Adelanto Municipal Code Ch. 3.10 Purchases

In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of supplies and equipment at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, to exercise positive financial control over purchases, to clearly define authority for the purchasing function and to assure the quality of purchases, a purchasing system is adopted.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

There is created the position of Purchasing Agent, who may also be known as the "Purchasing Officer." He/she shall be appointed by the Finance Director subject to the approval of the City Manager. The Purchasing Agent shall be the head and have general supervision of the purchasing division. The duties of Purchasing Agent may be combined with those of any other office or position. The Purchasing Agent shall have the authority to:

A. Purchase or contract for supplies and equipment required by any using agency in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed in this Chapter, such administrative regulations as the Purchasing Agent shall adopt for the internal management and operation of the purchasing division and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the City Council or the City Manager;

B. Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the purchase of supplies and equipment;

C. Act to procure for the City the needed quality in supplies and equipment at least expense to the City;

D. Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;

E. Prepare and recommend to the City Council rules governing the purchase of supplies and equipment for the City;

F. Prepare and recommend revisions and amendments to the purchasing rules;

G. Keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing, prices, market conditions and new products;

H. Prescribe and maintain such forms as are reasonably necessary for the operation of this Chapter and other rules and regulations;

I. Supervise the inspection of all supplies and equipment purchased to ensure conformance with specifications;

J. Recommend the transfer of surplus or unused supplies and equipment between departments as needed; and

K. Maintain an approved vendors list, vendors catalog file and records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing division.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall be responsible for determining that the regulations and procedures in Section 3.10.040 through 3.10.100, and Chapter 3.15 of this Title are carried out.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The City Manager may authorize, in writing, any department to purchase specified supplies and equipment independently of the purchasing division; but, he shall require that such purchases shall be made in conformity with the procedures established by this Chapter and shall further require periodic reports from the department on the purchases made under such written authorization.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

All using departments shall file detailed estimates of their requirements in supplies and equipment in such manner, at such time, and for such future periods as the Purchasing Agent shall prescribe.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Using departments shall submit requests for supplies and equipment to the Purchasing Agent by standard requisition forms or by other means as may be established by the purchasing rules and regulations.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Purchases of supplies and equipment shall be made only by purchase orders. Except as otherwise provided herein, no purchase order shall be issued unless the prior approval of the Purchasing Agent or his designated representative has been obtained.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Except in cases of emergency, the Purchasing Agent shall not issue any purchase order for supplies or equipment unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which said purchase is to be charged.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall, in his/her discretion, inspect supplies and equipment delivered to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order. The Purchasing Agent shall have authority to require chemical and physical tests of samples submitted with bids and samples of deliveries which are necessary to determine their quality and conformance with specifications.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Purchases of supplies and equipment shall be by bid procedures pursuant to Sections 3.10.110 through 3.10.260. Bidding may be dispensed with only under conditions stated in Section 3.10.270.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Except as otherwise provided herein and in Chapter 3.15 of this Title, public projects, as defined in Public Contracts Code Section 20162, of an estimated value greater than twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), and purchases of supplies and equipment of an estimated value greater than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the formal bid procedures as hereinafter prescribed.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Notices inviting formal bids shall include a general description of the article or service desired, shall state where bid documents and specifications may be secured and the time and place for opening bids.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Notices inviting formal bids shall be published at least ten (10) days prior to the date of opening of the bids. Notices shall be published at least once for non-public projects and at least twice, not less that five (5) days apart for public projects, in a newspaper of general circulation in the City.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall also solicit formal sealed bids from responsible suppliers whose names are on the approved vendors list or who have made written request that their names be added thereto.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall advertise the pending formal purchases by posting a notice on the public bulletin board at the City offices.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

