A.
Process. Protests of a contract award or decision to award a contract
shall be governed by the provisions of the Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4360.
B.
Effect of appeal or protest upon contract awarded. The validity of
a contract awarded and accepted in good faith in accordance with this
chapter shall not be affected by the fact that a protest or appeal
has been filed.
C.
Stay of award during protest. An award need not be delayed for the
period allowed a bidder or offeror to protest, but in the event of
a timely protest or the filing of legal action, no further action
to award the contract will be taken unless there is a written determination
that proceeding without delay is necessary to protect the public interest
or unless the bid or offer would expire.
The provisions of the Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4357,
shall govern any determination in which any bidder, offeror or contractor
is refused permission to participate or disqualified from participating
in a procurement.
The provisions of the Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4359,
shall govern determinations of nonresponsibility.
A.
When used. The Purchasing Agent may, in the public interest, debar
a prospective contractor from participating in the County's competitive
procurement. The seriousness of the grounds and any mitigating factors
should be considered in making any debarment decision.
B.
Grounds. The Purchasing Agent may debar a prospective contractor
for any of the following grounds:
(1)
Conviction of or entry of a civil judgment for:
(a)
Fraud or any criminal offense in connection with obtaining,
attempting to obtain, or performing a public contract or subcontract.
(b)
Violating federal or state antitrust statutes relating to the
submission of offers.
(c)
Embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification, destruction
of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property.
(d)
Any other offense that reflects a lack of business integrity
or business honesty and directly affects the responsibility of a contractor
or subcontractor.
(2)
Breach of the terms of a government contract or subcontract so serious
as to justify debarment, including:
C.
Process. The debarment process is governed by the following procedures:
(1)
Notice of consideration. The prospective contractor shall be advised
that debarment is being considered. The notice should be by certified
mail, return receipt requested. The notice shall include the reasons
for the proposed debarment.
(2)
Challenge. Within 10 days of the date of the notice, the prospective
contractor may submit information challenging the proposed debarment.
(3)
Decision. The Purchasing Agent shall render a written decision within
15 days of receiving the prospective contractor's rebuttal information.
Any debarment should be for a time period that reflects the seriousness
of the cause.
(4)
Appeal. The Purchasing Agent's decision is final unless the
prospective contractor initiates legal action within 21 days of the
decision.
All contractual claims for money or other relief shall be adjudicated
using the following procedure:
A.
Notice. The contractor shall give written notice of his or her intention
to file a contractual claim to the Purchasing Agent at the time of
the event or the beginning of the work upon which the claim is based.
B.
Claim. Contractual claims must be submitted, in writing, to the Purchasing
Agent no later than 60 days after final payment.
C.
Decision. The Purchasing Agent or an authorized designee shall make
a written decision addressing the claim within 90 days of submission.
A.
Appealable decisions. Any contractor may appeal a decision addressing
a contract claim. In addition, any bidder or offeror may appeal:
B.
Appeals process. All administrative appeals shall be adjudicated
using the following procedure:
(1)
Institution. A person entitled to appeal a decision listed in Subsection A may file a letter of appeal with the Purchasing Agent within 10 days of the date of the decision being challenged. No appeal will be allowed if the letter of appeal is untimely.
(2)
Sufficiency of letter of appeal. The letter of appeal shall specify
the basis for the appeal, the relief sought, and whether a hearing
is requested.
(3)
Decision without hearing. If a hearing is not expressly requested,
the Purchasing Agent shall render a written decision within 10 days
of receiving the letter of appeal.
(4)
Hearing and decision. If a hearing is requested, it shall be held
within 30 days of receipt of the letter of appeal. The hearing will
be conducted by a disinterested hearing officer appointed by the Purchasing
Agent. The hearing officer should be an attorney at law. Each party
will have the opportunity to present pertinent information during
the hearing. The hearing shall be an informal administrative proceeding,
rather than a judicial-like trial, but it is nevertheless the appellant's
burden to produce evidence sufficient to show that the Purchasing
Agent's decision was erroneous. The hearing shall be recorded
and transcribed. A final decision with findings of fact will be issued
within 21 days of the hearing.
C.
Judicial review. Any party to the administrative appeals process
may initiate judicial review within 30 days of receipt of the arbiter's
written decision. The hearing officer's findings of fact shall
be final and conclusive and shall not be set aside unless such findings
are:
