Washington Fire Service

Cooperative Procurement Tool Kit

Within the State of Washington there has been confusion around the use of publicly awarded contracts available through cooperative agreements, primarily pertaining to Fire Protection Districts. In conjunction with our research and the input of two leading fire service lawyers in the State of Washington, we have prepared and made available materials to help you understand when you may be able to utilize cooperative procurement contracts with confidence as well as the requirements to ensure compliance with the States Auditor’s Office. These documents are not meant to replace the opinion or findings of the State Auditors office

IMPORTANT NOTE: It needs to be stated that on June 5th 2018 an informal opinion was issued by the States Attorney General of Washington (SAO) which added clarity to the subject of:

• “Lowest responsible bidder”

• “Under what circumstances a fire protection district may piggyback off an established public agreement.”

This opinion provides additional authority for the permissible use of cooperative procurement, and the requirements provided in the opinion are consistent with the contracts offered by FireRescue GPO.

Do the publicly awarded contracts provided by FireRescue GPO use a “sealed bid” process in the award of their agreements?

ANSWER: FireRescue GPO lead public agencies have determined that it is advantageous for the lead agency to procure using the competitive RFP process rather than sealed bidding. Sealed bidding limits evaluation of offers solely to compliance with the requirements, provides no opportunity to compare the product and service offerings among the vendors, prohibits revision of the offers, and uses price as the predominate deciding factor. Such limitations prevent PPA from awarding the most advantageous contract(s) for PPA and its members.

During the review process, do FireRescue GPO lead public agencies negotiate with vendors after the RFP is closed?

ANSWER: PPA reserves the right to speak with bidders after the opening of the bids for the purpose of clarification and understanding. The intent of the negotiation language in the RFPS is to allow for clarification and never to engage in price negotiation after bids have been opened.

Is “Price: a primary factor in the “best value” selection criteria?

ANSWER: In all of the agreements offered by FireRescue GPO, Price is one of the highest ranked criteria in the evaluation criteria and a predominate factor in any award.

Is the best value criteria set out in the solicitation documents?

ANSWER: Yes, the RFP clearly explains how points will be assigned based on the judgment of the evaluators and that awards will be based on the points assigned.

Lowest Responsible Bidder:

Quinn, J. (2018, June) AG ISSUES SIGNIFICANT OPINION RE: FIRE DISTRICT BID LAW, The Firehouse Lawyer, Volume 13, Number 8

Quinn, J. (2015, August) Time for a Re-evaluation: The “Lowest Responsible Bidder” , The Firehouse Lawyer, Volume 16, Number 6

Municipal & Fire Service Lawyers

FireRescue GPO neither endorses nor has any direct financial relationship with the above mentioned Fire Service lawyers. We have found that many of our members have relied on the opinions and guidance of these lawyers and we also understand that these professionals have worked very closely with the SAO while representing the best interests of their clients.