When a public project is involved, and in other cases when deemed necessary by the Purchasing Agent, formal bids shall be accompanied by security, either cash, cashier’s check, certified check or surety bond, in a sum equal to ten percent (10%) of the total aggregate of the bid, and shall be designated in the notice inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to return of bid security, provided, however, that a successful bidder shall forfeit his bid security upon his refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten (10) days after the notice of award of contract has been mailed, unless the City is solely responsible for the delay in executing the contract. The City Council may, on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award it to the next lowest responsible bidder who is willing to execute the contract, or may reject all bids and re-advertise.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

A faithful performance bond and labor and material (payment) bond shall be required for all public projects, unless waived by the City Council, in an amount reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the City. In addition, the City Council shall have authority to require a faithful performance bond or other bonds before entering into a contract other than a public project contract. If bonds are required, the form and amount thereof shall be designated in the notice inviting bids.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Sealed bids shall be submitted to the Purchasing Agent and shall be identified as “bids” on the envelope. The purchasing officer, or designee, shall publicly open all bids at the time and place stated in the public notices. A tabulation of all bids received shall be available for public inspection in the purchasing office during regular business hours for a period of not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the bid opening.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

In its discretion, the City Council may reject any and all bids presented and may cause re-advertising for bids pursuant to the procedure herein above prescribed. However, when all bids exceed the authorized budgeted amount, the City Manager may authorize rejection of all bids and authorize rebidding based upon the original specifications or as they may be modified, in accordance with procedures prescribed herein.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Except as otherwise provided herein, formal bid contracts shall be awarded by the City Council to the lowest responsible bidder. The determination of “lowest responsible bidder” shall be at the discretion of the City Council pursuant to findings and recommendations presented by the Purchasing Agent at the time of award of contract.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

If two (2) or more formal bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, and if the public interest will not permit the delay of re-advertising for bids, the City Council may in its discretion accept the one it chooses or accept the lowest bid made by and after negotiation with the tie bidders at the time of the bid opening or award of contract.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

In determining which responsible bidder is the lowest bidder, the Purchasing Agent in his findings and recommendations shall deduct from the total price of each bid, the amount of sales and use tax revenues which will be paid to the City on account of that portion of the bid price which is directly subject to the imposition of such taxes. The Purchasing Agent shall have no obligation to make such a determination unless the affected bidder so requests in its bid and furnishes sufficient information for the determination to be made. This Section shall be operative only in respect to projects where the request for proposals or bids contains a copy of this Section and specifies that a credit for related local sales and use tax payable to the City will be granted.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

When no formal bids or no responsive bids are received, the Purchasing Agent is authorized to negotiate for written proposals; and his recommendation shall be presented to the City Manager and award, if any, shall be made in accordance with applicable provisions prescribed herein.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Purchases of supplies and equipment of an estimated value in the amount of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) or less may be made by the Purchasing Agent in the open market pursuant to the procedure prescribed in Sections 3.10.240 through 3.10.260 and without observing the procedure prescribed in Sections 3.10.090 through 3.10.215, where the procedure prescribed in Chapter 3.15 has been followed; and provided, however, all bidding may be dispensed with for purchases of supplies and equipment having a total estimated value of less than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Open market purchases shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three (3) informal bids and shall be awarded to the bidder offering the most advantageous bid to the City after consideration of price, quality, durability, servicing, delivery time, standardization, and other factors.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall solicit informal bids by written requests to prospective vendors, or by telephone, or by public notice posted on a public bulletin board at the City offices.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall keep a written record of all open market purchases and informal bids for a period of one (1) year. This record, while so kept, shall be open to public inspection.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

Notwithstanding any provision of this Chapter to the contrary, the competitive bidding procedures and requirements may be dispensed with in any of the following instances:

A. When the estimated amount involved is less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00);

B. When the commodity can be obtained from only one (1) vendor (a “sole source” procurement);

C. The City Manager may authorize the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment and services where an emergency is deemed to exist; and it is determined that service involving the public health, safety or welfare would be interrupted if the normal procedure were followed. All emergency purchases, which would otherwise require formal bidding procedures, made pursuant to this Section shall be submitted to the City Council for ratification at the next regular Council meeting after the purchase is authorized;

