Chapter 3.20 — PURCHASING

Editor's note— Ord. No. 859, § 1, adopted May 7, 2024, repealed the former Ch. 3.20, §§ 3.20.010— 3.20.080, 3.20.085, 3.20.090, 3.20.100, 3.20.105, 3.20.110, and 3.20.115, and enacted a new Ch. 3.20 as set out herein. The former Ch. 3.20 pertained to purchasing system, and derived from Ord. No. 833, §§ 1, 2, 9-15-2020.

Cross reference— Ch. 2.04, city manager, Ch. 2.04; purchasing officer, Ch. 2.16.

State Law reference— For statutory provisions governing the purchase of supplies by cities, see Gov. Code §§ 54201 et seq.

The purpose of this chapter is to maximize the purchasing value of public funds in procurement and to provide safeguards for maintaining a procurement system of quality and integrity.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, this chapter applies to contracts for the procurement of supplies and services entered into by the city. When the procurement involves the expenditure of federal assistance or contract funds, the procurement shall be conducted in accordance with mandatory applicable federal law and regulations. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent city from complying with the terms and conditions of any grant, gift or bequest that is otherwise consistent with law.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

As used in this chapter:

"Business" means any corporation, partnership, individual, sole proprietorship, joint stock company, joint venture or any other private legal entity.

"City" means the City of Anderson.

"Emergency" means a situation where immediate action is required to preserve the public peace, health and safety and/or to avoid severe degradation of a city facility.

"Local business" means a business that has its headquarters, distribution point or locally-owned franchise located in or having a street address within the city limit for at least six months immediately prior to the request for quotations and holds all required business licenses and other approvals by the City of Anderson.

"Person" means any business, individual, union, committee, club, other organization or group of individuals.

"Procurement" means the buying, purchasing, renting, leasing or other acquisition of any supplies or services. Procurement also includes all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any supplies or services, including specifications, description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and awards of contracts and contractual administration.

"Public project" means a project governed by Section 20161 of the California Public Contract Code.

"Services" means the performance of work by an independent contractor of the city; provided, however, services specifically exclude employee services and exclude the performance of work for "public projects." Services specifically includes all professional services, such as attorneys, physicians, consultants, teachers, trainers, architects, engineers, landscape architects, construction managers, environmental, land surveyors, appraisers, accountants and financial advisers, as well as other professional services such as insurance brokers and bankers; nonprofessional services such as cleaning and maintenance; and any "public works" not within the definition of "public projects."

"Specification" means any description of the physical or functional characteristics or of the nature of a supply, service or construction item. It may include a description of any requirement for inspecting, testing or preparing a supply or service for delivery.

"Supplies" means all personal property (including, but not limited to, equipment and materials) except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

"Surplus supplies" means supplies that are worn out, obsolete or unsuitable for city use.

"Total amount" means total price charged for a supply, including tax, shipping and handling and any other associated charges.

"Total taxable amount" means total price for a supply on which sales taxes are charged.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

The city manager, or his/her designee, shall serve as the purchasing officer of the city.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

There is created the position of purchasing officer, who shall be appointed by the city manager. The purchasing officer shall be responsible to the city manager for the efficient operation of the purchasing system as outlined in Section 2.16.010.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Consistent with this chapter, the purchasing officer may adopt operational procedures relating to the execution of duties. At a minimum, the purchasing officer shall adopt procedures relating to the preparation of purchase orders, competitive pricing requirements for purchases of less than five thousand dollars, the determination that sufficient funds are available for the purchase, verification that the order received is correct and meets the city's quality standards and establish policies relating to environmental procurement and purchases relating to brand name products.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

The purchasing officer may delegate authority to purchase supplies or services and to dispose of surplus supplies to other city officials, if such delegation is deemed necessary for the effective procurement or disposal of those items and approved by the city manager.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Purchases shall be awarded on the basis of the bid or bids most advantageous to the city. In determining whether a bid is most advantageous to the city, in addition to price, the purchasing officer, city manager or city council may consider the following:

The ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service required;

Whether the bidder can perform the contract or provide the service promptly or within the time specified, without delay or interference;

The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency of the bidder;

The quality of performance of previous contracts or services;

The previous and existing compliance by the bidder with applicable laws and ordinances;

The sufficiency of the financial resources and the ability of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service;

The quality, availability and adaptability of the supplies or contractual services to the particular use required;

The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service for the use of the subject of the contract; and

The number and scope of conditions attached to the bid.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

In cases where the purchasing officer makes the purchase and, in the opinion of the purchasing officer, the most advantageous bid is not the lowest bid, the purchasing officer shall prepare and place on file with the department making the purchase, a written statement of his/her opinion and the reason therefor. Such statement shall be open to public inspection at all times during regular business hours.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

