4-Terms and Conditions - RFP.pdf

General Terms and Condi�ons

Please review the general terms and condi�ons which apply to all procurements issued on this system.

Failure to agree to the terms may be cause for rejec�on of your submission.

1.1.1

I have read through and agree to the general condi�ons as s�pulated below;

1. BRAND NAMES, STANDARDS OF QUALITY, PATENTS (N.J.A.C. 5:34-9.2(c) and N.J.S.A. 40A:11-13)

A. Only manufactured and farm products of the United States, wherever available, shall be used on this contract in accordance with prevailing Statutes.

B. Brand names and/or descrip�ons used in this bid are to acquaint bidders with the type of commodity desired and will be used as a standard by which alternate or compe��ve materials offered will be judged. Compe��ve items must beter than or equal to the standard described and be of the same quality of work. Varia�ons between materials described and the materials offered are to be fully explained by the bidder on a separate sheet and submited with the proposal form. Vendor’s literature will not suffice in explaining excep�ons to these specifica�ons. In the absence of any changes by the bidder, it will be presumed and required that materials as described in the proposal be delivered.

C. It is the responsibility of the bidder to demonstrate the equivalency of item(s) offered

D. The contractor shall hold and save harmless the Local Unit, its officers, agents, servants, and employees, from the liability of any nature and kind for on account of the use of any copyrighted or copyrighted composi�on, secret process, patented or unpatented inven�on or ar�cle furnished or used in the performance of this contract.

E. Wherever prac�cal and economical to the Local Unit, it is desired that recycled or recyclable products be provided. Please indicate when recycled products are being offered.

1.1.2

AWARD OF BID

A. The Local Unit reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to waive minor iden�fied irregulari�es and technicali�es, and to award in whole or in part to the lowest responsible bidder, as allowed under applicable laws. Without limi�ng the generality of the foregoing, any bid which is incomplete, obscure, or irregular shall be rejected, any bid having erasures or correc�ons in the price sheet may be rejected; any bid in which unit prices are omited, or in which unit/total prices are unbalanced, may be rejected; any bid accompanied by any insufficient or irregular cer�fied check, cashier’s check or bid bond may be rejected.

B. The Local Unit further reserves the right to award each item separately to the lowest responsible bidder mee�ng specifica�ons or to make an award based on the total bid to the bidder whose total sum is the low bid mee�ng the specifica�ons, whichever in the awarding authori�es’ opinion is in the best interest of the Local Unit. Without limi�ng the generality of the foregoing, the Local Unit reserves the right to award a contract based on either op�on that may be described in the bid proposal or based on any combina�on thereof.

C. The Local Unit reserves the right to award equal or �e bids at the Local Unit’s discre�on to any one of the �e bidders.

D. Should the bidder, to whom the contract is awarded, fail to enter into a contract, the Local Unit may then, at its op�on, accept the bid of the next lowest responsible bidder.

E. The effec�ve period of this contract will be two years unless otherwise noted in the specifica�ons. Con�nua�on of the terms of this contract beyond the fiscal year is con�ngent on availability of funds in the following year’s budget. In the event of unavailability of such funds, the Local Unit reserves the right to cancel this contract.

F. Government en��es are not private business/consumer clients; therefore, separate company agreements will not be honored. Terms of the specifica�ons/bid package prevail unless otherwise noted by the vendor as excep�ons at the �me of proposal.

G. In the case of default by the bidder or contractor, the Local Unit may procure the ar�cles or services from other sources and hold the bidder or contractor responsible for any excess costs occasioned thereby.

1.1.3

NON-DISCRIMINATION

A. There shall be no discrimina�on against any employee engaged in the work required to produce the commodi�es covered by any contract resul�ng from this bid, or against any applicant to such employment because of race, religion, sex, na�onal origin, creed, color, ancestry, age, marital status, affec�onal or sexual orienta�on, familial status, liability for service in the Armed Forces of the Unites States, or na�onality. This provision shall include, but not be limited to the following: employment upgrading, demo�on, transfer, recruitment or recruitment adver�sing, layoff or termina�on, rates of pay or other forms of compensa�on, and selec�on for training, including appren�ceship. The contractor shall insert a similar provision in all subcontracts for services to be covered by any contract resul�ng from this bid.

1.1.4

MANDATORY EEO/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EVIDENCE

A. No firm may be issued a contract unless they comply with the EEO/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION REGULATIONS of N.J.S.A. 10:5-31 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 17:27 et seq. as amended from �me to �me, and the AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT 42 U.S.C. 12101.

