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NORTH GEORGIA HEALTH DISTRICT
County Board of Health Administration Policy #3005
Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens, Whitfield
ETHICS IN PROCUREMENT POLICY
EFFECTIVE DATE: August 1, 2010 RELEASE DATE: August 1, 2010
The County Board of Health (CBH) is committed to a procurement process that fosters fair and open competition, is conducted under the highest ethical standards, is fully compliant with all instruments of governance and has the complete confidence and trust of the public it serves. To achieve these important public purposes, it is critical that potential and current vendors, as well as employees, have a clear understanding of, and an appreciation for, the CBH Ethics in Procurement Policy (the “Policy”).
SCOPE
This policy is applicable to all Vendors and Employees, as those terms are defined below.
CONSIDERATIONS
Procurement ethics must include, but is not limited to, the following considerations:
A. Legitimate Business Needs
The procurement of goods and services will be limited to those necessary to accomplish the mission, goals, and objectives of the Board.
B. Conflicts of Interest
A “conflict of interest” exists when personal interest interferes in any way with the interests of the Board. A conflict situation can arise when an individual takes actions or has interests that may make it difficult to perform his or her work objectively and effectively. Conflicts of interest also arise when an individual, or a Family Member, receives improper personal benefits as a result of his or her action, decision, or disclosure of Confidential Information in a Procurement.
C. Appearance of Impropriety
Employees must take care to avoid any appearance of impropriety and must disclose to their supervisors any material transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest. Similarly, anyone engaged in a business relationship with the Board should avoid any appearances of impropriety.
D. Influence
An impartial, arms’ length relationship will be maintained with anyone seeking to influence the outcome of a Procurement.
E. Gifts
CBH Employees are prohibited from soliciting, demanding, accepting, or agreeing to accept Gifts from a Vendor.
F. Misrepresentations
Employees and Vendors may not knowingly falsify, conceal or misrepresent material facts concerning a Procurement.
G. Insufficient Authorization
Employees may not obligate the Board without having received prior authorization from an approved official. Engaging in such activity is a misrepresentation of authority.
An Employee’s failure to adhere to these considerations, as well as the guidelines set forth herein shall be grounds for disciplinary action, up to and including, termination. Similarly, a Vendor’s failure to comply with this Policy will result in appropriate action as determined by governing state and/or federal law, rules and regulations, and other applicable Board policies and procedures.
DEFINITIONS
For purpose of this policy:
“Affiliate Vendor Team” shall mean employees, directors, officers, contractors, and consultants of a Vendor that directly or indirectly assist the Vendor in the preparation of response to a Procurement.
“Confidential Information” shall mean all information not subject to disclosure pursuant to the Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq. that a current Vendor or potential Vendor might utilize for the purpose of responding to Procurement or that which is deemed disadvantageous or harmful to the Board and to the citizens of the State of Georgia in that such disclosure might lead to an unfair advantage of one Vendor over another in a Procurement.
“Contracting Officer” shall mean the Board Employee maintaining oversight of the Procurement process who may also be designated as the Point of Contact as described below.
“Board” shall mean the County Board of Health.
“Employee” shall mean any person who is employed by the Board.
“Evaluation Team” shall mean a designated group of Board Employees within the line of authority from initiator to Contracting Officer who review and assess documents in response to a Procurement solicitation.
“Family Member” means a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-inlaw, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother or half sister.
“Financial Interest” shall mean, for purposes of this Policy, an ownership interest in assets or stocks equaling or exceeding 0%.
“Gifts” shall mean, for purposes of this Policy, anything of value exceeding $25 including, but not limited to money, advances, personal services, gratuities, loans, extensions of credit, forgiveness of debts, memberships, subscriptions, travel, meals, charitable donations, refreshments, hospitality, promises, discounts or forbearance that are not generally available to members of the public. A Gift need not be intended to influence or reward an Employee.
“Kickback” shall mean compensation of any kind directly or indirectly accepted by an Employee from a Vendor competing for or doing business with the Board, for the purpose of influencing the award of contract or the manner in which the Board conducts its business. Kickbacks include, but are not limited to, money, fees, commissions or credits.
“Procurement” shall mean buying, purchasing, renting, leasing, or otherwise acquiring any supplies, services, or construction. The term also includes all activities that pertain to obtaining any supply, service, or construction, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contract, as well as the disposition of any Protest.