A local business shall be given a one percent preference (calculated on the total taxable amount of the purchase), over a bidder that is not a local business. In cases where considering this one percent preference, two or more bids are judged to be equal on the basis of price, quality and service, the local business bidder shall be preferred.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

If the lowest price submitted for a purchase is not from a local business, local businesses shall be given a preference in the procurement process if they are otherwise responsive and responsible and within five percent of the lowest price originally submitted by a non-local business. The local business's price will be tabulated as if it were up to five percent lower than the total figure actually set forth in the submitted bid, sufficient to establish the re-tabulated bid as the low bid. The local business would then be awarded the contract at the newly calculated price (deducting the five percent). Local businesses shall have the choice when submitting a bid whether or not they would be willing to reduce their price up to five percent in order to make them the low bidder. The city, when seeking bids or proposals, will notify bidders or proposers that the bids or proposals will be evaluated on the basis of a local preference of five percent of the bid or proposal price. The local business must affirmatively mark on the bid submittal that it would like to apply the local preference. The preference described in this section will be applied in addition to the one percent preference required by Section 3.20.100.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

No award for supplies or services where the total amount or value is five thousand dollars or more shall be deemed to be an acceptance of any offer or bid unless and until the same is reduced to writing and signed by the purchasing officer and dispatched to the vendor or purchaser. For purchases under five thousand dollars, informal bidding procedures should be utilized whenever beneficial to the city; provided, however, that written documentation of the amount owed by city shall be obtained prior to any payment by city.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Where the total amount or value of a purchase is ten thousand dollars, or less, the city manager may delegate the authority to purchase to the department head for the department making the purchase, provided that the department head conducts and completes an informal price checking process through telephone or mail inquiry, comparison of prices on the internet, or similar process and shall document the information received in writing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the department head may elect to make any purchase in a total amount or value of up to ten thousand dollars (except as the laws of the state otherwise require) in the following cases:

By department head approval that said purchase may be made cooperatively, as provided in Section 3.20.180 of this chapter, upon a determination that informal price checking would not be likely to result in a lower price to the city from a responsible bidder or would cause unnecessary expense or delay under the circumstances; or

By department head approval upon a determination that there is only one source for the required supply or service based on a review of available sources by the purchasing officer and written recommendation

therefor.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

dollars.

Where the total amount or value of a purchase is twenty-five thousand dollars, or less, the purchase may be made by the purchasing officer, provided that the purchasing officer shall conduct and complete an informal price checking process through telephone or mail inquiry, comparison of prices on the internet, or similar process and shall document the information received in writing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the purchasing officer may elect to make any purchase in a total amount or value of up to twenty-five thousand dollars (except as the laws of the state otherwise require) in the following cases:

By purchasing officer approval that said purchase may be made cooperatively, as provided in Section 3.20.180 of this chapter, upon a determination that informal price checking would not be likely to result in a lower price to the city from a responsible bidder or would cause unnecessary expense or delay under the circumstances; or

By purchasing officer approval upon a determination that there is only one source for the required supply or service based on a review of available sources by the purchasing officer and written recommendation therefor.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act.

Where the total amount or value of a purchase is twenty-five thousand dollars or more, but not over the amount authorized to be performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, the purchase shall be made by the city manager per Section 22032(a). The city manager may elect to make any purchase in any amount (except as the laws of the state otherwise require) in the following cases:

By city manager approval upon a determination that competitive bids upon notice would not be likely to result in a lower price to the city from a responsible bidder or would cause unnecessary expense or delay under the circumstances;

By city manager approval that said purchase may be made cooperatively, as provided in Section 3.20.180 of this chapter, upon a determination that competitive bids upon notice would not be likely to result in a

lower price to the city from a responsible bidder or would cause unnecessary expense or delay under the circumstances;

By city manager approval upon a determination that the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety requires said purchase to be made without competitive bids upon notice; or

By city manager approval upon a determination that there is only one source for the required supply or service based on a review of available sources by the purchasing officer and written recommendation therefor.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act.

Where the total amount or value involved is over the amount authorized to be performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, the purchase shall be made by the city council through competitive bid, upon notice as required by Section 3.20.190 of this chapter, provided however, the city council may elect to make any purchase in any amount (except as the laws of the state otherwise require) in the following cases:

By affirmative vote of three city council members upon a determination that competitive bids upon notice would not be likely to result in a lower price to the city from a responsible bidder or would cause unnecessary expense or delay under the circumstances;

By majority vote of city council members present at a city council meeting that said purchase may be made cooperatively, as provided in Section 3.20.180 of this chapter, upon a determination that competitive bids upon notice would not be likely to result in a lower price to the city from a responsible bidder or would cause unnecessary expense or delay under the circumstances;

By majority vote of those present at a city council meeting upon a determination that the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety requires said purchase to be made without competitive bids upon notice; or

By majority vote of those present at a city council meeting upon a determination that there is only one source for the required supply or service based on a review of available sources by the purchasing officer

and written recommendation therefor.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

A.

