R907-66-8. Competitive Contract Negotiations

  (1) The Department will conduct competitive negotiations for contracts with the consultant firm it considers most qualified to provide services necessary to complete a project using guidelines developed by the Division. The Department will prepare independent estimates of the value of such services for use in negotiations.

  (2) Negotiations follow state and federal procurement procedures and are based on compensation that the Department considers fair and reasonable. Negotiations will end if the Department decides that it cannot agree on terms with the firm it considers most qualified. The Division will then begin negotiations with the firm it determines to be next most qualified firm. This process continues until either mutually agreeable terms are agreed to or the Division chooses to begin the selection process again to identify other firms qualified to provide such services.

  (3) The guidelines for both consultant selection and negotiations are public information and may be found within the Consultant Services Manual of Instruction, the project-specific solicitation or request for qualifications, and other guidelines established by the Division and published on the Department's Internet web site.