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Home My WebLink AboutOTHER-2023-054-Procurement and disbursement ploicy ORANGECOUNTY HOUSING DEPARTMENT Procurement and Disbursement Policy Essential Single Family Rehabilitation Program PROCUREMENT POLICY 1 . To the maximum extent practical , Orange County (the " County") promotes a fair, open and competitive procurement process as required under the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency ' s (NCHFA) Essential Single -Family Rehabilitation Loan Pool (ESFRLP) . Bids are invited from Contractors who are part of the County ' s approved contractor registry . Any current contractor listed with and approved by the County and in good standing (ie , no unresolved past performance issues and not listed on the federal or state debarred list) will receive automatic approval status on the Contractor Registry , 2 . To be listed in the Approved Contractor Registry , a contractor must complete an application, have their recent work inspected, reviewed and approved by the County ' s Rehabilitation Specialist, and submit proof of insurance . 3 . At least three eligible contractors on the Contractor Registry shall be invited to bid on each job and the lowest, most responsive and responsible bidder shall be selected for the contract . "Responsive and responsible " means (a) the contractor is deemed able to complete the work in a timely fashion, (b) the bid is within 15 % , in either direction, of the County ' s cost estimate , (c) the contractor has not been suspended or debarred and (d) there is no conflict of interest (real or apparent) . All contractors working on pre4978 units must be Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RR&P) Certified Renovators working for Certified Renovation firms ; only those contractors with this certificate on file will be invited to bid on pre - 1978 homes . For units where abatement is required or with more than $ 25 , 000 of construction costs not attributed to Lead-Based Paint (LBP) stabilization/removal , projects must use a certified lead abatement firm as required by North Carolina ' s Lead Hazard Management Program for Abatement Activities (LHMP) . Both firm types are listed at this website : httpso //schs . dph . nedhhs . gov/lead/accredited . cfm . 4 . Although bid packages may be bundled for multiple job sites , the bids for multiple job sites shall be considered separate and apart when awarded and shall be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder( s) for each j ob site . 5 . Bid packages shall consist of an invitation to bid, work write up ( s) and bid sheet(s) for each job , including instructions for distribution and receipt of bids . Contractors will be given no less than seven days in which to inspect the property and prepare bid proposals . Each contractor will need access to all parts of the house in order to prepare a bid . A bid opening will be conducted at the Orange County Housing Department Office located at 300 W . Tryon St . , Hillsborough, NC 27278 at a specified date and time , with all bidders invited to attend . 6 . Bids must include a cost-per-item breakdown with line item totals equaling the submitted bid price . Discrepancies must be reconciled prior to a contract being awarded . 7 . The County reserves the right to reject any or all bids at any time during the procurement process . 8 . In the event of a true emergency situation, the County reserves the right to waive normal procurement procedures in favor of more expedient methods , which may include seeking telephone quotes , electronic bids and the like . Should such methods ever become ion will be fully documented . In the event phone bids are used, necessary the transact Orange County will call the first three responsive contractors on the approved contractor list who have indicated a desire to be on the telephone call list . The County will track who ill rotate through the full list before beginning the has been called and responsive , and w rotation again . 9 . All sealed bids will be opened publicly at a time and place to be announced in the bid invitation. All bidders are welcome to attend . Within 72 hours of the bid opening , after review of bid breakdowns and construction schedules , the winning bidders will be selected . All bidders and the homeowner will be notified in writing of 1 ) the selection of the winning bid, 2) the amount of the winning bid, 3 ) the amount of the County ' s cost estimate , and 4) the specific reasons for the selection, if other than the lowest bidder was selected . 