“Protest” shall mean a written objection by an interested party to an RFQ or RFP solicitation, or to proposed award or award of contract, with the intention of receiving a remedial result.
“Protestor” shall mean an actual bidder/offeror who is aggrieved in connection with a contact award and who files a Protest.
“Point of Contact” shall mean the individual designated to be a Vendor’s only contact with the CBH following the public advertisement of a solicitation or the issuance of a request for a bid, proposal, or quote, until the award of a resulting contract and resolution of a Protest, if applicable.
“Prohibited Contact” shall mean contact with any officer, member of the Board or other Employee of the CBH, other than the Point of Contact, whereby it could be reasonably inferred that such contact was intended to influence, or could reasonably be expected to influence, the outcome of a Procurement. This prohibition includes, without limitation, personal meetings, meals, entertainment functions, telephonic communications, letters, faxes and e-mails, as well as any other activity that exposes the Employee to direct contact with a Vendor. This prohibition does not include contact with Employees solely for the purpose of discussing existing on-going Board work which is related to the subject of the Procurement. Inquiries regarding the status of a Procurement should also be directed to the Point of Contact.
“Vendor” shall mean any individual or entity seeking to or doing business with the Board within the scope of this Policy, including, without limitation, contractors, consultants, suppliers, manufacturers seeking to act as the primary contracting party, officers and Employees of the foregoing, any subcontractors, sub consultants and sub suppliers at all lower tiers, as well as any person or entity engaged by the Board to provide a good or service.
“DOAS Vendor Manual” shall mean the Georgia of Department of Administrative Services’ vendor manual.
EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Evaluation Team Members
1. The Contracting Officer must ensure that employees participating in any Procurement activities have sufficient understanding of the Procurement and evaluation process and the applicable CBH and DOAS rules and regulations and policies associated with the processes.
2. Evaluation team members are tasked with conducting objective, impartial evaluations, and therefore, must place aside any personal and/or professional biases or prejudices that may exist. Additionally, Employees participating in the procurement process must not allow personal relationships (i.e. friendships, dating) with Employees, principals, directors, officers, etc. of a Vendor or individuals on the Affiliate Vendor Team to interfere with the ability to render objective and fair determinations. Such interference may constitute the appearance of, and/or an actual conflict of interest and should be immediately disclosed to the Contracting Officer prior to the Employee’s participation on the evaluation team. The Contracting Officer shall consult with the Ethics Officer to make a determination as to whether the Employee should participate on the evaluation team.
3. In the event it is determined that a conflict of interest does exist and the Employee failed to make the appropriate disclosure, the employee will be disqualified from further participation in the procurement process. Furthermore, in the event that the Board determines that the conflict of interest did impact the outcome of a Procurement, such Employee may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
4. In the event that the employee maintains a relationship of any sort that lends to an appearance of a conflict of interest with respect to a Procurement, the District Health Director may take appropriate action to eliminate such an appearance, up to and including the disallowance of the Employee’s participation in any Procurement activities. In such instance, the employee most likely will not be subject to disciplinary action.
5. Prior to participating in the procurement process, each CBH Employee must execute a statement attesting and acknowledging that:
a. The Employee shall not participate in a decision or investigation, or render an approval, disapproval, or recommendation with respect to any aspect of a Procurement, knowing that the Employee or their Family Member, has an actual or potential Financial Interest in the Procurement, including prospective employment;
b. The Employee shall not solicit or accept Gifts, regardless of whether the intent is to influence purchasing decisions;
c. Neither the Employee nor a Family Member of an Employee shall be employed by, or agree to work for, a Vendor or potential Vendor or Affiliate Vendor Team during any phase of a Procurement;
d. The employee shall not knowingly disclose Confidential Information;
e. The Employee is precluded from engaging in Prohibited Contact upon the release of a Procurement solicitation, during the Evaluation Process, and throughout a Protest period, period of stay or court injunction related to procurement with which Employee was associated or at any time prior to the final adjudication of the Protest;
f. The Employee is responsible for reporting any violations of this Policy in accordance with this Policy;
g. The Employee will be responsible for complying with all DOAS rules and regulations, as well as Georgia law pertaining to procurement and conflicts of interest; and
h. The Employee shall not assist a potential Vendor in the Procurement process in evaluating the solicitation, preparing a bid in response to the evaluation, or negotiating a contract with the Board. This prohibition shall not prohibit the Contracting Officer from carrying out his or her prescribed duties as allowed by CBH policy and procedures or the DOAS Vendor Manual.
