Arvin Municipal Code Ch. 3.08 Purchasing System

Footnotes:

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* For statutory provisions authorizing cities to adopt policies and procedures governing purchases of supplies and equipment, see Gov. Code §54201 et seq.

In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of supplies, equipment and incidental services, to secure for the city supplies, equipment and incidental services 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 hereby adopted.

(Ord. 138 §2, 1978).

All departments shall file detailed estimates of their requirements in supplies and equipment, setting forth specifications in such manner, at such time, and for such future periods as the purchasing rules and regulations shall prescribe.

(Ord. 138 §3, 1978).

Departments shall submit requests for supplies and equipment to the city manager or city finance director by standard requisition form, or by other means as may be established.

(Ord. 138 §5, 1978).

(Ord. No. 429, § 4, 7-5-2016)

Purchases of supplies and equipment shall be made only by purchase orders except as otherwise provided herein. No purchase order shall be issued except by the city manager or finance director.

(Ord. 138 §7, 1978).

(Ord. No. 429, § 5, 7-5-2016)

Except in cases where necessary budget adjustments have been duly authorized, no purchase order for supplies or equipment shall be issued, unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which said purchase is to be charged.

(Ord. 138 §8, 1978).

The city manager or the city officer designated by the city council shall have authority to negotiate prices set forth in annual contracts for purchases of repetitively used items, and shall have authority to accept proposals from or enter into memorandum accounts with vendors for items that are required in minor, undetermined quantities which are not practical in competitive bidding.

(Ord. 138 §4, 1978).

(Ord. No. 429, § 6, 7-5-2016)

A. The purchase of supplies, equipment, materials and public works projects, shall be by bid procedures pursuant to Sections 3.08.080 and 3.08.090, unless an exception from the below subsection applies.

B. Bidding or open market procedure may be dispensed with only when:

1. An emergency requires that an order be placed with the nearest available source of supply;

2. The micro-purchase is in an amount less than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00), as provided in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. This amount is subject to raise with inflation and may be lower depending upon whether the contract is subject to the Davis-Bacon Act or the Service Contract Act;

3. The purchase is to be made through the petty cash procedures;

4. The commodity can be obtained from only one (1) vendor;

5. Competitive bidding or proposal procedures, substantially similar to the competitive bidding or proposal procedures in this Code, have already been utilized either by a federal, state, county, city or special district government agency, or by a legitimate cooperative purchasing agency; and, that the supplies, equipment, materials or public works project provided to the city are at the same or better price, terms and conditions, as was obtained through such prior competitive bidding or proposal procedures; or

6. Piggyback purchasing procedures, whereby the city has the ability to "piggyback" contracts for products and equipment, entered into by other governmental agencies (municipality, county or state) through a competitive bid. The purchasing division will obtain documentation to verify the contract and bid process. All products or equipment purchased under this provision must substantially meet the technical specifications of the bid. Major deviations from the product specification will not be allowed. However, minor modifications which result in a price differential of five (5) percent or less are authorized. Such contracts include, but are not limited to, contracts to purchase products and services under the California Multiple Award Schedules (CMAS) or Federal General Service Administration (GSA) contracts.

(Ord. 138 §6, 1978).

(Ord. No. 440, § 2, 2-7-2017)

Purchases of incidental services, supplies and equipment of an estimated value in the amount of thirty thousand ($30,000.00) dollars or less may be made in the open market pursuant to the procedure prescribed in this section and without observing the procedure prescribed in section 3.08.090.

A. Minimum Number of Bids. Open market purchases shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three (3) bids, and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

B. Notice Inviting Bids. Bids shall be solicited by written requests to prospective vendors, by telephone, and by public notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall, for single purchases amounting to more than fifteen thousand (15,000.00) dollars but less than thirty thousand ($30,000.00) dollars.

C. Written Bids. Written bids shall be submitted to the city clerk for single purchases amounting to more than fifteen thousand ($15,000.00) dollars. The city clerk shall keep a record of all open market orders and bids for a period of one (1) year after the submission of bids or the placing of orders. This record, while so kept, shall be open to public inspection.

D. Bids. Bids shall be obtained from prospective suppliers when the amount involved is fifteen thousand ($15,000.00) dollars or less, unless, (1) at the city's discretion, bidding has been dispensed with in accordance with Section 3.08.070 of this chapter; (2) the amount involved is less than three thousand dollars ($3,000.00) and the city council has determined more than one (1) bid to be impractical; or (3) the purchase is to be made through the petty cash procedures. All bids must be in writing.