10 . The contractor is responsible for obtaining a building permit for the project before beginning work if supported by the local jurisdiction . The permit must be posted at the house during the entire period of construction . If applicable, the contractor will obtain a permit for lead hazard related activities . Orange County ESFRLP staff will closely monitor the contractor during the construction period to make sure that the work is being completed according to the work write -up (which is made a part of the rehabilitation contract by reference) and in a timely fashion. Local Code Enforcement Officials will inspect the work for compliance with the NC State Building Code and the local minimum housing code , when applicable . To protect personal property the homeowner will be responsible for working with the contractor toward clearing work areas of personal property as needed as much as practicable . The contractor will be responsible for all clearing and cleaning activities necessary due to construction activities . 11 . Any change to the original scope of work must be reduced to writing in the form of a change order to be agreed upon and signed by all parties to the original contract including at minimum, the homeowner, the contractor and two representatives of the County . The change order must also detail any changes to the original contract price and completion date . 12 . No work may begin prior to a contract being awarded and executed and a written order to proceed provided to the contractor . In addition, a pre - construction conference and "walk through" shall be held at the work site prior to commencement of repair work . At this time, the homeowner, contractor and Orange County ESFRLP program representatives will discuss the details of the work to be completed . Starting and ending dates will be finalized, along with any special arrangements such as weekend or evening work hours and disposition of items to be removed from the home . Within 24 hours of the pre - construction conference , Orange County will issue a " proceed order " formally instructing the contractor to commence work by the agreed-upon date . PD 1 13 . Orange County is an equal opportunity employer, implements non- discriminatory practices in its procurement/disbursement and will make special outreach efforts to include MI (Minority/Women Business Enterprise) businesses within its contractor and subcontractor pool . Contractors will be chosen by the above criteria without regard to race , color, religion, national origin, age , sex, familial status and/or disability . DISBURSEMENT POLICY 1 . All repair work must be inspected by (a) the County ' s Rehabilitation Specialist, (b) the local building or minimum housing code inspector when applicable and (c) the homeowner prior to any payments to contractors . If all work is deemed satisfactory and all other factors and written agreements are in order, payment shall be issued upon presentation of an original invoice from the contractor . Contractor should allow 21 business days for processing of the invoice for payment . 2 . The contractor is entitled to request two (2 ) partial payments and a final payment . The first partial payment may be requested when the work is 50 % complete . The second partial payment may be requested when the work is 85 % complete . When a payment is requested, the Rehabilitation Specialist will inspect the work within three (3 ) days , determine percentage of job completion and calculate a payment based on 90 % of the total work completed . 3 . Following construction, the contractor and the Rehabilitation Specialist will meet with the Homeowner in a post- construction conference . At this conference the contractor will hand over all owner' s manuals and warranties on equipment and products to the homeowner and be available to answer homeowner questions . 4 . Project Closeout : When the contractor declares the work complete , the Rehabilitation Specialist will thoroughly inspect the work . If any of the work is deemed unsatisfactory , it must be corrected prior to authorization of final payment . If the contractor fails to correct the work to the satisfaction of the County ' s Rehabilitation Specialist, payment may be withheld until the work is deemed satisfactory . (Contractors may follow the County ' s Essential Single -Family Rehabilitation Loan Pool Assistance Policy if a dispute occurs ; however, contractors shall abide by the final decision as stated in the policy) . The Homeowner, Project Administrator and Rehabilitation Specialist will sign off on the work . After receipt of the contractor' s final invoice, inspections , certificate of completion and lien releases , the final payment will be ordered . All material and workmanship will be guaranteed by the contractor for a period of one ( 1 ) year, using the date the Rehabilitation Specialist declares all work complete and approves the final invoice for payment, the homeowner will be provided the one ( 1 ) year warranty date in writing . 5 . The County assures , through this policy, that adequate funds shall be available to pay the contractor for satisfactory work . 6 . All contractors , sub - contractors and suppliers must sign a lien waiver prior to disbursement of funds . PD 2 T _ e Procurement and Disbursement Policies are adopted this the day of 20� Orange County BY : ATTEST : CONTRACTORS STATEMENT : I have read and understand the attached Orange County Procurement and Disbursement Policy . BY : COMPANY NAME : WITNESS PD 3