link to the Purchasing Department home page

Purchasing Department - How to Do Business with Pinellas County

Vendor Registration / How to Find Bid Opportunities

Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) uses DemandStar by Onvia to notify vendors of bidding and proposal opportunities.

To receive notifications, you must register with DemandStar online or by calling 1-800-711-1712. By registering, you will receive notification whenever there is a bidding or proposal opportunity for your particular commodity for Pinellas County’s BCC. 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 firm.

Please note, if you register solely for Pinellas County BCC under the Onvia DemandStar Free Agency checkbox, there is no cost for this bid/proposal notification service. However, there are other subscription options available.

Small Purchases

Pinellas County department directors and designated staff are able to make smaller purchases necessary for day-to-day operations. These 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 Demandstar to assist us with sources, but the ITQ’s are somewhat informal and do not get advertised. We select an adequate number of companies from various sources and invite them to quote on our needs. Additionally, we do not use sealed bidding procedures for ITQ’s. You may submit your quote via mail, email, fax or hand deliver.

Formal Purchases

Our Invitations to Bid (ITB) and Request for Proposals (RFP) are formal purchasing processes. Our ITB’s are advertised to the public via DemandStar for those commodities or projects expected to exceed $100,000.00. Our RFP’s are also advertised via DemandStar regardless of expected cost. Both of these procurement methods are considered formal and sealed bidding procedures are used. Please read the entire solicitation document and follow the instructions contained in it. 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 our insurance requirements for most of our contracts. Insurance requirements can be found in Section C of our 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 price quote. Ensure your price quote takes into consideration your 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 firm, 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 EBIX Inc. as our insurance verification and monitoring service. After you’ve been notified that you are the apparent successful firm, we will send you an email with instructions on how to provide proof of insurance to Ebix.

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 Ruby McKenzie Purchasing Card Program Administrator, (727) 464-3795.

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.

See iSupplier Portal for more information.

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.

top of page