I. General:
A. In accordance with Chapter 365- Local Business Enterprise Contracting Program of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances, the application of a Local Business Enterprise (LBE) bid incentive is required in all contracting activities of the City, unless contrary to federal, state or local law or regulation. To this end, all contracting agencies shall apply an award standard in all formal competitive bids/RFPS ($50K or more) so that an otherwise responsive and responsible bidder which is a LBE shall be awarded the contract, provided that its bid does not exceed the lowest bid by more than 5%. An additional number of points, equal to 5% of the maximum number of points used in the evaluation of Request for Proposals (RFPs), shall be applied to increase the total score attained by a local business enterprise. As stated above, the 5% bid/RFP preference increases to 10% for businesses that are certified as Small Business Enterprise (SBE) firms with the City of Milwauke
B. Bidders or Proposers seeking the LBE preference shall prepare and submit with the bid or RFP a completed affidavit certifying their LBE status. Failure to do so may result in an LBE forfeiting their rights to be considered for the bid incentive.
C. Sanctions – If any document submitted to the city by a contractor under this chapter for the purpose of participating in any city contract contains false, misleading or fraudulent information, the City Purchasing Director may direct the imposition of any of the following sanctions on the offending contractor:
1. Withholding of payment.
2. Termination, suspension or cancellation of the contract in whole or in part.
3. Denial to participate in any further contracts awarded by the City.
D. Penalty – Any person, business or corporation knowingly engaging in fraud, misrepresentation or in any attempt, direct or indirect, to evade the provisions of this chapter by providing false, misleading or fraudulent information shall, upon conviction, forfeit not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000 together with the costs of prosecution.
E. Right to Appeal – All contracts awarded under ss. 16.02 and 16.05.2b of the City Charter and City Ordinance 310-19 shall be awarded by the City Purchasing Director to the lowest responsible bidder determined in accordance with all applicable laws for participation of emerging business enterprises or local business enterprises which are in force.
1. Any bidder who objects to the recommendation may appeal the recommendation by filing a written appeal with the purchasing director no later than 5 working days after the date the recommendation is made. Appeals shall be filed with the fee specified in s. 81-102.3. The appeal shall state the specific objections to the recommendation include supporting documentation and specify an alternative recommendation.
2. If a timely appeal is not filed, the purchasing director and the board shall proceed as if no appeal was filed.
3. Immediately upon receipt of the appeal, the purchasing director shall forward the appeal to the chair of the board, who shall schedule a hearing before the board. All bidders shall be notified of the appeal, and the date, time and place of the hearing.
4. All members of the board shall be sent materials sufficient for them to consider the appeal and make a prompt decision.
5. The board shall conduct the hearing and make a determination on the appeal prior to adjournment. The board shall keep a tape recorded record of its deliberations and decisions.
6. The board may award in accordance with the recommendation of the purchasing director, make an award to another bidder determined by the board, or reject all bids. The appellant and other bidders shall be notified in writing of the board's decision.
7. Within 10 days of its decision under par. g, the board shall file its written findings and conclusion in support of its decision.
8. Notwithstanding any time limitation specified in sub. 4, when considering an award, the board may, in its discretion, schedule a hearing for its next regular or special meeting, provided that all bidders are notified at least 5 days prior to such hearing.
II. Definitions:
A. Local Business Enterprise means a business which satisfies all of the following criteria:
1. Operates a business, or owns or leases property within the geographical boundaries of the City of Milwaukee. Post office boxes shall not suffice to establish status as a Local Business Enterprise.
2. A residential address may suffice to establish compliance as a Local Business Enterprise, but only if the business does not operate another business, or own or lease other real property, either within or outside the geographical boundaries of the City of Milwaukee.
3. Leased property shall not suffice to establish compliance as a Local Business Enterprise unless at least half of the acreage of all the real property owned or leased by the business is located within the geographical boundaries of the City of Milwaukee.
4. Has been doing business in the City of Milwaukee for at least one (1) year.
5. The business is not delinquent in the payment of any local taxes, charges or fees, or the business has entered into an agreement to pay any delinquency and is abiding by the terms of the agreement.
6. The business will perform at least 10% of the monetary value of the work required under the contract.
III. Local Business Enterprise Requirement:
A. The Department of Administration shall, unless contrary to federal, state or local law or regulation, apply an award standard in all bids so that an otherwise responsive and responsible bidder which is a Local Business Enterprise shall be awarded the contract, provided that its bid does not exceed the lowest bid by more than 5% or $25,000.00. Effective January 01, 2017, if the LBE is certified as a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) with the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Small Business Development, the LBE shall be awarded the contract provided its bid not exceed the lowest bid by more than 10% and the difference does not exceed $30,000.
B. If the bids of two or more Local Business Enterprises do not exceed the lowest bid by more than 5%, the contract shall be awarded to the Local Business Enterprise that submitted a bid that exceeded the lowest bid by the smallest amount.
C. If a bid submitted by a non-Local Business Enterprise and a bid submitted by a Local Business Enterprise are identical, the contract shall be awarded to the Local Business Enterprise, even if the bids are only identical due to the 5% award standard provided for in this chapter.
D. If two bids submitted by two Local Business Enterprises are identical, the winner will be determined in accordance with the process for tie-breakers as established by the City Purchasing Director.
E. If the difference between the low bidder’s amount and the lowest Local Business Enterprise amount is within 5% of the low bidder and exceeds $25,000, then the provisions in section III-A shall not apply.
F.Paragraph III-A shall only be applied to the “base bid”.