Hancock County opened and read bids for office and janitorial supplies at Monday's meeting and took the submissions under advisement.

Bidders for office supplies included Gulf Coast Business Supply, S and L Office Supplies, Next (vendor presented), Mix and More Inc., and others; bid items ranged from manila file folders and business envelopes to copy paper, with prices for copy paper reported between about $35.49 and $43.99 per case depending on vendor and size. Janitorial-supply bidders included Imperial (listed as "Imperial Dave" in the record), Gulf Coast Business Supply, S and L Office Supplies and Interborough Packaging Corporation, with unit prices reported for toilet tissue, paper towels, soap and various trash liners.

The county's purchasing staff assembled the bid abstracts and read unit prices into the record. After presentations, supervisors voted 5-0 to take the bids under advisement and return with a recommendation at a later date.

Why it matters: multi-year and multi-department supply contracts affect county operating budgets and vendor relationships. Staff said they would compile the bids and present contract recommendations to the board for award at a subsequent meeting.

What was recorded: the board formally accepted the bid openings, heard detailed line-item prices for several vendors, and deferred contract awards pending staff review.