The State Bureau of Procurement and agencies have the responsibility to promote maximum competition and to comply with unique requirements applicable to the purchase of contractual services.
Cost Benefit Analysis and Continued Appropriateness Reviews
Agencies may purchase services which can be performed more economically or efficiently by contract. See PRO-205, Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), Continued Appropriateness and Justification of Need for Services.
American Services
Pursuant to s. 16.705(1r), Wis. Stats., services must be performed within the United States unless excepted.
Protests and Appeals
For contractual services procurements over the official bidding threshold, the aggrieved bidder, procuring agency, and the Department of Administration have specific roles and responsibilities related to the appeals process. For protests related to RFPs, the subjective judgment of evaluators is not appealable.
Justification of Need Documentation
For contractual services procurements over the official bidding threshold, agencies must provide justification to enter into contracts for services pursuant to s. 16.705(2)(c), Wis. Stats. and contracts for services cannot be approved unless the justification conforms to such requirements, and those of ss. 16.71 to 16.77, Wis. Stats..
Independence of Relationship
Agencies will establish processes to ensure services contracts include a review of the independence and relationship, if any, of the contractor to employees of the agency, disclosure of any former employment of the contractor or employees of the contractor with the agency, and a procedure to minimize the likelihood of selecting a contractor who provides or is likely to provide services to industries, client groups or individuals who are the object of state regulation or the recipients of state funding to a degree that the contractor's independence would be compromised.
Employee-Employer Relationship
An essential element of the purchase of services is the independent entrepreneurial relationship between the contractor and the state, i.e., exclusion of any element of an employer-employee relationship. The existence of a contract alone does not negate the possible existence of an employee-employer relationship.
An employee under the Social Security Act is "any person who under the usual common law rules applicable in determining employer-employee relationship has the status of an employee." Agencies will ensure they are practicing due diligence to avoid establishing an employee-employer relationship in services contracts.
Contract Administrator
All contracts for services must have a named person responsible for administering the contract. See PRO-405, Contract Administration.
Background Checks
If services are performed by individual(s) with access to federal tax information received directly from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), or a source authorized by the IRS to provide it, agencies will ensure a background check is performed for each individual pursuant to s. 16.705(1s), Wis. Stats..
Banking, Security and Legal Services
Procurement of contractual services is delegated to agencies through formal delegation; see PRO-102, Delegation. However, certain services procurements cannot be delegated or must be approved alternatively. See PRO-512, Services Requiring Special Approval Authority: Banking and Security Services and PRO-511, Legal Services.
Exceptions:
This policy does not apply to any contracts under ss. 16.75(2)(b) for utilities; 16.87 for construction and environmental consultant services; or 84.01(13) for engineering, consulting, surveying or other specialized services; or Chapter 35, Wis. Stats., for printing.