Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/141988
Sarasota News Leader July 4, 2013 Page 34 "We shop all of these bids — see who has the best fit for the job and the best price for the taxpayer," West continued. Moreover, West said, county employees can take the vehicles to any dealer for service. Fleet vehicles in North County go to Sarasota Ford, he added, and those in South County go to Matthews Currie Ford. DELVING INTO THE BIDS When Commissioner Nora Patterson began asking for more details about the original bids for the contract, Ted Coyman, the county's procurement official, stepped to the podium Commissioner Nora Patterson. Photo by Nornext, explaining that in 2010, the Procurement man Schimmel Department received two other bids — from Sarasota Ford and Don Reid Ford in Maitland. "If it saves us $100,000, that's real money," PatSarasota Ford's markup was 0.5 percent, Coy- terson replied. "But if it costs us that in staff man added, while Don Reid's was 1.4 percent. [time], maybe not." Why was the Sarasota Ford bid not recommended in 2010, she asked. Coyman told her the company "was deemed non-responsive" at that time, meaning it had not provided all the documentation requested to accompany the bid. The Sarasota Ford quote, Patterson pointed out, was three-quarters of a percent below the Charlotte Ford bid, which is "quite a bit of money." "What this really comes down to," Barbetta said, "is why have an annual renewal that we have to approve if we're not going to have any information to justify why we should or shouldn't approve it." Patterson won consensus for staff to come back the following day with answers to the questions she and Barbetta had raised. She emphasized that she wanted details about the non-responsive bid from Sarasota Ford. Then, if it appeared seeking new bids might result in better pricing, "I personally will support [putting the bid] back out." When she then asked how much trouble it would be for staff to seek new quotes on the bid, Coyman said staff would be happy to do THE NEW DOCUMENTATION that if it was the commission's wish. However, Coyman noted, because of the amount of money involved, the Procurement Department would be obligated to pursue the normal competitive bid process. When Gable appeared before the County Commission again the following day, he reported that staff had done some pricing comparisons for two of the most popular Ford vehicles.