standardization means the process of establishing a single specification for an item, or range of items.
(103) Supplier means a person or entity that provides supplies and/or services.
(104) Supplies means all property including, but not limited to, equipment and materials.
(105) Technical Proposal means solicited or unsolicited submission of information from a prospective contractor which states how that party intends to perform certain work; its technical and business qualifications; and its proposed delivery, warranty, and other terms and conditions as those might differ from or supplement the County’s solicitation requirements. It shall include such pricing information as may be required.
(106) Unauthorized Procurement means a procurement that was not properly authorized, in excess of available funding, or otherwise not in compliance with the Procurement Policy.
(107) Unsolicited Proposal means a written but informal offer, bid, proposal, or quotation that is submitted on the initiative of the submitter and not in response to any formal or informal request.
(108) Using Agency means any department, division, agency, commission, board, committee, authority, or other unit under the direct or indirect control of the Board of County Commissioners, which utilizes any supplies, services, or construction procured under this Policy. Nothing herein shall be construed as requiring the County's constitutional officers to be covered by this Policy; however, the services of the Procurement Services Department and Director of Procurement shall be made available for their use, at their option.
(109) Written or In Writing means the product of any method of forming characters on paper, other materials, or viewable screens, which can be read, retrieved, and reproduced, including information that is electronically transmitted and stored.