Apple Valley Municipal Code Ch. 3.12 Purchases

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 571, adopted October 14, 2025, amended Ch. 3.12 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 3.12 pertained to the same subject matter, consisted of §§ 3.12.010—3.12.320, and derived from Ord. 3, adopted November 28, 1988; Ord. 112, adopted October 27, 1992; Ord. 246, adopted October 23, 2001; Ord. 311, adopted April 26, 2006; Ord. No. 349, adopted June 26, 2007; Ord. 409, adopted June 8, 2010; Ord. 426, adopted December 13, 2011; and Ord. 437, adopted October 23, 2012.

(A) Establishment. In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of supplies, materials and equipment, and contracted services, to secure for all departments of the Town, supplies, materials, equipment, and services at the lowest possible cost commensurate with the quality needed, to exercise positive financial control over purchases, to clearly define authority for the purchasing functions and to assure that quality of purchases, a centralized purchasing system is adopted.

(B) Purchasing Policy. All purchases of goods, supplies, equipment, and services shall be made in accordance with this Chapter. The Town Manager may promulgate a formal Purchasing Policy to provide staff further guidance regarding compliance with this Chapter. Such Purchasing Policy shall be consistent with this Chapter and may be changed from time to time in order to remain in compliance with necessary law and to address the evolving procurement needs of the Town.

(C) Vendor Lists. The Town may utilize the processes of this Chapter and Purchasing Policy, if such exists, to procure vendors who will be eligible or preferred to provide goods or services to the Town on an as-needed basis.

(D) Public Works Projects. This Chapter shall not apply to purchases subject to the California Public Contract Code.

(E) Purchases Subject to Funding Restrictions. This Chapter is not intended to supplant, replace, or modify any grant or other funding source requirements (e.g., federal, state, or non-profit donor requirements). In the event that funding source requirements conflict with the requirements of this Chapter, the funding source requirements shall control.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

Unless otherwise exempted under this Chapter, the purchase and sale of all supplies, materials, equipment, and services shall be the responsibility of the Purchasing Agent. The Purchasing Agent shall be the Town Manager or the Town Manager's designee.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

The procurement process used to purchase supplies, material, equipment, and contracted services is dependent upon the total dollar amount of the goods or services to be purchased and the type of purchase.

(A) Purchases up to $10,000.00. Purchases up to $10,000.00 may be made without the need for formal bids or quotes.

(B) Purchases between $10,000.00 and $50,000.00. Purchases between $10,000.00 and $50,000.00 may be made after receipt of no fewer than three vendor quotations. The purchase shall be awarded to the bidder offering the most advantageous bid to the Town after consideration of price, quality, durability, servicing, delivery time, standardization, and other factors as determined appropriate by the Purchasing Agent.

(C) Purchases above $50,000.00. Purchases in this category are subject to formal competitive bidding or competitive selection. The formal competitive bidding process may vary at the discretion of the Purchasing Agent, depending on the purchase. At a minimum, the formal competitive bidding process shall include a notice inviting bids, which may be posted on the Town's website, a formal request for proposals process with deadlines for the receipt of bids, criteria for evaluating the bids, and a selection process. The Purchasing Agent may establish any lawful requirements they deem appropriate as part of the formal bidding process, which may include requiring bid security or requiring compliance with an established model contract.

Purchases shall not be split or separated into smaller purchases to achieve exemption from the bidding requirements defined herein.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

The bidding requirements set forth in Section 3.12.030 shall not apply to the following:

(A) Inter-Governmental Contracts. Purchases from, or sales to a government or governmental agency

(B) Piggybacking. Purchases from a vendor or manufacturer which, through another government or governmental agency's bidding procedure, has established a price at which such a vendor or manufacturer is willing to sell to the Town. During such a bid procedure more than one responsive bid must have been received.

(C) Emergencies. Emergency Procurements as more defined in Section 3.12.060 of this Chapter.

(D) Sole Sourcing. If the Purchasing Agent determines that the supplies, materials, equipment, and services can only reasonably be obtained from a single source (e.g., where only one manufacturer makes an item that meets the required specifications or only one item is compatible with existing equipment), then the Purchasing Agent may proceed without the solicitation of bids. For any purchase exceeding limits defined in this Chapter and utilizing the sole sourcing exemption, the Purchasing Agent or their designee shall prepare, or require the preparation of, a sole source justification memorandum detailing the basis for sole sourcing.

(E) Inadequate Competition. If, after following the appropriate bidding requirements identified in Section 3.12.030, there is a lack of responsive bids, the Purchasing Agent may determine that inadequate competition exists and may proceed to identify a vendor in any manner they deem appropriate.

(F) Specific Types of Contracts. Purchases relating to the handling of litigation or tort claims, personnel investigations, and nuisance abatement actions, including board-up and demolition contracts to the extent they are not public works projects.

(G) Energy Contracts. Contracts for energy purchases as allowed by resolution of the Town Council and the provisions set forth within the formation and implementation plan documents of Apple Valley Choice Energy.

(H) Town Council Approved Purchases. Purchases otherwise approved by the Town Council.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

The authority to purchase supplies, material, equipment, and contracted services is dependent upon the total dollar amount of the goods or services to be purchased and the type of purchase. Purchasing authority is based on the following amounts:

(A) Purchases up to $10,000.00. Purchases in this category may be authorized by the Assistant Town Manager or a Department Head. These purchases may not include continuing annual contracts.

(8) Purchases up to and including $75,000.00. Purchases in this category may be authorized by the Town Manager. In the absence of the Town Manager, the Town Manager's assigned designee may authorize such purchases. The Town Manager may authorize continuing annual contracts up to and including $75,000.00 per fiscal year only when there are sufficient funds in the current fiscal year budget and only when the contract includes a provision that permits the no-cost termination of the contract in future years should the necessary budget not be made available.

(C) Purchases over $75,000.00. Purchases in this category may only be authorized by the Town Council.

Purchases shall not be split or separated into smaller purchases in order to bring the purchase within the provisions of lower approval authority. Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to authorize any deviation from the procedural or substantive requirements of the California Public Contract Code for public works contracts.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

No purchase shall be made and no contract entered into unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the budgeted account against which the purchase or contract is to be charged.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

In case of an emergency, which is so urgent as to preclude advance action by the Town Council and which requires purchase of supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services, the Town Manager shall have the authority to authorize securing in the open market any such supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services. This emergency authority shall extend to all purchases, irrespective of the fact that the amount might exceed the authorized thresholds outlined elsewhere in this Code. An explanation of the emergency circumstances shall be filed with the Town Council within 48 hours of the emergency purchase. Any purchases exceeding the Town Manager's threshold established in Section 3.12.050 shall be brought to the Town Council for consideration and ratification at the next regular meeting of the Town Council or as soon as reasonably practicable under the given emergency circumstances.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

Any bid submitted by a local bidder for supplies, material, equipment, and contracted services pursuant to this Chapter shall receive a five-percent credit for comparison purposes with other bidders when a local credit is allowable under the law. For the purposes of this Section, "local bidders" shall be bidders who have maintained their principal place of operation within the Local Preference Region for at least six months prior to the publication of the call for proposals or bids. The Local Preference Region shall be the area contained within the geographical area depicted by the defined borders of the map in Figure 3.12. This map and the boundaries that depict the Local Preference Region shall also be maintained by and on file with the Town Clerk.

[Figure: Figure 3.12 Local Preference Region]

Figure 3.12 Local Preference Region

For the avoidance of doubt, this Section shall not apply to public works projects subject to the California Public Contract Code.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)

(A) All Town agencies and departments shall submit to the Purchasing Agent reports showing all supplies, materials and equipment which are no longer used or usable or which may have become obsolete, unfit or worn out.

(B) The Purchasing Agent shall have authority to sell or auction off said supplies, materials and equipment, or to exchange or trade in the same for new supplies, materials and equipment.

(C) The proceeds of any sale shall be deposited in the general fund of the Town, unless such asset belonged to a special fund or the proceeds must be directed elsewhere as required by law.

(D) Town officers and employees shall not be purchasers at any sale or auction authorized, conducted, or administered by them in their official capacity, nor shall any Town officer or employee directly or indirectly submit a bid at the auction if they have participated in the preparation or conduct of the sale or auction in their official capacity.

(Ord. No. 571, § 2, 10-14-2025)