PROCUREMENT | HOME | POLICIES AND PROGRAMS

Since the early 2010s, the City of Austin has maintained separate Local Business and Small Business Preference Procurement Programs to encourage and promote additional opportunities for Local and Small Businesses to participate under City contracts. At the request of Austin City Council in the Fall of 2022, the City’s Local Business and Small Business Preference Procurement Programs were recently streamlined and enhanced. Beginning October 1, 2023, and continuing for a two (2) year pilot period, the City’s “Local Preference Program” will operate as follows.

Local Preference Program.

The City defines Local Business as any person or corporate entity with headquarters located in Greater Austin (“Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area”) including the counties of Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson. The City defines headquarters as the location where:

(1) the company’s owners or leadership direct the company’s operations, or

(2) the company’s central administrative operations occur.

Program Notes.

(1)    Professional Services.  Professional services contracts are not included in the Local Preference Program.

(2)    Subcontractors.  Subcontractors are not included in the Local Preference Program.

(3)    Preference Points.  When Local Business Offerors participate in Invitations for Bids (IFB) or Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the City, their bids or proposals will be subject to the following preferences points:

(4)    Best Value Competition. Best value competition under IFBs and RFPs are very similar. In both solicitation methods, the contract will be awarded to the Offeror submitting the bid or proposal that represents the best value to the City by virtue of receiving the most points.

(4.1)     Invitation for Bids (IFB).  The price criteria weight is fixed at 90 points. Bids may not be revised, and no negotiations are allowed.

(4.1.1)     IFB Example:  Each bid will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

(4.2)     Request for Proposals (RFP).  Price criteria weight is variable. In addition to criteria for Local and Small Business, there will be other evaluation criteria. Proposals may be revised, and negotiations are allowed.

(4.2.1)     RFP Example:  Each proposal may be evaluated based on criteria similar to:

(5)    Price Points.  IFBs will include 90 points for price. RFPs will include a lower amount of price points.  For both IFBs and RFPs, the low price will receive all price points. All other bids or proposals will receive a proportionate amount of the price points depending on their price’s relative distance from the low price, based on the following formula: ( Low Price / Each Price ) X 90 Points

(5.1)     IFB Example:  A solicitation receives four (4) bids. Price Points are allocated as follows: