Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/141988
Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2013 Page 33 Hines told county Procurement Official Ted Coyman. The June 18 consent agenda item called for renewal of the 2010 contract with Charlotte County Ford to provide Sarasota County with Ford cars and light trucks for one year in an amount not to exceed $4.5 million. A June 18 staff memo said, "There have been no changes in the bid terms with the exception of a County request for a 3rd set of keys and the resulting cost." Charlotte Ford's markup fee remained at 1.25 percent, the memo noted, adding that, under the terms of the bid, the county "receives any Government Price Concession, Commercial, or Fleet discounts available at the time of purchase." Commissioner Joe Barbetta. Photo by Norman Schimmel Further, Ford Motor Co. sets the pricing for "I've got nothing to go on that [these prices all the vehicles at a specific index for Ford are] still competitive going into 2014," Barbetdealers in Florida. ta told Gable. "Did we even check with the The memo also said that staff in the county's other two Ford dealers here?" Fleet Management Office "has found CharWithout pricing from those dealers, he added, lotte County Ford to be extremely [credible], he could not support the contract renewal. reliable, and efficient when handling quote requests and processing the resulting orders. "We did not do any kind of informal bid," GaThis vendor also provides excellent after de- ble replied. livery support." "That's the problem with these renewals," BarBarbetta asked whether county staff had betta said. "It's kind of an automatic, and I checked with the two Sarasota County Ford don't look at it as an automatic because it's a dealers — Sarasota Ford and Matthews Currie lot of money. … I'd think, in this economy in Ford in Nokomis — to compare their prices four years, prices have changed, become more for the same types of vehicles. competitive." "We do keep an eye on what the prices are [at other dealers]," responded Ed Gable, director of the county's General Services Department. Charlotte County Ford's prices "are still pretty good," he added. Then Norm West, the county's fleet replacement coordinator, stepped to the podium. The Charlotte County Ford bid, he stressed, is 1.25 percent over net invoice; that had not changed since the contract first was awarded in 2010.