CMO Procurement & Contract Administration 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a municipality soliciting construction services should include accessibility requirements in:
- The payment bond only
- The technical specifications and contract terms (Correct answer)
- The vendor registration form only
- The liquidated damages clause only
Correct answer: The technical specifications and contract terms
ADA compliance requirements must be embedded in the technical specifications and contract terms so they are enforceable obligations on the contractor.
Question 2: A 'notice to proceed' (NTP) in a construction contract PRIMARILY serves to:
- Authorize the contractor to submit its first invoice
- Officially start the contract performance period and trigger schedule obligations (Correct answer)
- Notify the public that construction is beginning
- Release the retainage held from prior payments
Correct answer: Officially start the contract performance period and trigger schedule obligations
An NTP is the official communication that authorizes the contractor to begin work and starts the contractual performance period and completion deadlines.
Question 3: Which of the following is a PROHIBITED practice under federal procurement conflict-of-interest rules?
- A procurement officer disclosing a financial interest in a bidding vendor before recusing themselves
- A former employee advising a vendor on a solicitation the employee worked on within the past year (Correct answer)
- A council member abstaining from a vote on a contract award where they have a personal interest
- A department head submitting a requisition for services their department needs
Correct answer: A former employee advising a vendor on a solicitation the employee worked on within the past year
Former employees are generally prohibited from advising or assisting private parties on matters they participated in personally during their government service, under revolving-door rules.
Question 4: Retainage in a public construction contract is BEST defined as:
- A penalty withheld for missed deadlines
- A percentage of each progress payment withheld until substantial completion (Correct answer)
- The fee paid to the surety for the performance bond
- The owner's contingency reserve for unforeseen costs
Correct answer: A percentage of each progress payment withheld until substantial completion
Retainage is a portion (typically 5–10%) withheld from each progress payment as security that the contractor will satisfactorily complete all work.
Question 5: A municipality receives an unsolicited proposal from a vendor offering a unique service. The BEST practice response is to:
- Accept the proposal immediately if the price seems reasonable
- Evaluate whether the service is needed, then conduct competitive procurement if feasible (Correct answer)
- Decline all unsolicited proposals as a matter of policy
- Pay the vendor a fee for the idea and conduct a sole-source award
Correct answer: Evaluate whether the service is needed, then conduct competitive procurement if feasible
Best practice requires determining genuine need first, then applying competitive procurement unless the proposal qualifies for a recognized sole-source exception.
Question 6: The 'cure notice' provision in a public contract is used when:
- The contractor submits an invoice with errors
- The contractor is in default and given a formal opportunity to correct the deficiency (Correct answer)
- The municipality needs to terminate for convenience
- The contractor requests a time extension
Correct answer: The contractor is in default and given a formal opportunity to correct the deficiency
A cure notice formally notifies a contractor of a specific default and provides a set period — typically 10 days — to remedy the problem before termination.
Question 7: When evaluating contractor past performance in a best-value procurement, a contracting officer should PRIMARILY consider:
- The contractor's years in business and number of employees
- References, prior contract outcomes, and quality of delivered work on similar projects (Correct answer)
- The contractor's marketing materials and website
- Whether the contractor has ever protested a government award
Correct answer: References, prior contract outcomes, and quality of delivered work on similar projects
Past performance evaluation focuses on verifiable references and documented outcomes on comparable projects as predictors of future performance.
CMO Procurement & Contract Administration 4
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a municipality soliciting construction services should include accessibility requirements in: