46_009 _ EXHIBIT F _ MANDATORY ETHICS AFFIDAV.pdf

Hall County Government

FINANCIAL SERVICES

PURCHASING DIVISION

POST OFFICE DRAWER 1435

GAINESVILLE, GA 30503

t: 770.535.8270 | f: 770.531.6711

FINANCIAL SERVICES DIRECTOR

Taylor Samples, CPA

ASSISTANT FINANCE DIRECTOR

Elizabeth White

PURCHASING MANAGER

Andy Penick

EXHIBIT F

ETHICS AFFIDAVIT

Contractors, consultants, and vendors of any service or commodity to Hall County, Georgia (“County”) must read and affirm to adhere to the following ethics requirements for compliance with the Official Code 3.10.070 of Hall County – Ethics.

A. It is the policy of Hall County to seek the best overall value when procuring goods and services. To this end, the County finds and declares that its objectives will best be achieved through an open, competitive process with a broad range of responsive and responsible vendors wishing to provide products and services to the County. The County will establish and conduct a procurement program that maximizes service benefit to the community and awards contracts to vendors who offer the best quality and value.

B. The County declares that County employees and officials, along with those wishing to do business with the County, have the shared responsibility for avoiding biased, anticompetitive, or unethical practices.

C. County employees, officials, and their family members are prohibited from seeking, requesting, or receiving any material payment, gift, job offer, security, promise of future benefit, or any other tangible or intangible thing of value when such receipt has the potential to influence a procurement decision or to gain undue advantage in a procurement competition.

D. Prospective vendors must compete for County business within the parameters of the solicitation process and are prohibited from seeking to obtain inside information, attempting to skew the writing of specifications or influencing a procurement decision through any means outside the process established for the respective solicitation. This principle applies to any contractor, subcontractor, representative, employee, or agent that may be associated with a procurement transaction.

E. Bidders and proposers shall disclose on competitive bid responses any individual(s), firm(s), family member(s), and/or County official(s) who do business with the County if there is an appearance of a conflict of interest.

F. Ethical business practices are important both during a solicitation and after the decision to grant an award. The County seeks to establish relationships with business partners whose ongoing ethical standards of business conduct are congruent with those outlined here.

G. Contract compliance history with the County and other contractual parties is a valid element in the decision to award a contract.

H. The County stipulates that the furtherance of its strategic goals for job creation, stability, and growth in the tax base, business retention, and other fiscal and economic development objectives may be considered during the procurement process. The Purchasing Manager, subject to the approval of the Director of Financial Services, is authorized to establish procurement initiatives consistent with the County's strategic economic development objectives. These procurement practices shall be applied consistently and equitably and shall have a direct relationship to the County's goals.

I. County employees, officials, and their family members are generally prohibited from participation in any procurement decision or any gain of undue advantage in a procurement competition because of contemporaneous employment with a potential or actual business partner.

J. It is unethical for any County employee to purchase commodities or services from a County contract for personal use.

K. Except for solicitations for the sale of real property, individuals, firms, and businesses seeking an award of a County contract may not initiate or continue any verbal or written communications regarding a solicitation with any County officer, elected official, employee, or other County representative other than the Issuing Officer named in the solicitation or the County's financial advisor, between the date of the issuance of the solicitation and the date of the final contract award by the Board of Commissioners. The Purchasing Manager will review violations. If determined that such communication has compromised the competitive process, the offer submitted by the individual, firm, or business may be disqualified from consideration for award. Solicitations for the sale of real property may allow for verbal or written communications with the appropriate County representative.

L. All County commissioners, officials, and employees shall adhere to the standards outlined in the Hall County Code of Ethics.

M. The Purchasing Division of the Financial Services Department shall determine and implement methods of educating all prospective contractors, bidders, proposers, and vendors on the requirements and provisions of Code Section 3.10.070 including, but not limited to, requiring each prospective contractor, bidder, proposer, and vendor that expresses an intent to do business with the County to sign an affidavit attesting that they have read this Chapter and have more specifically also read Code Section 3.10.070.

Acknowledgement:

“I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.”

Signature Print Name Company Name

Executed on this ____ day of _________, 202__ in ______________ (city), ______ (state).

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN BEFORE ME

on this the _____ day of _______________, 202__.

NOTARY PUBLIC: __________________________

My Commission Expires: ____________________