B. Responsibilities of Non-Evaluation Team Members
All Employees should be mindful of the importance of confidentiality during any Procurement. Even if an Employee is not in the procurement process, the Employee must refrain from engaging in conduct with a Vendor that could result in a conflict of interest or be considered a Prohibited Contact.
VENDOR RESPONSIBILITIES
A. Gifts and Kick-Backs
Vendors may neither offer nor give any Gift or KickPolicy backs, directly or indirectly, to an Employee. Similarly, no Vendor may offer or give any Gift or Kick-backs, directly or indirectly, to any Employee’s Family Member. Such prohibited activity may result in the termination of the contract, in those cases where the Vendor has executed a contract with the Board. In the event that a potential Vendor who has submitted a response to a Procurement solicitation engages in such activity, the Board shall act in accordance with DOAS protocol.
B. Family Relationships with Board Employees
If a Vendor has family or personal relationship with the Employee, a Gift that is unconnected with the Employee’s duties at the CBH is not necessarily prohibited. In determining whether the giving of an item was motivated by personal rather than business concerns, the history of the relationship between the Vendor the Employee shall be considered. However, regardless of the family or personal relationship between a Vendor and an Employee, a Gift is strictly forbidden where it is being given under circumstances where it can reasonably be inferred that it was intended to influence the Employee in the performance of his or her official duties.
C. Vendor Submittals
The Board expects all potential Vendors and current Vendors to be forthcoming, always submitting true and accurate information in response to a Procurement or with regard to an existing business relationship. If the Board determines that the Vendor has intentionally omitted or failed to provide pertinent information and/or falsified or misrepresented material information submitted to the Board, the Board shall act in accordance with applicable state law and DOAS procurement policies and procedures.
Vendors must calculate the price(s) contained in any bid in accordance with Section 5.11 of the DOAS Vendor Manual.
D. Business Relations A Vendor may not be allowed to conduct business with the Board for the following reasons:
1. Falsifying or misrepresenting any material information to the Board as set forth hereinabove;
2. Conferring or offering to confer upon an Employee participating in a Procurement (which the entity has bid or intends to submit a bid) any Gift, gratuity, favor, or advantage, present or future; and
3. Any other reasons not explicitly set forth herein that are contained in the DOAS Vendor Manual.
USE OF CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Employees will not use confidential Information for their own advantage or profit, nor will they disclose Confidential Information during a Procurement to any potential Vendor or to any other unauthorized recipient outside CBH.
ADDRESSING VIOLATIONS
A. The process
Adherence to this policy makes all CBH staff responsible for bringing violations to the attention of the Contracting Officer under Procurement protocols or to a supervisor/manager if the affected Employee is not a part of the Procurement. If for any reason it is not appropriate to report a violation to the Contracting Officer or the Employee’s immediate supervisor, Employees will report such violations or concerns to the District Ethics Officer and/or the District Health Director. The Contracting Officer and managers are required to report suspected ethics violations to the District Health Director, who has specific responsibility to investigate all reported violations.
Reporting suspected policy violations by others shall not jeopardized an Employee’s tenure with the Board. Confirmed violations will result in appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including termination from employment. In some circumstances, criminal and civil penalties may be applicable.
The District Health Director will notify the employee making the report of the suspected violation of receipt of such report within five (5) business days. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.
B. Good Faith Filings
Anyone filing a complaint concerning a violation of this policy must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious disciplinary offense.
C. Confidentiality
Violations or suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant or may be submitted anonymously. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation. Additionally, all Employees are expected to cooperate in the investigation of such violations. Failure to cooperate in an investigation may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination from employment.
MANDATORY REPORTING
Any and every employee who has knowledge of any ethics violation is responsible for reporting such violation to the District Health Director and the District Ethics Officer.
Good faith reports will be free from retaliation. Supervisors are responsible for reporting such violation and for forwarding any such report from any member of the supervisor’s staff to the District Health Director and District Ethics Officer. Reports of violations made to the Ethics Officer will be forwarded to the District Health Director. Supervisors are additionally responsible for ensuring that the employees under his or her supervision are aware of any comply with the CBH ethical standards and policies.
Employees and Board members are encouraged to contact the District Health Director about any concerns regarding standards of conduct, ethics and conflicts of interest.
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