2026-24: Janitorial Services

Request for Bid
Janitorial Services
#2027-24
Release Date: September 25, 2026
City of Covington
2194 Emory Street
Covington, Georgia 30014

The City of Covington is accepting proposals for the purpose of contracting for janitorial services for
various City buildings. Sealed bids must be received by the Purchasing department, Attn: Maranna
Gilbert at 2194 Emory Steet NW, Georgia 30014 at City Hall by Thursday, October 22, 2026 by
10:00AM.
The City of Covington will consider the competency and responsibility of bidders in making the
award. City of Covington reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive informalities and
technicalities, to reject portions of the bids and to award contracts in a manner consistent with the
City and laws governing the State of Georgia.
SCOPE AND SPECIFICATIONS
Vendors are invited to submit a proposal for Janitorial Services for the City of Covington as
specified in the bid packet. The contractor shall furnish all labor, material, and equipment necessary
for the performance of such services in accordance with all the terms and conditions of this request
for bid
Please submit two (2) hard copies and one (1) copy on USB Flash drive to:
City of Covington Purchasing Department
Janitorial Services RFP #2026-24
Attention: Maranna Gilbert
2194 Emory Street NW
Covington, Georgia 30014
If using USPS, mail to:
P.O. Box 1527
Covington, GA 30015

SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
I. Submission of Bids
Bids shall be enclosed in sealed envelopes, addressed to the City of Covington Purchasing
Department with the name of the bidder, the date and hour of opening and marked "Janitorial
Services RFP 2026-24". Proposals must be received in the Purchasing Department no later than
Thursday, October 22, 2026 by 10:00 AM forth in the Invitation to Bid. It is the sole responsibility
of the bidder to ensure that his or her bid reaches the Purchasing Department. Any addenda should
be enclosed in the sealed envelopes as well. The bids will be publicly opened and read at the time
and place set forth in the Invitation to Bid.
Unsigned bids will not be considered except in cases where bid is enclosed with other documents,
which have been signed. The City will determine this.
City of Covington is exempt from federal excise tax and Georgia sales tax with regards to goods
and services purchased directly by City of Covington. Suppliers and contractors are responsible for
federal excise tax and sales tax, including any taxes for materials incorporated in City construction
projects. Suppliers and contractors should contact the State of Georgia Sales Tax Division for
additional information. Tax Exemption Certificates will be furnished upon request.
Information submitted by a bidder in the bidding process shall be subject to disclosure after the
public opening in accordance with the Georgia Open Records Act. Each page of proprietary
information must be identified. Entire bid may not be deemed proprietary.
References - Five references for current customers. Must include company name, contact name,
phone number, overview of services, length of service, other relevant information.

II. Award
Award will be made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. Conditional bids are not
acceptable. The quality of articles to be supplied, their conformity with the specifications, their
suitability to the requirements of the City, and the delivery terms will be taken into consideration
in making the award. The City may make such investigations as it deems necessary to
determine the ability of the bidder to perform, and the bidder shall furnish to the City all such
information and data for this purpose as the City may request. The City reserves the right to
reject any bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of such bidder fails to satisfy the City
that such bidder is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the contract. The City
reserves the right to reject or accept any or all bids and to waive technicalities, informalities, and
minor irregularities in bids received. The Bidder does not have the exclusive right to fill all of the
City's requirements for the goods or services awarded nor will the City be obligated to purchase
the estimated annual quantity or any quantity contained in the bid document.
The City reserves the right to make an award as deemed in its best interest, which may include
awarding a bid to a single bidder or multiple bidders; or to award the whole bid,
only part of the bid, or none of the bid to single or multiple bidders, based on its sole discretion
of its best interest. In case of tie bid, the award will be made as follows:
1. The bid will be awarded to the in-City vendor.
2. The bid will be awarded to the in-State vendor.
3. The bid will be awarded to the vendor with the lesser total dollar volume.
5000.03 - LOCAL VENDOR PREFERENCE
It shall be the policy of the City of Covington to give local vendors preference given that the
quality, prior performance, availability of service, supplies and materials, delivery schedule and
price are equal.
III. Joint Purchasing
The Newton County Shared Cost Initiative is an effort to lower the cost of goods and services
purchased by public agencies in Newton County through use of shared resources and
economies of scale. Accordingly, public agencies located in Newton County and participating in
the shared cost initiative shall be allowed to purchase identical items and services at the same
price and upon the same terms and conditions as established in this contract.
Participating agencies include the following: Newton County Board of Commissioners; Newton
County Board of Education; Newton County Water and Sewerage Authority; the City of
Covington; City of Oxford; City of Porterdale; Town of Mansfield; and Town of Newborn.