B. Procurement, Professional and Service Contracts

I. ALL successful vendors must submit prior to an award of the contract one of the following:

1. A photocopy of their Federal Leter of Affirma�ve Ac�on Plan Approval, or

2. A photocopy of their State Cer�ficate of Employee Informa�on Report, or

3. A photocopy of completed Affirma�ve Ac�on Employee Informa�on Report; AA302 – Available online at www.state.nj.us/treasury/contract_compliance

C. Construc�on Contracts

I. All successful contractors must submit prior to signing of the contracts an Ini�al Project Manning Report (AA201-available online at www.state.nj.us/treasury/contract_compliance for any contract award that meets or exceeds the bidding threshold.

II. All successful contractors must submit a copy of the Monthly Project Workforce Re-port, Form AA-202 (htp://www.state.nj.us/treasury/contract_compliance/pdf/pa.pdf Atachment 8) once a month therea�er for the dura�on of the contract to the Dept. of LWD and to the Public Agency Compliance Officer within the Division of Purchasing.

1.1.5

NEW JERSEY RIGHT TO KNOW (NJRTK)

A. All direct use containers shall bear a label indica�ng the chemical name(s) and Chemical Abstracts Service number(s) of all hazardous substances in the container, and all other substances which are among the five most predominant substances in the container, or their trade secret registry number(s). (N.J.A.C. 8:59-5.1 et seq.) or adhere to the requirements of The Globally Harmonized System of Classifica�on and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) and the US Occupa�onal Safety and Health Administra�on (OSHA) Hazard Communica�on Standard (HCS) as outlined in the Federal Register / Vol.

77, No. 58 / Monday, March 26, 2012 / Rules and Regula�ons as adopted in final rule by DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, Occupa�onal Safety and Health Administra�on, 29 CFR Parts 1910, 1915, and 1926, {Docket No. OSHA-H022K-2006-0062, (formerly Docket No. H022K)}, RIN 1218-AC20, Hazard Communica�on.

1.1.6

ACQUISITION, MERGE, SALE AND/OR TRANSFER OF BUSINESS, ETC

A. It is understood by all par�es that if, during the life of the contract, the contractor disposes of his/her business concern by acquisi�on, merger, sale and/or transfer or by any means convey his/her interest(s) to another party, all obliga�ons are transferred to that new party. In this event, the new owner(s) of the contractor will be required to submit, when required, a performance bond in the amount of the open balance of the contract.

1.1.7

PAYMENT

A. Payment will be made a�er a properly executed voucher has been received and formally approved on the voucher list by the local unit governing body at its subsequent regular mee�ng. The voucher will be cer�fied correct by the department/division head who received the goods or services.

Payment shall be made pursuant to N.J.S.A 2A:30A-1.

1.1.8

TERMINATION

A. DEFAULT - Non-performance of the Contractor in terms of the specifica�ons and/or the terms and condi�ons of this Agreement shall be an Event of Default and the basis for termina�on of the contract by the County. The County may terminate the contract upon 30 days' writen no�ce to the Contractor. The County shall not pay for any services and/or materials which are unsa�sfactory. Upon receipt of such termina�on no�ce, the Contractor shall be allowed seven (7) calendar days to cure the Default . This, however, shall in no way be construed as nega�ng the basis for termina�on for non-performance.

B. UNCONDITIONAL TERMINATION FOR CONVENIENCE - The County may terminate the resultant contact for convenience by providing sixty (60) calendar days advance no�ce to the contractor.

C. FINANCIAL STATUS OF CONTRACTOR - If the Contractor should be adjudged bankrupt or should make a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or if a receiver should be appointed on account of its insolvency, the County may terminate this contract and shall give the Contractor fi�een

(15) calendar days’ writen no�ce. Upon receipt of such termina�on no�ce, the Contractor shall be allowed seven (7) calendar days to cure such events.

1.1.9

INDEMNIFICATION

A. The Contractor agrees to indemnify, defend and save harmless the local unit, its officers, agents and employees, hereina�er referred to as indemni�es, from all suits, including atorneys' fees and costs of li�ga�on, ac�ons, loss, damage, expense, cost of claims, of any character or on account of any act, claim or amount arising or recovered under Workers Compensa�on law, or arising out of failure of the Contractor or those ac�ng under Contractor to conform to any statutes, ordinances, regula�ons, law or court decree. It is the intent of the par�es to this contract that the indemni�es shall, in all instances, except for loss or damage resul�ng from the sole negligence of the indemnitee, be indemnified against all liability, loss or damage of any nature whatsoever.

