Procurement
and Bid Package Information
Updated 17 October 2008
All Public Housing Administration (PHA) purchases must be made within the rules and scope of the PHA policies. Be sure the specific PHA policies are clearly written and followed on every case. If you are in doubt contact the HUD office and also be sure to follow the PHA legal counsel advice. HUD revised and reprinted the “Procurement Handbook for Public Housing Agencies” 7460.8 Revision 2, effective 2 March 2007 and has made it available on line at HUDCLIPS [1]. Be sure you refer to this valuable resource for your Procurement and Contracting questions.
When the amount is less than $10,000, also called “small purchase procedures” see 24 CFR Part 85.36, but in brief, the PHA only needs to follow a limited procurement process involving bid fairness and propriety. Usually if the PHA gets at least three prices and documents these with a letter in the procurement file, the choice of the best price product can be made easily.
HUD requires specific procedures to be followed when Federal money is used to purchase material, supplies or services. Also, when the dollar amount is less than $2,000, the PHA does not need to follow the Department of Labor “Davis-Bacon” Wage Rates.
A
special case is when procuring the services of an Architect or Engineer. This process is one using Request for Proposals (RFP) and the selection is made
solely on the basis of qualifications, not on price.
For
all other high value procurement actions the PHA should follow the regulations
in 24 CFR 85.36
completely. This includes sealed
bidding, public bid announcement, bid selection by defined methods and award to
the lowest responsive bidder unless justified by pre-defined performance
criteria. The sealed bid process is also
applicable to small procurement purchases, so if you are uncertain whether your
intended action is above the limit it is usually best to use the sealed bid
process.
Whatever
action you take be sure to use full written documentation for every step. Any verbal instructions should always be
followed up with a letter to confirm the discussion.
Please
use the following list when preparing a full bid package for procurement by the
sealed bid method:
1. Cover
sheet identifying the following: Name of
PHA, Project Number, Work Item Number(s), and General Scope of work. [1] 7460.8 Rev 2 Paragraph
6.5 (A)(1)
2. Invitation
For Bids, including date, time, and place.
[1] 7460.8 Appendix 4 or
equivalent.
3. Form HUD-5369 [2], "Instructions to
Bidders." 10/2002 version. [1] 7460.8
P 6.5 (A)(4)
7. Specifications and drawings.
8. Bid Form [1] 7460.8 P 6.5 (A)(2)
9. Bid Guarantee. [3] 24 CFR Part 85.36 (h)(1) and [1] 7460.8 Bid Bond Form or Equivalent.
11. Construction Contract Form. AIA Document A-101
or Equivalent
13. Wage Rates (DOL) (HUD). [3] 24 CFR Part
85.36 (h)(5) and [1] 7460.8 P 10.9
Primary
Sources: (Also as noted)
[1]
7460.8 Rev 2 “Procurement Handbook for Public Housing Agencies”
[3] 24 CFR Part 85.36 & Part 135
HUD Point of Contact:
Larry Wood, Public Housing General
Engineer