Subrecipients will use a federally compliant procurement process to purchase services, supplies and equipment for a project. Checklists will be provided to guide subrecipients through the procurement process, and to help them comply with all the procurement procedures and requirements.
Lease vs. Purchase: IMD prefers to fund the purchase of equipment rather than the cost of leasing the same item. The grantee must do an analysis of the lease vs. purchase cost to be reviewed by the Regional Grant Specialist before entering into a lease agreement. Leasing underutilized vehicles from other federally funded public transportation providers is encouraged.
Geographical Preference: Subrecipients shall conduct procurements in a manner that prohibits the use of statutorily or administratively imposed in‐State or local geographical preferences in the evaluation of bids or proposals.
E-Commerce: Subrecipients who utilize any electronic methods for soliciting offers, ordering products, or transferring funds must have written procedures and must ensure the requirements for full and open competition are met.
DBE Good Faith Efforts: Subrecipients must annually affirm that they are exercising nondiscrimination in the award and administration of federally assisted contracts and willing to use good faith efforts to find and include Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in their contracting and procurement activities. A list of NCDOT approved DBE businesses can be found at NCDOT's website (
Link).
Piggybacking: N.C.G.S. 143-129(g) allows local governments to purchase from a supplier that has contracted with another governmental agency within the past 12 months. Refer to FTA Best Practices Procurement & Lessons Learned Manual (
Link) for additional requirements under FTA standards regarding necessary clauses, instructions and certifications needed in your procurement documentation.
Required Federal Clauses: Subrecipients must use the applicable Federal mandated clauses and certifications for each procurement funded with Federal funds and over the amount $10,000. A list of these clauses can be found on the IMD’s Procurement webpage (
Link).
Procurement Checklists: The procurement checklists prepared and updated for the grantees by the Procurement Section of IMD should be used to guide grantees in conducting a proper procurement and to provide documentation that all applicable Federal and state requirements were followed. These checklists should be incorporated into the local transit procurement policies and procedures of the grantees. IMD will provide technical assistance for all purchases and procurements with Federal or state funds. Prior approval by IMD is required for all purchases over $10,000. A copy of the checklists and additional procurement information is included in Attachement 301-1, 301-2, 301-3, 301-4, 301-5, and 301-7.
State and Federal Debarment Lists: Subrecipients must consult state and Federal debarment lists to ensure that the service providers are not currently present on either list.
Procurements with Non-federal Funding: Subrecipients should follow state and local policy and procedures when there are no Federal funds involved. There are state requirements that are necessary on certain types of procurements.
Procurement of Contract Services: Subrecipients should consult with the IMD procurement staff before starting procurement for contract services. IMD must concur at several points during the process.
Procurement Records: The procurement checklists details documentation required, which includes a minimum of:
- Fully executed agreement for formal bid (referenced for record retention requirements if a formal bid was solicited).
- Copies of the bid quotes shall be referenced if the bid was informal.
- Rationale for the method of procurement.
- Selection of the contract type.
- Reasons for contractor selection or rejection (include search of Federal and state Debarment and Suspension list).
- Basis for the contract price.
- Subrecipients must maintain records detailing the history of each procurement for five (5) years following final payment by NCDOT for the project.
Required Documents and/or Policies:
- Procurement Policies and Procedures include local governmental and organizational, transit‐specific, or deviations from local policies needed to comply with Federal procurement regulations and/or guidelines.
References
Attachment(s):