1.1.10

ADDITIONS / DELETIONS OF SERVICE

A. The local unit reserves the right to add and/or delete services to this contract. Should a service requirement be deleted, payment to the Contractor will be reduced propor�onally to the amount of service deleted in accordance with the bid price. Should addi�onal services be required, payment to the Contractor will be increased propor�onally to the amount of service added in accordance with the bid price subject to adequate and properly authorized appropria�on of funds.

1.1.11

Vendor’s literature and/or pricing sheets will not be accepted in lieu of comple�ng the proposal blank(s) set forth in these specifica�ons, unless otherwise stated.

1.1.12

SPECIFICATIONS

A. Any prospec�ve bidder who wishes to challenge a bid specifica�on shall file such challenges in wri�ng with the contrac�ng agent no less than three business days prior to the opening of the bids.

Challenges filed a�er that �me shall be considered void and having no impact on the contrac�ng unit or the award of contract.

1.1.13

OWNERSHIP OF MATERIAL

A. The owner shall retain all of its rights and interest in any and all documents and property both hard copy and digital furnished by the owner to the contractor for the purpose of assis�ng the Contractor in its response to this bid and/or in its performance of this contract. All such items shall be returned immediately to the owner at the expira�on or termina�on of the contract or comple�on of any related services, pursuant thereto, whichever comes first. None of the documents and/or property shall, without the writen consent of the owner, be disclosed to others or used by the contractor or permited by the contractor to be used by their par�es at any �me except in the performance of the resul�ng contract.

B. Ownership of all data, materials and documenta�on originated and prepared for the owner pursuant to this contract shall belong exclusively to the owner. All data, reports, computerized informa�on, programs and materials related to this project shall be delivered to and become the property of the owner upon comple�on of the project. The contractor shall not have the right to use, sell, or disclose the total of the interim or final work products, or make available to third par�es, without the prior writen consent of the owner. All informa�on supplied to the owner may be required to be supplied on CD-ROM or equivalent media compa�ble with the owner’s computer opera�ng system, windows based, Microso� Office Suite 2000 or later.

1.1.14

AMENDMENTS TO N.J.S.A. 2C:21-33 et. seq. “TRUTH IN CONTRACTING”

A. New provisions of law govern false claims and representa�ons. It is a serious crime for a vendor to knowingly submit a false claim and/or knowingly make material misrepresenta�ons. There are enhanced penal�es for areas of false claims, bid rigging and bribery, gratui�es and gi�s, and conflicts of interest. Please consult the statutes for further informa�on.

1.1.15

“PAY TO PLAY” NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT – PL 2005, Chapter 271, Sec�on 3 Repor�ng (NJSA 19:44A – 20.27)

A. Any business en�ty that has received $50,000 or more in contracts from government en��es in a calendar year is required to file an annual disclosure report with ELEC. The instruc�ons and form are available on the ELEC website.

B. Annual Disclosures require submission by March 30th of each year covering contracts and contribu�ons for the prior calendar year.

C. At minimum, a list of all business en��es that file an annual disclosure report will be listed on ELEC’s website at www.elec.state.nj.us.

D. If you have any ques�ons please contact ELEC at: 1-888-313-ELEC(3532) or 609-292-8700

1.1.16

NON-ALLOCATION OF FUNDING TERMINATION

A. Each fiscal year’s payment obliga�on of the Owner is condi�oned upon the availability of Owner funds appropriated or allocated for the payment of such an obliga�on. If funds are not allocated and available for the con�nuance of any services performed by the Contractor hereunder, whether in whole or in part, the Owner at the end of any par�cular fiscal year may terminate said contract. The Owner will no�fy the Contractor in wri�ng immediately of any services that will be affected by a shortage of appropriated funds. This provision shall not be construed so as to permit the Owner to terminate this Agreement or any service thereunder, during the term, merely in order to acquire iden�cal services from a third party contractor.

1.1.17

NON-PAYMENT OF PENALTIES AND INTEREST ON OVERDUE BILLS

A. Public funds may be used to pay only for goods delivered or services rendered. The Local Unit will not pay penal�es and/or interest on overdue bills. No employee is authorized to sign a leter of credit or any other document that represents a legal commitment on the part of the Local Unit to pay addi�onal fees, penal�es, or interests.

1.1.18

FIRM FIXED CONTRACT

A. This is a firm fixed contract, prices firm, FOB local unit's loca�ons. No price escala�on is authorized under this contact without writen confirma�on by the contrac�ng agent. The vendor shall, at the local unit’s request, void the contract and permit the Local Unit to solicit open market pricing should the imposi�on of any price increase or surcharge become necessary by the vendor.