In an emergency as defined in Section 3.20.030 where timely action by the city council is not possible, the purchasing officer may purchase supplies or services, even though the total amount thereof may exceed the amount authorized to be performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, without competitive bids or notice.

B.

At the next succeeding city council meeting, the purchasing officer shall submit to the city council a written report setting forth a statement of the circumstances of such emergency, a description of the supplies or services purchased and the prices thereof.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Where the purchasing officer, city manager or city council are required to make purchases upon competitive bids, said officer, manager or city council may waive any informalities or minor irregularities, or may reject any and all bids (anything contained in this chapter to the contrary notwithstanding) if said officer, manager or city council, respectively, deems said rejection to be in the best interests of the city. Said rejection shall be at the sole discretion of the officer, manager or city council, as the case may be. Upon rejection of bids, the officer, manager or city council may:

Give subsequent notice for new competitive bids;

Postpone said purchase or disposal definitely or indefinitely; or

Elect to make the purchase without competitive bids, upon notice (and as if competitive bids, upon notice, had not been required in the first instance) in accordance with the authority granted by the various subsections of this section.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

The purchasing officer has the authority to join with other public jurisdictions in cooperative purchasing plans or programs, including, but not limited to, California Communities Purchasing Program (CCPP), the

California Department of General Services (CADGS), the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the National Association of Counties (NACo), or similar arrangements or plans, as determined by the purchasing officer to be in the city's best interests.

The purchasing officer may either:

Buy directly from a vendor at a price established by a competitive bid by another jurisdiction even if the city had not joined with the public agency in a cooperative purchase; or

Compare bids among cooperative purchasing plans or programs and choose the bid that best matches the needs of the city. The purchasing officer shall not, however, shop the cooperative purchasing process bid to private vendors.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Where notice is required, notice shall be given as follows:

A.

The notice shall give such information as to the proposed purchase or disposal as the purchasing officer deems sufficient but shall include the following:

A distinct description of the supplies or services to be purchased or personal property to be disposed;

The location where bid forms, specifications, performance requirements, requests for proposals, or specific disposal requirements can be obtained for bidding;

Date, time and place of bid opening;

Whether bid deposits or bonds and faithful performance bonds will be required; and

A statement that the city has the authority to reject any and all bids and may waive any minor technicality or variance found in the bid document.

B.

For purchases under Section 3.20.150:

By publishing notice in a newspaper of general circulation within the city on at least one occasion at least ten days prior to the date set for the final receipt of bids, provided that publication may be made in any newspaper of general circulation in the county which the purchasing officer shall select if the publication schedule of all newspapers of general circulation in the city are such that notice by publication cannot be given in time; and

Posting on the city's website.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

Competitive bids shall be submitted in writing in a sealed envelope to the office of the city clerk no later than the final time and date for receipt of bids as set forth in the notice of publication and opened publicly. If authorized in the notice, bids also may be submitted by electronic mail or facsimile, provided however, that the entire document is received no later than the final time set for receipt of written bids. Any bid may be withdrawn by a written request signed by the bidder and received by the city clerk prior to the final time and date for the receipt of bids.

Opening. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notices.

Tabulation. A tabulation of all bids received shall be posted for public inspection.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

When deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, any bidder may be required to submit a bid security or bond in an amount determined by the purchasing officer, city manager or city council that represents the damage costs to the city should the bidder not be able to engage in a contract with the city as a result of the bidder's actions. A successful bidder (and surety, if a bond is furnished) shall be liable for all damages upon said bidder's failure to enter into a contract with the city.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

When deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, any person entering into a contract with the city may be required to furnish a faithful performance and/or a time and materials deposit or bond in an amount determined by the purchasing officer, city manager or city council. Said person (and

surety, if a bond is furnished) shall be liable for any damages upon said person's failure to faithfully perform the terms of his/her contract.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

A.

The city council finds and declares that the competitive bid process is ill-suited for the selection of consultants. The request for proposal procedure set forth in Section 3.20.250 may be used if a determination is made by the officer or official responsible for the purchase—the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, respectively—that to do so would be in the best interest of the city in selecting the best qualified consultant. Consultants are required for professional or technical expertise and for matters requiring specialized abilities or a high degree of skill. Their numbers in relation to a particular skill or expertise required are comparatively limited. Where consultants are involved, the bidding process is not likely to result in a lower price to the city or eliminate unnecessary expense or delay.

