The board of county commissioners shall have the authority to establish an online bidding process with a vendor authorized by state contract as provided by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES).

The purchasing agent shall comply with all bid notice requirements as prescribed in the Oklahoma Statutes or the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974.

Solicitations shall designate an opening and closing date and time for bids. Sealed bids received pursuant to Oklahoma Statutes shall be first opened in an open meeting of the board of county commissioners concurrently with other sealed bids received as provided in the Oklahoma Statutes or the Public Competitive Bidding Act of 1974.

The board of county commissioners shall be authorized to require online bidders to register before the opening date and time and, as part of that registration, require bidders to agree to any terms, conditions, or other requirements of the solicitation or applicable acts.

The board of county commissioners shall be authorized to require potential online bidders to prequalify as bidders. Solicitations and published bid notices shall indicate the prequalification requirements for online bids. Bids submitted by online bidders not meeting a prequalification requirement shall be disqualified from consideration.
19 O.S. §1505(B)(5)

The Purchasing Agent

In the bidding process, the purchasing agent has the following general responsibilities:

• Notify the successful bidder(s);
• Prepare and maintain a vendors list specifying the successful bidder for the common bid list and provide a copy to county officers;
• Complete the requisition as presented for the bid item and place the order;
• Maintain a bid file containing the following items:
• Copy of Requisition - Purchase Order – Claim;
• Specifications;
• Affidavit of publication;
• Affidavit of mailing listing all the vendors that were notified of the bid proposal;
• List of vendors that responded (SA&I Form 4045, Bid Record));
• Written evaluation from the requisitioning officer;
• Copy of agenda for bid opening;
• Copy of minutes of board of county commissioners awarding of the bid;
• Bids received;
• State contract pricing (if considering evaluation);
• Other items as applicable.

For items exempt from bidding, refer to  Chapter Six, “Purchasing Situations.”

• 19 O.S. §1505(B)(5)
• 19 O.S. § 1505(B)(6)(b)

Vendor Quotes

Quotes can be used in specific situations as prescribed by law. Vendor quotes as used in the Oklahoma Statutes would include those quotes by telephone, fax, and email. All quotes should be entered on SA&I Form No. 4046, Vendor Quote Sheet. Refer to “Vendor Quotes” in Chapter Six, “Purchasing Situations.”
19 O.S. § 1505(B)(1)

Common Bid List

The county maintains accurate pricing information to plan, budget, and requisition commonly used items by placing items on a bid list and soliciting bids in advance of needs. The bid list also permits the purchasing agent to easily identify an item requisitioned by using the bid list number in combination with the specifications. Commonly used items are used on a regular basis, such as file folders, paper, rock, culverts, and other items.

A common bid list cannot exceed twelve months. The most common time frame is six months. Common bids are often referred to as six-month bids.
19 O.S. § 1505(B)(1)

The Purchasing Agent

The purchasing agent has the following responsibilities when preparing a bid list of commonly used items (common bid list):

• Solicit, from county officials and department heads, recommendations of needed or commonly used supplies, materials, and equipment for their departments.
• Refer to
  SA&I Form No. 1-4050, List of Commonly Used Items to County or State Central Purchasing, for information on completing the form used for this purpose
• Prepare a list of needed or commonly used items within the county from the recommendations received, previous requisitions, purchase orders, and inventory records.
• The criterion for placing an item on the list should be that it is needed, commonly used, or used often and repeatedly by the department or county.
• This list of items becomes the basis for a common bid list.
• The bid for a common bid list can be for less than 12 months. The most common time frame is a six-month bid.

Once the common bid list is complete, the purchasing agent may complete the following steps:

• Request the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) to purchase the items on the common bid list for the county or they may advertise the bids locally for the county office, department, or county entity (most commonly used method).
• Follow bidding procedures as outlined under “Purchases When Bidding is Required” in this chapter:
• Refer to “Awarding Bids for Processed Native Materials” in Chapter Six, “Purchasing Situations,” for awarding deviations from normal practices

For a common bid list, if no bids are received after following the bidding procedures as outlined under “Purchases When Bidding is Required” in this chapter, the purchasing agent has the following responsibilities:

• Determine if vendors are willing to commit to bids for a shorter period;
• If vendors are willing, solicit bids and award for the shorter period;
• A vendor can lower a bid on a common bid list but cannot increase the pricing during the bid period. If a vendor cannot provide an item at any time during the contract, refer to Chapter Six, “Purchasing Situations.”
• 19 O.S. § 1505(B)(1)
• 19 O.S. § 1505(B)(2)
• 19 O.S. §1505(B)(6)
• 62 O.S. § 310.8