INTRODUCTION:
The City of Covington is seeking a qualified, established, professional, cleaning firm to provide
janitorial services for the City of Covington. It is the City's goal to have the appearance of the
requested facilities kept in a neat and clean fashion. Instructions for preparation and submission of
a proposal are contained in this packet. Proposals must be typed or printed in ink.
The City of Covington provides equal opportunity for all businesses and does not discriminate
against any person or business because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, and handicap
or veterans status. This policy ensures all segments of the business community have access to
supplying the goods and services needed by the City of Covington.
CONTACT FOR THIS REQUEST:
All questions regarding this bid shall be made via email to Maranna Gilbert at
mgilbert@cityofcovington.org The deadline to submit questions is 3:00 P.M. local time, Tuesday,
October 13, 2026. The City will post "Response to Questions and/or Addenda", if applicable, on the
City website, www.cityofcovington.org under Business / Bids, by 5:00 P.M. on Friday, October 16,
2026.
CONTRACT TERM:
The contract shall be in effect for twelve (12) months with the option to renew for three (3) additional
calendar years upon mutual agreement of both parties. Either party may terminate this contract with
thirty days' notice without cause and without further obligation except for payment due for services
prior to date of such termination.
DUE DATE:
Sealed proposals must be received by the City of Covington Purchasing Department, 2194 Emory
Street NW, Covington, Georgia 30014 by 10:00 A.M., local time on Thursday, October 22, 2026.
Proposals received after this time will not be accepted.
PRE-BID/BID MEETING:
There will be a mandatory pre-bid meeting held at 2116 Stallings Street NW, Covington, Georgia
30014 at 10:00 A.M., local time on Tuesday, October 6, 2026.

GENERAL INFORMATION:
RECEIPT OF BID:
No bids received after said time or at any place other than the time and place as stated in the notice
shall be considered. No responsibility shall attach to City of Covington for the premature opening of
a bid not properly addressed and identified.
WITHDRAWAL OF BID:
A bidder may withdraw their bid before the bid due date, without prejudice to the bidder, by
submitting a written request of withdrawal to the City of Covington Purchasing Department.
REJECTION OF BID:
City of Covington may reject any and all bids and must reject a bid of any party who has been
delinquent or unfaithful in any formal contract with the City of Covington. Also, the right is reserved
to waive any irregularities or informalities in any bid in the proposing procedure. The City of
Covington shall be the sole judge as to which bid is best, and in ascertaining this, will take into
consideration the business integrity, financial resources, facilities for performing the work, and
experience in similar operations of the various bidders.
STATEMENT OF EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS:
The bidder may be required, upon request, to prove to the satisfaction of the City of Covington that
he/she has the skill, experience, necessary facilities and ample financial resources to perform the
contract(s) in a satisfactory manner and within the required time. If the available evidence of
competency of any bidder is not satisfactory, the bid of such bidder may be rejected. The
successful bidder is required to comply with and abide by all applicable federal and state laws in
effect at the time the contract is awarded.
NON-COLLUSION AFFIDAVIT:
By submitting a bid, the bidder represents and warrants that such bid is genuine and not sham or
collusive or made in the interest or in behalf of any person not therein named, that the bidder has
not directly or indirectly induced or solicited any other bidder to put in a sham bid, or any other
person, firm or corporation to refrain from proposing and that the bidder has not in any manner
sought by collusion to secure to that bidder any advantage over any other bidder.
DOCUMENTS DEEMED PART OF THE CONTRACT:
The notice, invitation to bidders, general conditions, and instructions for bidders, special conditions,
specifications, bid, and addenda, if any, will be deemed part of the contract.
GOVERNING LAWS:
This contract is made under and shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of
the State of Georgia.
ERRORS AND OMISSIONS:
The vendor shall not take advantage of any errors or omissions in this Bid Request, and shall
promptly notify the City of Covington of any omissions or errors found in this document.