B.

The officer or official responsible for the purchase—the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, respectively—shall be empowered to engage a consultant (including, but not limited to, material testing service, construction inspection services, architectural, engineering, testing, land surveying, appraising, environmental, planning, financial, legal, development processing, governmental operations, special studies, construction project management, information technology and services graphic design and other services related thereto) without the necessity of an informal bid or competitive bid or notice thereof in the following circumstances and subject to the following criteria and conditions:

Subject to the delegation of the city manager, with department head approval if the consultant's total fee for services and supplies under the contract by which the consultant is engaged on a per project basis, including any amendments to the contract, does not exceed ten thousand dollars, so long as there exists a sufficient unencumbered appropriation in the fund against which the contract expense may be appropriately charged and provided further that any bifurcation of a purchase or contract into subunits or phases for the purpose of avoiding the maximum dollar amounts set forth in this section is prohibited; or

With city manager approval if the consultant's total fee for services and supplies under the contract by which the consultant is engaged on a per project basis, including any amendments to the contract, does not exceed the amount authorized to be performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act, so long as there exists a sufficient unencumbered appropriation in the fund against which the contract expense may be appropriately charged and provided further that any bifurcation of a purchase or contract into subunits or phases for the purpose of avoiding the maximum dollar amounts set forth in this section is prohibited; or

With city council approval if the consultant's total fee for services and supplies under the contract by which the consultant is engaged on a per project basis exceeds the amount authorized to be performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act. City council approval is not required for services in excess of the amount authorized to be performed by the employees of a public agency for public projects per State of California's Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act if the consultant's total fee for services and supplies is to provide environmental services for a project that will be paid for by a development processing project applicant.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

A.

A services contract is a contract, with or without the furnishing of supplies or equipment, for work, labor or services including, but not limited to:

Maintenance of public buildings, streets, parks and playgrounds and other public improvements not governed by the provisions of the California Public Contract Code;

Repair, modification and maintenance of equipment;

Installation and maintenance of computer software;

Janitorial services, uniform cleaning, tree trimming, street sweeping, power washing and landscape maintenance; and

Leasing of personal property for use by the city.

B.

Services contracts shall comply with the necessary informal bid, competitive bid process or request for proposal as set forth in Sections 3.20.080; 3.20.120; 320,130; 3.20.140; 3.20.150, and 3.20.250, as applicable.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

A.

In lieu of competitive bidding, the officer or official responsible for the purchase—the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, respectively—may utilize the request for proposal method of purchasing supplies or services upon a determination that competitive bidding is not practical or advantageous to the city because of one or more of the following reasons;

Quality, capability, performance or qualification is overriding in relation to price;

Delivery, installation, service, maintenance, reliability or replacement is overriding in relation to price;

In the opinion of the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, respectively, the marketplace will respond better to a solicitation permitting a range of alternative proposals or evaluation and discussion of proposals before entering the contract; or

Any of the considerations set forth in Section 3.20.080, are overriding.

B.

The identity of persons responding to the request for proposals and the content of proposals submitted to the city may be kept confidential during the process of negotiation and until a contract is awarded, if deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, city manager or city council to receive the best proposal.

C.

The formats and procedures for requests for proposals shall be established by the purchasing officer.

D.

The contract award shall be based upon the proposal determined by the purchasing officer, city manager or city council, respectively, to be most advantageous to the city, taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in the request for proposals.

E.

The purchasing officer, city manager or city council, respectively, may reject any and all proposals if such rejection is deemed to be in the best interests of the city and may thereupon direct that proposals be solicited or utilize any other purchasing method set forth in this section.

F.

As provided in the request for proposals, discussions may be conducted with responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award for the purpose of clarification to assure full understanding of, and conformance to, the solicitation requirements. Offerors

shall be accorded equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals and such revisions may be permitted after submissions and prior to award for the purpose of obtaining the best and final offers. In conducting discussions, there shall be no disclosure of the identity of competing offerors, or of any information derived from proposals submitted by competing offerors.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply:

To public projects (governed by the provisions of the California Public Contract Code);

To franchises governed by the provisions of the California Public Utilities Code or other statutes of the state;

Where state or federal law requires a different procedure;

To the purchase of insurance;

To the leasing, purchase or sale of land or any interest therein;

To the hiring of, or contracting for, personnel (whether as temporary, seasonal or permanent employees);

To private construction contracts reviewed pursuant to Title 16; and

To the purchase of utilities, including, but not limited to, telephone service, gas, electricity or water.

(Ord. No. 859, § 1, 5-7-2024)