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Commissioners press procurement on RFP scoring after $442,625 professional-services recommendation
Summary
Commissioners questioned why two out-of-state firms ranked highest for a $442,625 professional-services contract; procurement said nine proposals were evaluated under a scoring matrix that weights quality over price and described local-evaluator credits for certified county businesses.
The Wayne County Commission took up the economic development committee report and spent an extended segment discussing the committee’s recommendation to approve a two-year professional services agreement with Bureau Veridis for technical assessments in the amount of $442,625.
Commissioner Wilson presented the committee recommendation. Commissioner Peterson Mayberry pressed procurement for details, saying local firms were in the top rankings but two out-of-state firms were recommended. “I’m a huge advocate of local vendors,” Peterson Mayberry said, asking why local bidders were not selected as prime contractors.
Aaron Wagner, procurement director, said the solicitation—posted on BidNet Direct—received nine proposals and that an evaluation committee scored proposals using a posted matrix. “With our request for proposals…there’s 1 part that is pricing, but the majority is based off of the quality of the solicitation,” Wagner said. He explained procurement runs the process and the evaluation committee aggregates members’ scores to create rankings.
Erin Kelly, director of sustainability and innovation in economic development, said pricing played an influential role: the RFP was posted in December 2024 and the scoring committee was able to score three of four categories; pricing was the fourth category and informed selection. Kelly added the department did outreach and saw roughly 43 vendors at the pre-bid.
Procurement outlined local-inclusion mechanics in the solicitation: certified county suppliers may receive evaluation credits (procurement cited a general-fund example of a 2% credit and scenarios where county-based suppliers could receive up to a 10% adjustment in evaluated price via certification and inclusion of local subcontractors). Wagner said federally funded programs may limit how some evaluation credits apply.
The record shows the commission asked for the evaluation memo and ranking details; Wagner pointed to the recommendation memo in the meeting packet as containing point distributions and evaluations. A recorded vote on the specific professional-services item was not included in the provided transcript excerpt.