1.1.19

HIPAA (If Applicable)

A. Both par�es agree to comply with all requirements of the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPPA”), as may be amended from �me to �me, and the corresponding HIPPA regula�ons for the confiden�ality and security of medical informa�on.

B. The Contractor shall:

I. Not use or disclose protected health informa�on other than as permited or required by law.

II. Use appropriate safeguards to protect the confiden�ality of the informa�on.

III. Report any use or disclosure not permited.

C. The contractor, by execu�on of the contract, shall thereby indemnify and hold the County harmless from any and all liabili�es, claims, ac�ons, costs and penal�es which may be incurred as the result of the failure of the contractor to comply with the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) or any other statute or case law protec�ng the privacy of persons using its services.

1.1.20

PUBLIC EMERGENCY

A. In the event of a Public Emergency declared at the Local, State or Federal Level, if the local unit opts to extend terms and condi�ons of this bid, the contractor agrees to extend the terms and condi�ons of this bid, whether exis�ng, expiring or expired no longer than six months, for the goods and/or services described under this bid for the dura�on of the emergency. In the event the original contractor cannot meet this requirement, the local unit may solicit the goods and/or services from any other bidder to this Bid.

1.1.21

N.J.A.C. 17:44-2.2 AUTHORITY TO AUDIT OR REVIEW CONTRACT RECORDS

A. Relevant records of private vendors or other persons entering into contracts with covered en��es are subject to audit or review by the Office of the State Comptroller pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:15C- 14(d)

B. The successful bidder shall maintain all documenta�on related to products, transac�ons or services under this contract for a period of five years from the date of final payment. Such records shall be made available to the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller upon request.

1.1.22

New Jersey Sales Tax

A. In submission of this Bid, the Bidder cer�fies that the total Bid set forth, does not include any New Jersey Sales Tax. The Bidder further cer�fies that in the event the bidder is the successful Bidder, he will only apply for an exemp�on for materials or supplies to be used in connec�on with his Bid.

B. Contractor’s Exemp�on Purchase Cer�fica�on, Form, ST-13, issued by the State of New Jersey, Division of Taxa�on, Sales Tax Bureau shall be completed and presented to his suppliers for materials on this project only. Every local unit u�lizing this system is exempted from sales and use tax.

1.1.23

P.L. 2018, c.9 (S104): Diane B. Allen Equal Pay Act, effec�ve July 1, 2018, modifies the current law including the Law Against Discrimina�on (LAD) to strengthen protec�ons against employment discrimina�on and promote equal pay for all groups protected under the LAD. Pursuant to the law, any employer, regardless of the loca�on of the employer, who enters into a contract with a public body to provide qualifying services to the public body shall provide a report to the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development of informa�on regarding the compensa�on and hours worked by employees categorized by gender, race, ethnicity, and job category. Any employer, regardless of the loca�on of the employer, who enters into a contract with a public body to perform any public work for the public body shall provide to the commissioner, through cer�fied payroll records, informa�on regarding the gender, race, job �tle, occupa�onal category, and rate of total compensa�on of every employee of the employer employed in the State in connec�on with the contract. Evidence of filing shall be required at �me of contrac�ng.

1.1.24

I have read the following:

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990

Equal Opportunity for Individuals with Disability

The contractor and the County of Bergen, (herea�er “owner”) do hereby agree that the provisions of Title 11 of the Americans With Disabili�es Act of 1990 (the ""Act"") (42 U.S.C. S121 01 et seq.), which prohibits discrimina�on on the basis of disability by public en��es in all services, programs, and ac�vi�es provided or made available by public en��es, and the rules and regula�ons promulgated pursuant there unto, are made a part of this contract. In providing any aid, benefit, or service on behalf of the owner pursuant to this contract, the contractor agrees that the performance shall be in strict compliance with the Act. In the event that the contractor, its agents, servants, employees, or subcontractors violate or are alleged to have violated the Act during the performance of this contract, the contractor shall defend the owner in any ac�on or administra�ve proceeding commenced pursuant to this Act. The contractor shall indemnify, protect, and save harmless the owner, its agents, servants, and employees from and against any and all suits, claims, losses, demands, or damages, of whatever kind or nature arising out of or claimed to arise out of the alleged viola�on. The contractor shall, at its own expense, appear, defend, and pay any and all charges for legal services and any and all costs and other expenses arising from such ac�on or administra�ve proceeding or incurred in connec�on therewith. In any and all complaints brought pursuant to the owner’s grievance procedure, the contractor agrees to abide by any decision of the owner which is rendered pursuant to said grievance procedure. If any ac�on or administra�ve proceeding results in an award of damages against the owner, or if the owner incurs any expense to cure a viola�on of the ADA which has been brought pursuant to its grievance procedure, the contractor shall sa�sfy and discharge the same at its own expense.

The owner shall, as soon as prac�cable a�er a claim has been made against it, give writen no�ce thereof to the contractor along with full and complete par�culars of the claim, If any ac�on or administra�ve proceeding is brought against the owner or any of its agents, servants, and employees, the owner shall expedi�ously forward or have forwarded to the contractor every demand, complaint, no�ce, summons, pleading, or other process received by the owner or its representa�ves.

It is expressly agreed and understood that any approval by the owner of the services provided by the contractor pursuant to this contract will not relieve the contractor of the obliga�on to comply with the Act and to defend, indemnify, protect, and save harmless the owner pursuant to this paragraph.

It is further agreed and understood that the owner assumes no obliga�on to indemnify or save harmless the contractor, its agents, servants, employees and subcontractors for any claim which may arise out of their performance of this Agreement. Furthermore, the contractor expressly understands and agrees that the provisions of this indemnifica�on clause shall in no way limit the contractor’s obliga�ons assumed in this Agreement, nor shall they be construed to relieve the contractor from any liability, nor preclude the owner from taking any other ac�ons available to it under any other provisions of the Agreement or otherwise at law.

Basic Insurance Requirements

1.2.1

Do you affirm that your firm can and will provide the minimum level of coverage as stated below?

a. The insurance to be provided shall be underwriten by a company licensed to do business in New Jersey.

b. Comprehensive General Liability insurance in an amount no less than $1,000,000.00 combined single limit including broad form comprehensive general liability endorsement, and shall include provisions for thirty (30) days writen no�ce of cancella�on and/or modifica�on of coverage. The Solicita�on Local Unit shall be included as an addi�onal insured.

c. Comprehensive General Automobile Liability insurance in an amount no less than $1,000,000.00 combined single limit covering owned, hired, and non-owned autos, and shall include provisions for thirty (30) days writen no�ce of cancella�on and/or modifica�on of coverage. The Solicita�on Local Unit shall be included as an addi�onal insured.

d. Worker’s Compensa�on Insurance in the statutory limits including Employer’s Liability in an amount no less than $500,000.00.

e. All policies maintained shall hereby name the solici�ng Local Unit or in the case of The County of Bergen, One Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ 07601 as an addi�onal insured and shall provide for thirty (30) days writen no�ce to the County of cancella�on and/or modifica�ons of such policies and we shall provide the such policies and provisions.

f. All required insurance coverages must be in effect no later than 12:01 a.m. at the start of the day of the contract and remain in effect for the dura�on of the contract, including any extensions.

Compe��ve Contrac�ng Requirements

1.3.1

A. All Proposals shall be evaluated on the merits of what is included in the Proposals submited to the County of Bergen. The County reserves the right to reach out to a vendor to get clarifica�on on Proposals on specific items if necessary during the delibera�on process.

1.3.2

B. Certain contracts may request for vendors to give a presenta�on on the services they are proposing. If and when a prospec�ve contractor/vendor is given the opportunity to give such a presenta�on, the contractor shall be restricted to only present what is included in the original proposal.

If new informa�on is offered during the evalua�on period it shall not be taken into account during the review process.

1.3.3

C. All Proposals shall be evaluated based on the statutory categories as per NJAC 5:.34-4.1 which is Technical, Management, and Cost criteria. These categories may be broken out into sub categories but shall remain within the confines of the three core criteria.

1.3.4

D. Weights of Criteria- unless required by another regulatory body or board at no �me shall weights of the criteria be divulged to prospec�ve bidders/contractors. Vendors are encouraged to submit a balanced proposal highligh�ng their best offering to the County of Bergen. All weights shall be announced out loud on the day at which Proposals are opened publicly.

1.3.5

E. Evalua�on Team- vendors are prohibited from contac�ng any member of the evalua�on team directly without a formal invite. If it is found that a vendor has atempted to discuss their proposal with a team member without an invite then their proposal may be deemed unresponsive. ALL QUESTIONS

DURING THE EVALUATION PERIOD SHALL BE DIRECTED TO THE DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING

These are the standard terms and condi�ons that apply to solicita�ons issued by and accepted by the local units u�lizing the Bergen County bonfire portal. These may be supplemented and amended by addi�onal documents specific to the procurement being solicited. I have read through and agree to the General Terms and Condi�ons:

Signature: ________________________________________________

Name: ___________________________________________________

Date: ____________________________________________________

Name of Company: _________________________________________

Bid number: _________________