Because local government entities are oftentimes in the business of utilizing federal grant funding, they are held to a higher standard when it comes to demonstrating their ability to use those monies responsibly. Fortunately, many assurance measures can be established in advance of entering into the bidding process. In fact, the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Uniform Grant Guidance establishes key guidelines to point entities in the right direction when services are taken out to bid in an effort to facilitate full and open competition among the vendors vying for the entity’s work. Below is a list of “dos and don’ts” to follow when selecting your next vendor.
Read Also: Uniform Grant Guidance: What All Government Entities Need To Know
The Do’s And Don’ts of Vendor Selection
Don’t: Accept the bid if it came from the contractor who assisted during the drafting phase of your entity’s request for proposals (RFP).
Don’t: Attempt to restrict the competition by establishing unreasonable requirements, requiring unnecessary experience and excessive bonding requirements and/or specifying the need for retainer contracts or brand name products. Generally speaking, you should only use brand names or their equivalent as a means to define the performance or other salient requirement of a particular procurement.
Don’t: Give preference to in-state or local businesses – unless your entity specifically requires geography to be a consideration.
Do: Take affirmative steps to assure that your entity is working with small businesses, minority businesses and women’s business enterprises whenever possible. Affirmative steps include placing qualified businesses on a solicitation list, dividing the total requirements into smaller tasks or quantities (when economically feasible) working with organizations like the Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Administration and requiring that all contractors take affirmative steps when hiring subcontractors.
Do: Maintain a written conflict of interest policy to govern the actions of employees who might be engaged in the selection, awarding and administration of contracts.
Don’t: Solicit or accept gifts or favors from contractors or subcontractors.
Do: Maintain a written standard of conduct to govern organizational conflicts of interest that might affect any organization affiliated with the award recipient.
Do: Report conflicts, and potential conflicts, in accordance with your entity’s policy and disclose of all violations of federal criminal law involving fraud, bribery or gratuity violations as your ability to secure the federal award could be in impacted.
Do: Consider the contractor’s integrity, ability to comply with public policy, record of past performance, and financial and technical resources before awarding a contract to a vendor.
Don’t: Award a vendor a contract unless you are certain that the vendor is able to successfully perform under the terms and conditions outlined within the contract.
Even though navigating the OMB’s Uniform Grant Guidance can be complicated, your compliance is essential. Otherwise, your federal funding could be in jeopardy. Email Rea & Associates today to find out if your I’s are dotted and your t’s are crossed and, if not, what you can do to ensure your compliance moving forward. You can also find some more great insight in the articles below.
By Zac Morris, CPA (Millersburg office)
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