Agoura Hills Municipal Code Ch. 7 Purchasing System

It shall be the policy of the city to obtain, where practical, supplies and equipment of the highest quality for the lowest cost.

(Ord. No. 55, 4-11-84; Ord. No. 111, 8-5-86)

The authority and responsibility for the purchase of supplies and equipment for the city shall be vested in the city manager or a person acting pursuant to written authorization of the city manager. The city manager shall purchase supplies and equipment in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this chapter.

(Ord. No. 55, 4-11-84; Ord. No. 111, 8-5-86)

(a) Purchases of supplies and equipment of an estimated value of greater [than] twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) shall be by written contract with the lowest responsible bidder after notice. Such notice shall invite sealed bids, include a general description of the supplies or equipment to be purchased, state where bid forms and specifications may be obtained, and specify the time and place for the opening of bids.

(b) Such notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published in the city, or if there is none, it shall be posted in no fewer than three (3) public places in the city designated by ordinances for the posting of public notices. The city manager shall also mail a copy of such notice to anyone who has requested to be so notified.

(c) All notices pursuant hereto shall be published, posted or mailed, as the case may be, not less than ten (10) days prior to the date specified for the opening of bids.

(d) When deemed necessary by the city council, bidder's security may be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to the return of bid security provided that a successful bidder shall forfeit its bid security upon 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 responsible for the delay. The city council may, on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the city council awards the contract to the next lowest bidder, the amount of the lowest bidder's security shall be applied by the city to the difference between the low bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.

(e) Bids shall be submitted to the city manager and shall be so identified on the envelope. Bids shall be opened at the time and place specified in the notice inviting sealed bids. Copies of all bids received by the city manager shall be retained by the city clerk for public inspection during regular business hours for not less than two (2) years following the bid opening.

(f) The city council may reject any and all bids, may waive any irregularity in any bid and may re-advertise for bids.

(g) In the event that the city council decides to award the contract, the contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder except as otherwise provided herein.

(h) If two (2) or more bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, the city council may accept any one (1) of such bids or may accept the lowest bid made by negotiation with such bidders following the bid opening.

(i) The city council shall have authority to require a performance bond before entering into a contract in such amount as it shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the city. If the city council requires a performance bond, the form and amount of the bond shall be described in the notice inviting bids.

(Ord. No. 55, 4-11-84; Ord. No. 111, 8-5-86; Ord. No. 182, 3-27-91)

Purchases of supplies and equipment of an estimated value of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or less may be made by the city manager on the open market and, when deemed necessary, after the solicitation of written proposals from prospective sellers regarding such supplies or equipment. Such solicitation may be made in writing, by telephone or otherwise and shall be made to sufficient numbers of prospective sellers as may be deemed by the city manager to be consistent with the policy of the city council regarding the purchase of supplies and equipment. Written proposals shall be submitted to the city manager who shall keep a record of all open market orders and proposals for a period of two (2) years after submission of proposals or the placing of orders. Such records, while so kept, shall be open to public inspection, except that vendor proprietary data shall not be open to public inspection.

(Ord. No. 55, 4-11-84; Ord. No. 111, 8-5-86; Ord. No. 182, § 3, 3-27-91)

(a) Purchases of supplies, equipment and services for the city shall be exempt from the purchasing provisions provided in this chapter when:

(1) The amount of purchase involved is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or less;

(2) It is to the city's advantage to combine its purchases with those of another governmental entity in order to effect economies by bidding combined requirements, and the governmental entity actually soliciting the bids employs a bidding procedure adequate to ensure competition among responsible bidders. For example, the city may award a contract to a vendor through "piggy backing," in which a competitive bid procedure has been conducted by another public agency and the city's purchase is awarded on the same general terms as the other public agency;

(3) Supplies or services can be purchased from a vendor offering the same prices, terms and conditions as in a previous award from the city or another governmental entity either by competitive bid or through a negotiated process;

(4) The purchase can be obtained only from one (1) manufacturer or vendor due to licensing or contractual restrictions, and is deemed a sole source purchase;

(5) The city manager has determined that exigent circumstances require the immediate purchase of such supplies or equipment;

(6) The purchase is for office supplies and event materials;

(7) The purchase is for specialized computer software, computer equipment and computer or information technology maintenance services;

(8) The purchase of goods or services is specialized or unique by nature because of their quality, durability, availability, or fitness for a particular use or otherwise considered not appropriate for multiple solicitations, the competitive bidding and quotation requirements of this chapter are not required; and

(9) Supplies or equipment are provided by an independent contractor pursuant to an agreement with the city for the furnishing of labor and materials for other than the construction of a public works project.

(b) Notwithstanding the listed exceptions from bidding contained in this section, all monetary thresholds for the award and approval of the contract contained in this chapter shall still apply.

(Ord. No. 55, 4-11-84; Ord. No. 111, 8-5-86; Ord. No. 20-454, § 1, 11-10-2020)

The city manager shall inspect supplies and equipment delivered to determine their conformance with the specification set forth in the order or contract. The city manager 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. 55, 4-11-84; Ord. No. 111, 8-5-86)

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to encourage businesses to locate and remain within the city and to encourage them to bid on contracts with the city. The intent of this section is to allow the bid amount of a local vendor, as defined in paragraph (b) below, to be discounted by the approximate amount that will return to the city through apportionment of the sale tax revenues derived from a sale within the city. By this deduction, the bid amount from a local vendor will more closely reflect the actual cost to the city of purchasing materials, equipment, and supplies from a local vendor.

(b) The amount of a bid submitted by a vendor located within the city and whose sales, for retail tax purposes, are recorded as derived within the city, shall be considered, for purposes of determining the lowest responsible bid, to be one (1) percent less than the actual bid amount. This one (1) percent local vendor bidding deduction shall apply only to contracts for supplies, materials, and merchandise which are subject to this chapter and which are subject to state and county sales taxes. This deduction shall be used only for comparison of bid prices. Other than this local vendor deduction, all other factors in determining lowest responsible bidder shall apply in awarding contracts pursuant to this chapter.

(Ord. No. 182, § 2, 3-27-91)

This chapter applies to service contracts for the installation of supplies and equipment for the city. This chapter does not apply to contracts for professional services. The city manager or any person acting pursuant to written authorization of the city manager may enter into contracts for professional services in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or less without prior approval of the council and without solicitation of formal or informal bids. Contracts for professional services in an amount in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) shall be subject to prior approval of the council but may be entered into without solicitation of formal or informal bids.

(Ord. No. 98-288, § 1, 6-10-98)