When any expenditure of a fire and ambulance district, other than for the compensation of district employees, exceeds fifty thousand dollars, the contract for the expenditure shall be in writing and made with the lowest and best bidder after advertising once a week for not less than two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the district. The board of trustees of a fire and ambulance district may also cause notice to be inserted in trade papers or other publications designated by it or to be distributed by electronic means, including posting the notice on the board's internet web site. If the board posts the notice on its web site, it may eliminate the second notice otherwise required to be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the district, provided that the first notice published in such newspaper meets all of the following requirements:

(A) It is published at least two weeks before the opening of bids.

(B) It includes a statement that the notice is posted on the board's internet web site.

(C) It includes the internet address of the board's internet web site.

(D) It includes instructions describing how the notice may be accessed on the board's internet web site.

The bids shall be opened and shall be publicly read by the clerk of the district, or the clerk's designee, at the time, date, and place specified in the advertisement to bidders or the specifications. The time, date, and place of bid openings may be extended to a later date by the board of trustees of the district, provided that written or oral notice of the change shall be given to all persons who have received or requested specifications no later than ninety-six hours prior to the original time and date fixed for the opening.

Each bid on any contract shall contain the full name of every person interested in the bid. If the bid is for a contract for the construction, demolition, alteration, repair, or reconstruction of an improvement, it shall meet the requirements of section 153.54 of the Revised Code. If the bid is for any other contract, it shall be accompanied by a sufficient bond or certified check, cashier's check, or money order on a solvent bank or savings and loan association that, if the bid is accepted, a contract will be entered into and the performance of it will be properly secured. If the bid for work embraces both labor and material, it shall be separately stated, with the price of the labor and the material. The board may reject any and all bids. The contract shall be between the district and the bidder, and the district shall pay the contract price in cash. When a bonus is offered for completion of a contract prior to a specified date, the board may exact a prorated penalty in like sum for each day of delay beyond the specified date. When there is reason to believe there is collusion or combination among bidders, the bids of those concerned shall be rejected.

Effective Date: 09-26-2003; 2007 HB119 09-29-2007; 2008 SB268 09-12-2008 .