DP6

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP6

Does Engineer A's transparency obligation require proactive notification to all 13 other pre-submittal firms that Firm B's late submittal was received and returned unopened, or is the obligation satisfied by accurate procurement record-keeping and truthful response to direct inquiry — and how should Engineer A handle the tension between full transparency and City X's legal exposure from the chain-of-custody irregularity?

Engineer A's transparency obligation regarding the disposition of Firm B's submittal — specifically whether Engineer A must proactively notify all 13 other pre-submittal firms of the rejection, or whether the transparency obligation is satisfied by accurate record-keeping and honest response to direct inquiry — and how this obligation interacts with the risk that full transparency about the city manager's office chain of custody could expose City X to legal challenge from Firm B.

Create an accurate and complete procurement record documenting the full chain of custody including the city manager's office receipt, consult City X's legal counsel about communication strategy, and respond truthfully to any direct inquiry from competing firms or public records requestors — without proactively broadcasting Firm B's procedural failure to the competitive field

Proactively notify all 13 other pre-submittal firms in writing that one SOQ was received after the deadline and at the wrong location and was returned unopened, treating broad notification as the mechanism that best satisfies the equal treatment and transparency obligations owed to the full competitive field

Document the rejection and return of the envelope in the procurement record without separately documenting the city manager's office chain of custody, on the grounds that the administrative assistant's conduct is an internal city matter outside the scope of the QBS procurement record and that full disclosure of the four-hour retention period would unnecessarily expose City X to legal challenge from Firm B without serving any legitimate procurement transparency purpose

Engineer A - Transparency and Equal Treatment Obligor