D. The City Council may authorize the execution of contracts for personal services, for professional and consultant services, and for other, non-public projects and for contractual services without observing the bidding procedures provided herein where the amount of the contract exceeds the value of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00);

E. The City Manager is authorized to enter into contracts for personal services, for professional and consulting services and for other contractual services without observing the bidding procedure provided herein where the amount of the contract does not exceed the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00), provided there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which said expense is to be charged;

F. Any agreement involving acquisition of supplies, equipment or service entered into with another governmental entity;

G. The City Council may authorize the execution of a lease or leases for office space for the City government without observing the bidding procedures provided herein irrespective of the term of the lease or leases or the amount of rent and other charges to be paid by the City under the lease or leases;

H. Where advantageous for the City, the City Council may authorize, or may authorize the City Manager to allow, the Finance Director or the Purchasing Agent to purchase supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services through legal competitively awarded contracts with or of other governmental jurisdictions or public agencies, commonly referred to as “piggybacking” and/or “cooperative purchasing,” without further contracting, solicitation, or formal bidding as described in this Chapter. As used herein:

1. “Piggyback” means the form of intergovernmental cooperative purchasing in which a large purchaser requests competitive sealed bids, enters into a contract and arranges, as part of the contract, for other public purchasing agencies to purchase from the selected vendor under the same terms and conditions as itself and eliminates the need to competitively bid the particular item again.

2. “Cooperative purchasing” means a form of intergovernmental cooperative purchasing in which one (1) government agency or jurisdiction performs the solicitation and award process for several agencies or jurisdictions, but separate contracts or purchase orders are executed between each participating agency and the vendor; the agency contracting for the prices bears no contractual responsibility to the vendor.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07; Ord. No. 651, Section 1, 5/22/24.]

The City Council may by resolution prescribe procedures, rules and regulations governing the solicitation, selection and award of proposals or bids for the furnishing of personal services or professional or consulting services or for other contractual services, the contracts for which may be awarded without observing the bidding procedures provided for in this Chapter. Such procedures, rules and regulations shall have as one purpose the obtaining of contractual services of the highest quality together with cost effectiveness.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

All using departments shall submit to the Purchasing Agent, at such times and in such forms as he shall prescribe, reports showing all supplies and equipment which are no longer used or which have become obsolete and worn out. The City Manager shall have the authority to sell all supplies and equipment which cannot be used by any officer or department or which have become unsuitable for City use, or to exchange the same for, or trade in the same on new supplies and equipment. The City Manager, when directed by the Mayor and Council, shall restrict the sale of surplus supplies, materials and equipment of a value in an amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) or less to local non-profit tax exempt corporations, associations or organizations, or shall negotiate and consummate a sale to a governmental agency. Each restricted or negotiated sale under this Section shall be consummated at the fair market value of the surplus supplies or equipment. Such sales shall be made pursuant to Sections 3.10.215 through 3.10.270, whichever is applicable.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall have authority to exchange for or trade in on new supplies and equipment all supplies and equipment which cannot be used by any department or which have become unsuitable for City use.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

The Purchasing Agent shall also have authority, subject to approval of the City Manager, to dispose of surplus supplies or equipment by auction or by sale or otherwise after receiving bids or proposals which, in his judgment, provide the maximum return to the City.

[Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]

A. The public interest, economy, health, safety, education and general welfare of the City of Adelanto and of the residents and property owners in it require, and there is determined to be a need for, the Surplus Property Authority of the City of Adelanto to function in the City.

B. The Surplus Property Authority of the City of Adelanto is hereby created and duly authorized to transact business and exercise its powers pursuant to Chapter 19, Government Code, State of California, Sections 40500 through 40592, et seq.

[Ord. No. 217, 3/14/89; Ord. No. 461, Section 3, 5/9/07.]