STANDARD INSTRUCTIONS:
1. The instructions contained herein shall be construed as a part of any bid invitation and/or
specifications issued by the City of Covington and must be followed by each bidder.
2. The written specifications contained in this bid shall not be changed or superseded except by
written addendum from the City of Covington. Failure to comply with the written specifications for
this bid may result in disqualification by the City of Covington.
3. All goods and materials shall be F.O.B. Destination Covington, Georgia and no freight or postage
charges will be paid by the City of Covington unless such charges are included in the bid price.
4. The following RFP "Janitorial Services RFP 2026-24" must be written clearly on the outside of
each bid envelope in order to avoid prior opening in error.
5. All bids must be received and in-hand at bid due date and time. Each bidder assumes the
responsibility for having his/her bid received at the designated time and place of bid due date. Bids
received after the stated time and date may be subject to rejection without consideration, regardless
of postmark. The City of Covington accepts no responsibility for mail delivery.
6. Unless otherwise stated, all bids submitted shall be valid and may not be withdrawn for a period
of 60 days from the due date.
7. Each bid form submitted must include the name of the business, mailing address, the name, title
and signature of the person submitting the bid. When submitting a bid to the City of Covington, the
first page of your bid package should be the bid form listing the price, delivery date, etc., unless the
bid form is requested to be in a separate envelope.
8. The City of Covington reserves the right to accept a bid that is not the lowest price if, in the City's
judgment, such bid is in the best interest of the City and the public. The City of Covington reserves
the right to reject any and all bids.
9. Telephone, Telegraphic or Facsimile bids will not be accepted.
10. No sales tax will be charged on any orders. City of Covington is exempt from federal excise tax
and Georgia sales tax with regards to goods and services purchased directly by City of Covington.
Suppliers and contractors are responsible for federal excise tax and sales tax, including any taxes
for materials incorporated in City construction projects. Suppliers and contractors should contact the
State of Georgia Sales Tax Division for additional information. Tax Exemption Certificates will be
furnished upon request.
11. If applicable, completed questionnaires must be signed manually. The City of Covington
reserves the right to accept or reject any bid on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate answers to
the questionnaire.
12. If applicable, warranty information shall be provided.
14. Bidders shall identify any subcontractors, and include an explanation of the service or product
that they may provide.

