Purchasing and Risk Management Division - How to Do Business with Pinellas County

Vendor Registration / How to Find Bid Opportunities

Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) uses OpenGov to notify contractors/vendors of bids, quotations and proposal opportunities.

To receive notifications, contractors/vendors must register with OpenGov online at OpenGov Procurement and subscribe to Pinellas County's page.

By registering, you will receive notification whenever there is a County bid, quotation or proposal opportunity for your particular registered commodity. Additionally, those who have registered and downloaded a bid opportunity will automatically receive notification of related addenda. When registering, it is important to choose the appropriate commodity codes to reflect the offerings of your organization.

OpenGov is a self-maintained vendor registration system. Based on the commodities you select, you will receive notifications of the solicitation opportunities. Even though you may have registered with us in the past you must re-register in the OpenGov system (OpenGov Procurement) or you will no longer receive notifications of bidding opportunities.

Small Purchases

Pinellas County department directors and designated staff are able to make smaller purchases necessary for day-to-day operations. These individual purchases do not exceed $5,000.00. Typically, these purchases are made with a County issued, Visa branded “credit” card.

An Invitation to Quote (ITQ) is a solicitation for a commodity or service where multiple competitive quotations are obtained either in writing or orally. ITQ’s are less formal than bids or proposals and do not exceed $100,000. For quotes, we also use OpenGov to assist the County with sourcing, but the ITQ’s are somewhat informal and do not always get advertised. We select an adequate number of companies from various sources and invite them to quote based on the County’s needs.

Formal Purchases

The County’s Invitations to Bid (ITB) and Request for Proposals (RFP) are formal purchasing processes. The ITB’s are advertised to the public via OpenGov for those commodities or projects expected to exceed $100,000.00. The RFP’s are also advertised via OpenGov regardless of expected cost. Both of these procurement methods are considered formal and sealed bid procedures applied. Please read the entire solicitation document and follow the instructions contained therein. Address any questions you have prior to the question closing date to the person listed in the “Submit Questions To” block of the document. ANY BID OR PROPOSAL RECEIVED AFTER THE OPENING DATE WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED.

Vendor Insurance

Pinellas County has revised the insurance requirements for most of our contracts. Insurance requirements can be found in Section C of the solicitation documents. It is recommended that you give a copy of the entire contents of Section C to your insurance broker prior to providing your total price. Ensure your total price takes into consideration the cost for the insurance we require.

Before we submit a recommendation to award a contract, the County must receive evidence of proper insurance coverage as required in the solicitation document. Upon notification that you are the apparent successful vendor, you will have 10 business days to provide evidence of proper insurance coverage. Please note that the company name on the Bid/Quote/RFP submission must match the company name on the insurance certificate.

Pinellas County’s Risk Management Department utilizes CTrax c/o JDi Data as our insurance verification and monitoring service. After you’ve been notified that you are the apparent successful vendor, we will send you an email with instructions on how to provide proof of insurance to CTrax.

• For more information regarding the insurance requirements for a particular solicitation, please contact our Risk Management Department at (727) 464-3664 or the Purchasing Department at (727) 464-3311.

Alternative Payment Options

Pinellas County offers payment via ePayables.  This method can improve cash flow and reduce the cost and inefficiency of paperwork.

ePayables: The ePayables Electronic Payment Solution replaces check payments with a VISA credit card account. ePayables payments will be processed via a credit card and merchant services fees will apply.

• To enroll, please contact Bill Lawrentz Purchasing Card Program Administrator, (727) 464-4140. 

iSupplier Portal

If you do business with Pinellas County, you’ll want to sign up for iSupplier.  As a current vendor of Pinellas County Government, you can view Invoices, Payments, and Purchase Orders using Oracle iSupplier Portal. The self service portal allows you to manage and view current, future and historical business transactions processed by Pinellas County.

• Contact the Clerk of Circuit Court Finance Supplier Management
  at (727) 464-8389.

Lobbying:

Pinellas County has revised its code regarding Lobbying. Prior to submitting a competitive solicitation, please review Section 2-189 as contained on this link. The Purchasing Department, with the authorization of the Board of County Commissioners, is responsible for the procurement of all materials and most services utilized by the County.

Public Records:

Pinellas County Government is subject to the Florida Public Records law (Chapter 119, Florida Statutes), and all documents, materials, and data submitted to any solicitation as part of the response are governed by the disclosure, exemption and confidentiality provisions relating to public records in Florida Statutes.

Electronic Mail:

E-mail addresses are public records under Florida law and are not exempt from public-records requirements. If you do not want your e-mail address to be subject to being released pursuant to a public-records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by telephone or in writing, via the United States Postal Service.

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