Denials, Determinations of Ineligibility, or Decertification

Any certified firm which is debarred by the City, or which is declared ineligible to do business with the City pursuant to Chapter 1-23 of the MCC, is ineligible for continued certification by the City. In addition, such firms are automatically ineligible for certification as of the effective date of the debarment decision, or the determination that they are ineligible to do business with the City pursuant to Chapter 1-23 of the Municipal Code.

Other Decertification Reasons

The City may decertify a certified firm, or find a certified firm to be ineligible for continued certification if the CPO determines that any of the following are true:

• The certified firm no longer satisfies the applicable certification requirements;
• The certified firm, or an owner, officer, or agent thereof, has made fraudulent misrepresentations to the City regarding the utilization of certified firms or colluded with another making such misrepresentation in the preceding three years;
• The certified firm is no longer eligible for City contracts;
• The certified firm, or any owner, officer, or agent thereof, in the preceding three years, has committed a crime in connection with the execution or performance of any contract or a crime involving moral turpitude; or
• The certified firm has been decertified by any other governmental agency.

Procedure For Other Decertification Reasons

In the event, that the CPO determines that a certified firm should be decertified based upon fraud, dishonesty, intentional misrepresentation of the firm’s status, or other wrongdoing by the certified firm, or as a result of decertification by any other governmental agency, the CPO will issue a “Preliminary Notice of Intent to Decertify” to the certified firm.

If the CPO determines that the certified firm should be declared no longer eligible for certification based upon a change in status of the certified firm, which does not reflect fraud, dishonesty, intentional misrepresentation of the firm’s status, or other wrongdoing by the firm, the CPO will issue a “Preliminary Notice of Ineligibility for Continued Certification” to the certified firm.

Firms may submit a written appeal within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of the preliminary notice of ineligibility or decertification. If a firm fails to submit a written appeal this will cause the CPO to accept the facts upon which the preliminary notice was based as admitted and the firm’s certification will be removed.

Effect Of Decertification Or Ineligibility

Firms that have been decertified or determined to be no longer eligible for certification may not be used for MBE or WBE participation credit on City contracts or counted towards applicable bid incentives and will not be eligible for City programs based on their prior certification status.

Any decision by the CPO with respect to the decertification of an applicant shall mean that, as of the date of decertification, the certification status of the applicant shall not continue on any City contract where the certified firm’s performance was commenced prior to the effective date of the decertification.

However, any decision by the CPO to issue a Notice of Ineligibility for Continued Certification shall not affect the certification status of any contractor on any City contract where the certified firm’s performance was commenced prior to the effective date of such notice.

Suspension Of MBE/WBE/VBE Or BEPD Certification

The certification of a certified MBE, WBE, VBE, or BEPD firm will be immediately suspended when an individual owner whose ownership and control of the firm are necessary to the firm’s certification dies or is incarcerated.

A firm may also be suspended when (i) there is adequate evidence to believe that there has been a material change in circumstances that may affect the eligibility of the certified firm to remain certified, or (ii) when the certified firm fails to notify the DPS in writing of any material change in circumstances as required or fails to timely file a No Change Affidavit.

While suspended, the certified firm may not be considered to meet a contract goal on a new contract. The certified firm may continue to perform under an existing contract executed before it received a Notice of Suspension and may be counted toward the contract goal during the period of suspension as long as it is performing a commercially useful function under the existing contract.

Following receipt of the Notice of Suspension, if the certified firm believes it is no longer eligible, it may voluntarily withdraw from the program, in which case no further action is required.

If the certified firm believes that its eligibility should be reinstated however, it must provide information demonstrating that it is eligible notwithstanding its changed circumstances within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Suspension. Upon receipt of this information, the DPS will either lift the suspension and reinstate the firm’s certification or issue a preliminary notice of decertification or ineligibility.