QUALIFICATIONS / REQUIRMENTS OF OFFERORS:
Contractor must obtain a business license in Georgia and provide a copy of that license with the
submittal of their bid response.
Successful bidder shall provide a complete criminal background check on all employees who work in
City buildings No other form/type of criminal background checks will be accepted. The City's Safety
Risk Dept. will review each background check and at its sole discretion, determine whether an
individual shall be allowed to work in City buildings. If any employee is found to be working within a
City building and no GCIC criminal background check, approved by the City's Safety Risk Department
is on file with the Safety Risk Department, this will be terms for cancelling the contract.
Before submitting a bid, firms shall carefully examine the scope of work and shall fully inform
themselves as to all existing conditions and limitations and shall indicate in the bid all and any
exceptions to requirements.
Each interested party is required to attend the pre-bid meeting and all site visits with City staff.
INSURANCE:
Contractor and/or subcontractors shall maintain the following insurance, (a) comprehensive general
liability, including blanket contractual, covering bodily injuries with limits of no less than $1,000,000
per occurrence; and (b) commercial automobile liability, including blanket contractual, covering
bodily injuries with limits of no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence, and property damage with no
limits of no less than $1,000,000 per accident, (c) statutory worker's compensation insurance,
including $1,000,000 employer's liability insurance
Contractor shall include in their bid, a certificate or policy of insurance evidencing Contractor's /
Subcontractor's compliance with this paragraph. Contractor shall abide by all terms and conditions
of the insurance and shall do nothing to impair or invalidate the coverage.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM AND ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2011
Vendors submitting a Qualification package in response to this RFP must complete the Contractor
Affidavit under O.C.G.A. 13-10-91(b)(1) which is provided with the RFP package to verify
compliance with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Enforcement Act of 2011.
A. The form must be signed by an authorized officer of the contractor or their authorized agent.
B. The form must be notarized.
C. The contractor will be required to have all subcontractors and sub-subcontractors who are
engaged to complete physical performance of services under the final contract executed between
the City and the contractor complete the appropriate subcontractor and sub-subcontractor affidavits.

SUPERVISION SAFETY AND SECURITY:
* Contractor shall be responsible for instructing his/her employees in all safety measures.
* All equipment used by the contractor shall be industrial equipment and in safe operating condition at
all times, and free from defects or wear which may in any way constitute a safety hazard to any person
or City property.
* All custodial keys and/or card swipes shall be issued to the contractor; and a fee will be
charged for the loss of any keys/ card swipes and/or the cost of changing of locks as the result
of any loss of keys.
* The contractor shall keep all exterior doors locked during the performance of work or as otherwise
directed and shall ensure that all doors are locked at the end of the shift unless otherwise noted.
* The personnel shall be instructed to turn off all interior lights in building prior to exiting.
* The City will provide a secure area for contractor's supplies and equipment. The contractor
shall maintain the storage area in a clean, orderly, and safe condition at all times.
* All personnel shall be instructed to contact the Police Department (911) immediately should any
issues arise regarding personal safety and/or building safety issues during the performance of their
work.
* All personnel assigned to work in City facilities will be subject to a criminal background check
and may be fingerprinted and photographed. Contractor must provide complete criminal
background check to the Safety Risk Dept. prior to any individual starting work.

EQUIPMENT USAGE:
There shall be no usage of City equipment, telephones, computers, or facilities by the contractor or
staff. Any violation shall result in immediate removal of employee from any City building and return
of keys and/or card swipes.
REMEDY FOR FAILURE TO PREFORM REQUIRED SERVICE:
The contractor may be called back to correct deficiencies in adherence to the general specifications
at no additional charge to the City. Response time should be as soon as possible, but no more
than four (4) hours from the receipt of the call during the normal business day. The contractor
shall provide a 24-hour emergency telephone number for dealing with problems.
DAMAGE TO CITY PROPERTY:
The contractor shall assume responsibility for damage to or theft of City property directly caused by
the custodial contractor and staff during the custodial operations. A written report of same and
cause of damage must be submitted to the City of Covington Facilities Maintenance Manager within
a twenty-four (24) hours of occurrence.
METHOD OF PAYMENT:
The custodial services will be paid to the contractor in monthly installments after receipt of an
invoice from the contractor at the end of each time period (month). The invoice will be for the
previous month's service period and will be paid within thirty (30) days after the end of each month.
Invoices are to be mailed or delivered to: City of Covington, Accounts Payable Department, 2194
Emory Street NW Covington Georgia, 30014 (Physical address) or P.O.Box 1527 Covington,
Georgia 30015 (Mailing address)
SUBCONTRACTORS:
The contractor shall make no subcontract with any other party for furnishing any of the services
herein without advance written approval of the City.
CANCELLATION:
The City reserves the right to cancel the whole or any part of this contract due to failure by the
contractor to carry out any material obligation, term, or condition of the contract.