General Provisions

Goal of the Procurement Policy

The Procurement Policy is established to provide for the fair and equitable treatment of all persons or firms involved in purchasing by the Authority; assure that supplies, equipment, services, and construction activities are procured efficiently, effectively, and at the most favorable prices available to the Authority; promote competition in contracting; provide safeguards by maintaining a centralized procurement system of quality and integrity; and to assure that Authority purchasing actions are in full compliance with applicable Federal standards, HUD regulations, and State and local laws.

The objective of the Contracting/Procurement Division is to add value to the Authority through the procurement of quality goods, services and construction at a fair and reasonable cost. Provide maximum contracting opportunities for minority and women owned businesses; and adhere to the term and conditions of any existing labor memorandum of understanding. On competitive proposals, the OHA will place a higher value during the selection process on those contractors who and provide maximum contracting opportunities for minority and women owned businesses.

Application

The Procurement Policy applies to all contracts and procurement actions undertaken by the Authority. It shall apply to every expenditure of funds by the Authority for public purchasing, regardless of the source of the funds, including Comprehensive Grant Programs, HOPE VI Programs, and Operating Subsidy funds. Nothing in the Procurement Policy shall prevent the Authority from complying with the terms and conditions of any grant, contract, gift or bequest that is otherwise consistent with law. The term "procurement," as used in the Procurement Policy includes Purchase Orders, Contracts and Contract Modifications, used to obtain supplies, equipment, services, construction activities, and the lease or rental of supplies, equipment or facilities.

Public Access to Procurement Information

Procurement information shall be a matter of public record to the extent provided in the Nebraska Public Records Act.

Unauthorized Obligations

Under no circumstances, except as stated below, are funds to be obligated by the Authority and members of its staff unless authorized through the proper procurement process as outlined in the Policy or the Authority Procurement Procedures.

In cases where time is of the essence in order to protect lives, property or in other emergency situations, the Executive Director, acting as the Contracting Officer for the Authority, is authorized to obligate money on behalf of the Authority. The procurement action including related justification documents will be submitted as a resolution to the Board for prior approval, or ratification if funds have been obligated by the Executive Directors action.

No Prepayment or Payment in Advance

The Authority will only authorize payments to vendors or contractors if the following conditions are met: for services, the work must have been rendered and is deemed acceptable; for goods, the items must have been received and accepted; the price is determined to be fair and reasonable. Payments to governmental agencies and public utilities will be made in conformance with the requirements of those entities.

Cost and Price Analysis

A cost or price analysis shall be performed for all procurement actions, including contract modifications, in order to determine price reasonableness.

Cancelation of Solicitations

An Invitation for Bid, Request for Proposal, Request for Qualifications or other solicitation may be cancelled anytime before opening.

A solicitation may be cancelled and all bids or proposals that have already been received will be returned at any time prior to the awarding of a contract.

Any and all bids may be rejected if there is a sound documented reason.