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ORDINANCE NO. _____ _
An Ordinance amending chapter 8A and adding a new section 8A-7 to the City's
Code of Ordinances for the purpose of regulating communication during certain
phases of competitive solicitation and to establish a "Cone of Silence".
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has established a "cone of silence" during any
competitive bidding process; and
WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County has a strong Mayor form of government; and
WHEREAS, the City of South Miami has a Commission Manager form of government;
and
WHEREAS, the County's cone of silence ordinance, section 2-11.1 (t), is very confusing
and it contains provisions that are difficult to understand especially in light of the fact that some
of its provisions concern departments and programs that do not exist in the City of South Miami;
and
WHEREAS, section 2-11.1 (t) (4) of the County's cone of silence ordinance allows the
City to enact its own cone of silence ordinance and opt out of the County's ordinance and it
provides that:
; and
The requirements of Section 2-11.1(t) shall not apply to any municipality in Miami-Dade
County that has adopted an ordinance providing that the cone of silence shall not apply to
that municipality. Any municipality that opts out of the requirements of Section 2-11.1 (t)
shall provide the Ethics Commission with a copy of the ordinance.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Commission desire to opt out of the requirements ot
Section 2-11.1 (t) and to enact the City's own cone of silence ordinance.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
Section 1. Chapter 8A of the City of South Miami Code of Ordinances is hereby
amended in pertinent part to add a new section 8A-7 which is to read as follows:
Sec.8A-7. Cone of Silence.
(a) Definitions.
"Cone of silence", as used herein, means a prohibition 00 of certain any
communication regarding competitive solicitations such as a request for proposal
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,q
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("RFP"), request for qualification ("RFQ"), request for information ("RFI") or request
for bid ("RFB"), between:
(1) A potential vendor, service provider, proposer or bidder (hereinafter referred to as
the "Potential Bidder"), or lobbyist or consultant for the Potential Bidder; (hereinafter
referred to as the "Bidder's Representative") and
(2) Members of the City Commissioners and City's professional staff including, any
member of the Citis selection, evaluation or negotiation committee.
"City's professional staff' means City Department Heads and their staff and the City
Manager and Assistant City Manager and their staff.
(b) Restriction; notice. A cone of silence shall be imposed upon each competitive
solicitation, commencing with the date that the advertisement of said solicitation is
published and the requirements of this section shall be included in solicitation. At the
time of imposition of the cone of silence, the City Manager or his or her designee shall:
(a) provide for public notice of the cone of silence by posting a notice at the City Hall; (b)
issue a written notice thereof to the affected departments; (c) file a copy of such notice
with the City Clerk; and (d) serve a copy thereof on each City Commissioner.
(c) Termination of cone of silence. The cone of silence shall terminate at the beginning
of the City Commission meeting at which the City Manager makes his or her written
recommendation to the City Commission. However, if the City Commission refers the
Manager's recommendation back to the Manager or staff for further review, the cone of
silence shall be reimposed until the beginning of the City Commission meeting at which
the City Manager makes a subsequent written recommendation.
(d) Exceptions to applicability. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
(1) Communications at pre-bid conferences;
(2) Presentations before selection or evaluation committees;
(3) Public presentations made to the City Commissioners during any duly noticed
public meeting;
(4) Written communication at any time with any City employee, unless specifically
prohibited by the applicable competitive solicitation documents. A copy of any
written communication made during the cone of silence shall be filed with the City
Clerk by the Potential Bidder or Bidder's Representative. The City Clerk shall make
copies available to any person upon request;
(5) Communication regarding a particular solicitation between a Potential Bidder or
Bidder's Representative and the City'S Purchasing Agent or City employee designated
responsible for administering the procurement process for such solicitation, provided
the communication is limited strictly to matters of process or procedure already
contained in the corresponding solicitation document;
(6) Communications with the City Attorney and his or her staff;
(7) Communications during any duly noticed site visits to determine the competency
of bidders regarding a particular bid during the time period between the opening of
bids and the time the City Manager makes his or her written recommendation;
(8) Any emergency procurement of goods or services pursuant to City Code;
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1 (9) Responses to the Citis request for clarification or additional information;
2 (10) Contract negotiations that take place at any duly noticed public meeting;
3 (11) Communications between City's professional staff and Potential Bidders and/or
4 Bidder's Representatives to enable City staffto seek and obtain industry comment or
5 perform market research, provided all communications related thereto between a
6 Potential Bidders and/or Bidder's Representatives and any member of the City's
7 professional staff including, but not limited to, the City Manager and his or her staff
8 are in writing or are made at a duly noticed public meeting.
9 .. (12) Communications at recorded contract negotiations and contract negotiation
10 strategy sessions in compliance with the exemption in Florida Statutes Section
11 286.0113.
12
13 (e) Penalties. Violation of this section by a particular bidder or proposer, or their
14 representative, shall render any award, to said bidder or proposer voidable by the City
15 Commission and/or City Manager. Any person who violates a provision of this section
16 may be prohibited from serving on a City selection or evaluation committee. In addition
17 to any other penalty provided herein, violation of any provision of this section by a City
18 employee may subject said employee to disciplinary action at the discretion of the City
19 Manager.
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23 Section 2. The City Clerk is directed to provide the Miami-Dade County Commission on
24 Ethics with a copy of this ordinance.
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26 Section 3. Codification. The significant provisions of this ordinance shall become and
27 be made part of the Code of Ordinances of the City of South Miami as amended; that the sections
28 of this ordinance may be renumbered or re-lettered to accomplish such intention; and that the
29 word "ordinance" may be changed to "section" or other appropriate word.
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31 Section 4. Severability. If any section, clause, sentence, or phrase of this ordinance is
32 for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, this holding
33 shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
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35 Section 5. Ordinances in Conflict. All ordinances or parts of ordinances and all
36 sections and parts of sections of ordinances in direct conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
37
38 Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance shall become effective upon enactment.
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PASSED AND ENACTED this __ day of _____ , 2017.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
CITY CLERK MAYOR
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1st Reading
2nd Reading
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM:
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
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COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice M,qor Welsh:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Liebman:
Commissioner Harris: