2.537 Award of Contract.
(1) General. Unless exempt from competitive bidding, the contract, if awarded, is to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. "Lowest responsible bidder" means the lowest bidder who has substantially complied with all prescribed bidding procedures and requirements and who has not been disqualified under ORS 279B.130.
(2) Special Requirements. The bid documents shall set forth any special requirements and criteria which will be used to determine the lowest responsible bidder. No bid shall be evaluated for any requirement or criterion that is not disclosed in the bid documents, City ordinances and regulations, or state law.
(3) Product Acceptability.
(a) The bid documents shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used in determining product acceptability. The City may require the submission of bid samples, descriptive literature, technical data, or other material, and may also provide for accomplishing any of the following prior to award:
(i) Demonstration, inspection or testing of a product prior to award for such characteristics as quality or workmanship;
(ii) Determination of adequacy of service facilities and availability of parts;
(iii) Examination of such elements as appearance, finish, taste, or feel; or
(iv) Other examinations to determine whether the product conforms with specifications.
(b) The acceptability evaluation is conducted only to determine that a bidder's offering is acceptable as provided in the bid documents. Any bidder's product which does not meet the minimum requirements shall be rejected. Product rejections are not considered bidder disqualifications and are not grounds for appeal under ORS 279B.425.
(4) Determination of Lowest Responsible Bidder. Following determination of product acceptability as set forth in subsection (3), if any is required, bids will be evaluated to determine which bidder offers the lowest cost to the City in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the bid documents. Only objectively measurable criteria which are set forth in the bid documents shall be applied in determining the lowest responsible bidder. Examples of such criteria include, but are not limited to, transportation cost, volume weighing, trade-in allowances, cash discounts, depreciation allowances, cartage penalties, and ownership or life cycle cost formulas. Evaluation factors need not be precise predictors of actual future costs; but to the extent possible, such evaluation factors shall:
(a) Be reasonable estimates based upon information the public agency has available concerning future use;
(b) Treat all bids equitably; and
(c) Recognize that public policy requires acquisitions and public improvements to be accomplished at the least cost.
(5) Restrictions. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to permit contract award to a bidder submitting a higher quality item than that designated in the bid documents if such bidder is not also the lowest responsible bidder as determined under subsection (4) of this section. Further, this section does not permit negotiations with any bidder, except as provided for in ORS 279C.340.
(6) Order of Evaluation. Nothing in this section is intended to prescribe the order of timing of the evaluation of particular components of a bid or proposal. In order to save resources, the City may review price first, and then determine whether the apparent low bid or best proposal meets all product specifications.