Be Ready for the Next Disaster - Page 8

8 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM reasonable costs, generally competitively bid, and meet Federal procurement requirements 2 . A copy of the applicant’s contract procurement policy must be readily available and provided to FEMA. FEMA considers the following methods of procurement acceptable: Micro-purchase — Purchase of supplies or services where costs do not exceed the Federal Acquisition threshold of $10,000 3 . Small purchase procedures —An informal method for securing services or supplies that do not cost more than $250,000 4 by obtaining several quotes from different sources. Sealed bids —This is a formal method where bids are publicly advertised and solicited, and the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder (this is the preferred method for procuring construction contracts). Competitive proposals —This method is like sealed bid procurement, but contracts may be awarded on the basis of contractor qualifications instead of price (this is preferred for professional architectural or engineering contracts). Non-competitive proposals —A proposal is received from only one source and one of the following apply: there is a public exigency or emergency requirement that makes a bidding process not feasible; the item is available from only one source; FEMA authorizes a non-competitive proposal; or solicitation has been attempted and the competition is inadequate. Non-competitive proposals that do not fall within these parameters and“piggyback” contracts are generally not eligible. There are three types of contracts for which FEMA will provide reimbursement: “Contracts must be for reasonable costs, generally competitively bid, and meet Federal procurement requirements. 2 ”