Page 18 - The Edge - Spring 2016

TACKLING TOUGH PROCUREMENT PROBLEMS considering the experience of a company’s principals and not
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 necessarily how long the company has been in business.
AASBO members were cautioned against accepting an
Cantelme de ned what constitutes a minor or material change. unbalanced bid, one that comes in considerably less than other bids
“Price is not minor – the same for quantity,” he said. “Quality, but requires too much up-front money. “What if the contractor
however, is subjective. A minor formality includes mistakes, goes bust before the work is performed?” Cantelme said. “My
excluding judgmental errors, that have negligible e ect on price, advice is – reject.”
quantity, quality, delivery or other contractual terms and the Canteleme’s recommendation to procurement o cials is: “Get
waiver or correction of such a mistake does not prejudice other the best deal for your school district, protect the process to avoid
bidders or o erors.” favoritism and get the performance you’re paying for.”
Cantelme said it is important to note that the terms of the bid
must not be materially changed in the missing addendum and that David Cantelme is with the Phoenix law rm of Cantelme & Brown.
the vendor does not gain an advantage over competitors by having He can be reached at djc@cb-attorneys.com or (602) 200-0125.
the formality waived. “All bidders must be on equal footing,”
Cantelme said. “Responsiveness is determined on the face
Regarding license issues, Cantelme said the basic rule is that of the bid. Do you write them an extension?
contractors dealing with public agencies must be licensed by The missing fi gure can be determined by
the Registrar of Contractors. ere are exceptions, particularly
involving subcategories of contractors. “An exception is, if you have simple math. You’ve got the unit price and
some very valid assurance that the work will be done by competent the quantity. I would say this is a minor
licensed contractor,” he said. “But this is a slippery slope. As soon formality that can be waived. But, it’s up to the
as you let one small variation go by, what about the next variation
and the next variation? You have to be vigilant.” school district. It’s not necessary to waive it. It
Cantelme also touched on the importance of seeing a list of depends on how badly you want this bid.”
subcontractors and knowing whether they have the ability to
perform, and the required experience of bidders. He recommended — David Cantelme, a Phoenix attorney specializing in education law

PERFORMANCE
PERFORMANCE BEYOND THE SURFACE

BEYOND THE SURFACE

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» Reconstruction
» Under
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» Under
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THE EDGE
18 THE EDGE | SPRING 2016