Sec. 126.621. - De-certification, Denial and appeal procedure.

(a) The JSEB Administrator may move to decertify a JSEB that repeatedly fails to honor quotations in good faith, or otherwise comply with Program requirements. (b) A business that has been denied certification or re-certification, or has been decertified, may object to the denial or de-certification as follows: (1) Within 15 days of receipt of denial of certification or re-certification, or notice of intent to decertify, the business may object to such action in writing to the JSEB Administrator. (2) Within 30 days of receipt of an objection, an informal hearing shall be held by the JSEB Administrator, at which the business may present additional facts and evidence in support of its eligibility. The JSEB Administrator may request the attendance of any witness and production of any documents from the objecting business reasonably necessary to evaluate the eligibility of the business. The business' failure to produce requested witness(es) or documents within a reasonable time may be grounds for denial of the objection. (3) The JSEB Administrator shall determine the eligibility of the business on the basis of the information available at the hearing. The JSEB Administrator's written decision shall be communicated to the business within ten days of the hearing. The decision must articulate with specificity the facts upon which the decision relies and must notify the business that the business has 15 days to appeal the decision. (4) Within 15 days of receipt of the JSEB Administrator's decision on eligibility, the business may appeal the JSEB Administrator's decision, in writing, to the Jacksonville Procurement Awards Committee. The Committee shall hold a hearing within 30 days of receipt of the written notice of appeal, and render a final decision within ten days of the hearing. The presumption that the decertified business is eligible shall remain in effect until the City renders a final decision. (5) A business denied or found to be ineligible may not apply for certification for one year after the effective date of the final decision. (c) A third party may challenge the eligibility of a business certified as a JSEB. The presumption that the challenged JSEB is eligible shall remain in effect until the City renders a final decision. A third party challenge shall be made as follows: (1) The challenge shall be made in writing to the JSEB Administrator and shall include all information relied upon by the challenging party. A challenge to the eligibility of a certified JSEB cannot be made anonymously. Such a challenge must articulate specific facts, sworn to under the penalty of perjury, that could reasonably support a finding of the ineligibility of the challenged certified JSEB. (2) The JSEB Administrator shall notify the challenged JSEB in writing of the challenge, identify the challenging party and provide the challenged JSEB with a copy of the challenge. The notice may also require the challenged business to provide the JSEB Administrator, within a reasonable time, any information reasonably necessary to permit the JSEB Administrator to evaluate the eligibility of the business. (3) Within 30 days of receipt of a challenge, an informal hearing shall be held by the JSEB Administrator, at which the challenged business may present additional facts and evidence in support of its eligibility against the written challenge as described in subsection (1). (4) The JSEB Administrator shall determine the eligibility of the business on the basis of the information available at the hearing. The JSEB Administrator's written decision shall be communicated to the challenged business within ten days of the hearing. The decision must articulate with specificity the facts upon which the decision relies and must notify the challenged business that the business has 15 days to appeal a decision of ineligibility. (5) Within 15 days of receipt of the JSEB Administrator's decision of ineligibility, the challenged business may appeal the JSEB Administrator's decision, in writing, to the Jacksonville Procurement Awards Committee. The Committee shall hold a hearing within 30 days of receipt of the written notice of appeal and render a final decision within ten days of the hearing. The presumption that the challenged business is eligible shall remain in effect until the City renders a final decision. (6) A business found to be ineligible may not apply for certification for one year after the effective date of the final decision. (7) A final decision on the eligibility of a certified JSEB challenged under this Section is not subject to appeal by a third party. (8) The same third party may not challenge the same certified JSEB within a 12-month period. (9) Any subsequent challenge by any third party must articulate specific facts, sworn to under the penalty of perjury, and such facts must be either newly discovered or not otherwise articulated in any previous failed challenge to the certified JSEB, and must reasonably support a finding of ineligibility of the challenged certified JSEB. (Ord. 2021-117-E , § 5; Ord. 2025-148-E , § 4)