14B NCAC 03 .0507          Procedures for bidding and contracting for Regional Response TEAM

(a)  Eligibility for participation as a Sponsoring Agency as a regional response team:

(1)           be a local unit of government, tribal government, with an active response agreement with a local or tribal unit of government;

(2)           maintain participation in the statewide mutual aid agreement; and

(3)           ensure all personnel possess the qualifications as outlined in Rule .0509 of this Section.

(b)  Regional response teams – Within 18 months of a new contract period, NCEM shall distribute a bid announcement to all program resources and local emergency management coordinators for interested parties to return a letter of interest. NCEM shall distribute a bid package to all interested parties that shall be returned to NCEM.

(1)           Regional response teams shall be limited to seven regionally based teams. Each team will be assigned a primary response region in the state.

(2)           The bidding agency agencies shall be in that specified response region.

(3)           The NCEM Director or designee shall establish a review committee. This committee will open all completed sealed bid packages and evaluate them based on the criteria outlined in Rule .0508 of this Section at a date to be set by the NCEM Director or designee.

(4)           The committee shall develop a bid package review summary that includes their recommendations for selections that will be sent to the NCEM Operations Chief for concurrence before being reviewed and approved by the NCEM Director.

(5)           Agencies that are successful in the bid process will be notified and program agreements shall be drafted and executed.

(6)           NCEM shall draft, execute, and maintain a program agreement with the Sponsoring Agency for the program resource to maintain participation in the program.

(A)          NCEM shall execute and maintain a program agreement with the Sponsoring Agency that outlines the scope of work that the team shall follow to enable reimbursement of eligible training, equipment, administrative, and personnel costs associated with maintaining and deploying a regional response team. The program agreement shall be limited to the four-year contract period with an optional one-year extension.

(B)          Funds reimbursed through this agreement shall go directly to cover program costs and be utilized by the Sponsoring Agency for the purposes of this program.

(C)          The Sponsoring Agency shall maintain all records of any program spending and shall not comingle funds or use program funding for any other purpose other than for the purposes of this program.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 166A-22; 166A-23;

Eff. March 1, 2024.