Procurement & Vendor Opportunities

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Procurement and Vendors

If you are not presently registered with Public Purchase, we encourage that you do so for this and all future participation with NCTCOG solicitations. In an effort to establish awareness of this project, please feel free to share this information with your colleagues in the industry, should you be unable to respond to our solicitation.

About Us

Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas provides leadership to our extensive network of Workforce Centers and service providers who are dedicated to assisting employers in finding the right employees.

The North Central Texas Workforce Development Board plans and oversees the services and programs facilitated by WSNCT and is one of 28 Workforce Development boards in the State of Texas. Covering 14 counties, including urban, suburban and rural areas, the North Central Texas Board is one of the larger boards within the state.

Since 1996, Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas has partnered with the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), who serves as the administrative entity for WSNCT. As grant recipient and fiscal agent, the North Central Texas Council of Governments is responsible for an annual workforce development budget in excess of $60 million.

NCTCOG is a voluntary association of, by and for local governments, and was established to assist local governments in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. NCTCOG is a political subdivision of the State of Texas and complies with the same provisions for purchasing goods or services that apply to local governments (252 and 271 of the Texas Local Government Code and Title I, Part 5, Chapter 113 of the Texas Administrative Code). NCTCOG is a unique agency because of the various ways in which it is funded - local, state and federal, and the funding agency will dictate any additional purchasing rules that must be followed.

WSNCT and NCTCOG utilize a competitive procurement process to gain maximum free and open competition to ensure purchases are obtained efficiently and economically and in compliance with the provisions of applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. We hope that the following information will assist vendors in becoming familiar with how to conduct business with WSNCT and NCTCOG.

How To Do Business

How can I contact the Procurement department?

Please direct inquiries to Mary Ford, Workforce Program Manager, using this form or at 817-695-9181.

How can I get on a vendors/bidders list?

NCTCOG utilizes Public Purchase for the maintenance of an automated vendor list. Businesses that register with Public Purchase are notified by e-mail whenever a formal sealed bid or informal request for quote has been issued for the commodity or service offered by the vendor.

To have your firm placed on the vendor list, go to Public Purchase at www.publicpurchase.com. The application asks for general information about your business and allows you to identify the commodities and services you provide. There is no cost to register.

How can I find out about bid opportunities?

Sealed bids or Request for Proposals (of $50,000.00 or more) are advertised in major local newspapers under the legal notices section, in Public Purchase, and occasionally in trade magazines or other publications that are specific to the particular commodity or service requested. A listing of our current bids/RFPs is posted in the "Current Procurement Activities" section above. In order to download a copy of the RFP solicitation, please go to www.publicpurchase.com. Only those vendors who have downloaded a copy of the RFP and its attachments from Public Purchase will be registered on the official respondent vendor notification list. Be sure to read the bid/RFP solicitation packets thoroughly for deadlines and delivery timeframe information. For bids less than $50,000.00, WSNCT and NCTCOG staff will obtain written or telephone quotes by contacting at least three vendors. In accordance with Texas Government Code 791.001, we have the option of purchasing products that are on State of Texas or cooperative purchasing contracts.

What are the bidding thresholds?

• Purchase price up to $2,999: Quotes are not required, but good faith effort is required in obtaining best possible price.
• Purchase price between $3,000-$49,999: At least three (3) competitive written bids required.
• Purchase price over $50,000: Sealed bidding or request for proposal process requiring Executive Board approval and advertising in newspapers.

Some exceptions may apply to the above bidding thresholds.

What is a sealed bid or proposal?

Sealed bids or proposals are for purchases expected to be $50,000 or more. Sealed bid/RFP documents must include a specific date and time of the bid closing and a location as to where the vendor is to submit the bid/RFP. Late bids/RFPs are not accepted. Sealed bids/RFPs are opened publicly at a specified date, time and place as indicated in the bid document. Award of competitive sealed bids or proposals are made by the NCTCOG Executive Board during one of their regularly scheduled meetings.

Where do I turn in a sealed bid/proposal?

Vendors should pay close attention to proposal submittal instructions in bid/RFP documents. Vendors may turn in their sealed bids/proposals to the NCTCOG offices to one of the following addresses unless otherwise specified in the bid/RFP document. The person or department to receive the bid/proposal must be included in the address line to ensure proper delivery.

By UPS, FedEx:

North Central Texas Council of Governments
Attn: Sealed Bid Box
Purchasing Office
616 Six Flags Drive
Arlington, TX 76011

By US Mail:

North Central Texas Council of Governments
Attn: Sealed Bid Box
Purchasing Office
PO Box 5888
Arlington, TX 76005-5888

Sealed bids or proposals are identified by marking the outside package "SEALED BID" or "SEALED PROPOSAL" with the RFP Number, Name and Due Date on the outside of the shipping package. Failure to do so may result in a misdirected package. It is up to the vendor to ensure that bids/proposals are turned in on time. WSNCT/NCTCOG assumes no responsibility for delays caused by a courier, U.S. Post Office or any other form of delivery. Late bids/proposals will be ineligible and not accepted for consideration.

Can I attend a bid opening?

Yes, bid/proposal openings are conducted for sealed bids and proposals only and are publicly opened after the proposal due date at NCTCOG offices. It is the official reading aloud of the name of the organization submitting the proposal only. No other information will be disclosed at that time. Bid/proposal information is restricted and not publicly available until after award of a contract. All documents associated with the proposal submitted, unless the proposer indicates a portion of the proposal is proprietary, may be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Public Information Act. All information obtained in the course of the solicitation will become property of NCTCOG. NCTCOG is not obligated to return proposals responses, binders, or exhibits to proposers. Announcement of the date, time and location of the bid/proposal opening is included in the bid/RFP solicitation documents. Questions concerning any aspect of the bids or proposals are not addressed in the bid/proposal opening.

How can I obtain results of a bid award?

Once bids/proposals are reviewed and evaluated, they are awarded as soon as is practical. Results of a bid award can only be obtained after an award has been made by calling the project manager or lead department making the original bid/RFP solicitation. Contact information for the project manager or department is contained in the original bid/RFP documents.

Online Auctions

As needed, we utilize Public Surplus to dispose of surplus items. Please visit our online auction site and search for "North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas" when you reach the homepage to view any available items.

Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy

General
NCTCOG is a political subdivision of the State of Texas as well as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Dallas/Fort Worth region. As an MPO, NCTCOG employees and/or board members are required to adhere to the standards of conduct and ethics policy enacted by the legislature of the State of Texas (S.B. 585). Employees, as public servants, will carry out their activities in a fair and legal manner avoiding actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

All staff members are expected to conduct the activities of the agency always in full compliance with the law and in an honest, fair, and courteous manner. Staff members must not ask or expect contractors, vendors or others with whom NCTCOG does business to favor NCTCOG or the individual staff member with special treatment.

Staff members must not permit personal preferences and dislikes to affect decisions related to their duties. To do so acts against NCTCOG's policy which is to treat all individuals, members, potential members, contractors, and others fairly and equitably.

Policy
NCTCOG's Executive Board sets policy for the organization. Staff members will reflect this policy in their oral and written statements representing NCTCOG with the public, local government members, potential members, contractors, grantor agencies, and federal agencies.

Each employee acknowledges that his or her conduct while serving as a member of the staff is governed by this Code of Conduct and Ethics Policy. An employee may not:

• accept or solicit any gift, favor, or service that might reasonably tend to influence the member or employee in the discharge of official duties or that the member or employee knows or should know is being offered with the intent to influence the member's or employee's official conduct;
• accept other employment or engage in a business or professional activity that the member or employee might reasonably expect would require or induce the member or employee to disclose confidential information acquired by reasons of the official position;
• accept other employment or compensation that could reasonably be expected to impair the member's or employee's independence of judgment in the performance of the member’s or employee’s official duties;
• Make personal investments that could reasonably be expected to create a substantial conflict between the member's or employee's private interest and the public interest; or
• Intentionally or knowingly solicit, accept, or agree to accept any benefit for having exercised the member's or employee's official powers or performed the member's or employee's official duties in favor of another.

Each staff member has an obligation to disclose to the executive director or program director any relationship the staff member or a staff member's family has with an entity doing business with NCTCOG. Evidence or circumstances suggesting collusion by bidders or by a bidder and a NCTCOG employee must be reported, in writing, to the Deputy Executive Director.

If the executive director has a relationship that could be viewed as being in conflict or competition with his or her duties as executive director, he or she has an obligation to disclose such relationship to the Executive Board.

S.B. 585 regarding the Standards of Conduct and Ethics Policy as enacted by the Legislature can be found at https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/SB00585F.HTM.