E. Petty Cash. Purchases of a minor nature may be made through petty cash procedures prescribed by the city council. Bidding shall not be required for petty cash purchases. As used herein, a "minor nature" shall mean purchases of one hundred ($100.00) dollars or less.

(Ord 138 §10, 1978).

(Ord. No. 413, § 2, 2-18-2014; Ord. No. 429, § 7, 7-5-2016; Ord. No. 440, § 3, 2-7-2017)

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, purchases of incidental services supplies and equipment of an estimated value greater than thirty thousand ($30,000.00) dollars shall be by written order or contract with the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the procedure prescribed in this section.

A. Notice Inviting Bids. Notices inviting bids shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased, shall state where bid blanks and specification may be secured, and the time and place for opening bids.

1. Published Notice. Notices inviting bids shall be published at least five (5) days before the date of opening of the bid. Notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the city, or if there is none, it shall be posted in at least three public places in the city that have been designated by ordinance as the places for posting public notices.

2. Bidder's List. Sealed bids shall be solicited from responsible prospective suppliers whose names are on a bidder's list maintained by the city, or from responsible prospective suppliers who have made written request that their names be added thereto.

3. Bulletin Board. The city council, by its designated official, shall also advertise pending purchases by a notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall.

B. Bidder's Security. When deemed necessary by the city council, bidder's security may be prescribed in the public notices 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 notice of award of contract has been mailed, unless in the latter event 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. 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 contract price differential between the lowest bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder. If the city council rejects all bids presented and readvertises, the amount of the lowest bidder's security may be used to offset the cost of receiving new bids and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.

C. Bid Opening Procedure. Sealed bids shall be submitted to the city clerk and shall be identified as "bids" on the envelope. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notices. A tabulation of all bids received shall be open for public inspection during regular business hours for a period of not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the bid opening.

D. Rejection of Bids. In its discretion, the city council may reject any and all bids presented and readvertise for bids pursuant to the procedure hereinabove prescribed in this section.

E. Award of Contracts. Except as otherwise provided herein, orders or contracts shall be awarded by the city council to the lowest responsible bidder. Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, if no bids are received, orders or contracts may be awarded by the city council in its discretion without complying with any further bidding requirements of this section.

F. Tie bids. If two or more 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 readvertising for bids, the city council may, in its discretion, accept the one it chooses.

G. Performance Bonds. The city council may require a performance bond before entering a contract, in such amount as it shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interest of the city. When required, the form and amount of the bond will be described in the notice inviting bids.

(Ord. 138 §9, 1978).

(Ord. No. 413, § 3, 2-18-2014; Ord. No. 431, § 2, 8-16-2016)

A. Professional Services. Professional services may include, but not be limited to, architectural, engineering, testing, land surveying, appraising, environmental, planning, financial, economic, accounting, legal, development processing, waste management, governmental operations, special studies, construction project management and other related services. The city shall follow the procedures set forth in this section to procure professional services.

B. Process for Contracts With a Total Value Not to Exceed Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00). The city manager is authorized to contract for all professional services required by the city, for which an appropriation has been made in the current budget, without implementing the formal request for proposal process set forth in subsection B, provided the contract involves an expenditure of city moneys of less than or equal to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) and the total proposed expenditure of city moneys under the contract and any amendments thereto will not exceed fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00). However, in procuring professional services pursuant to the authority provided in this subsection the city manager shall use his best efforts to obtain the best value for the city based upon (1) qualifications of the firm; (2) The firm's experience with similar projects; (3) the firm's capacity to provide the professional services consistent with the city's timelines for performance and (4) the total overall cost to the city unless excluded by state or federal law. In addition, to the extent that its provisions apply to the particular type of service to be procured, the city manager shall fully comply with the requirements of Government Code, section 4526, as may be amended, which shall take precedence over any conflicting provisions in this section. The contract procuring the professional services shall be approved as to form by the city attorney prior to execution by the city manager. The city clerk shall retain the original contract. The finance department shall encumber the amount against the budget.

C. Process for Contracts With a Total Value in Excess of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00).

1. Upon approval of the city manager, the department head of the department requesting professional services shall prepare a request for proposal (RFP), and request for qualifications which shall then be sent to the appropriate professional service firms. The RFP shall include a description of the project and a scope of work to be performed. As a rule, proposals from a minimum of three (3) prospective firms shall be solicited. To solicit proposals, at a minimum the city shall post the RFP on its website, publich notice of the RFP at least once in a newspaper of general circulation and shall use its best efforts to identify other means of communicating the existence of the RFP to persons and firms who may be qualified to provide the services sought.

2. The department shall review all proposals received. The general selection criteria for determining which firm is to be selected include:

a. Firm qualifications;

b. The firm's experience with similar projects;

c. Schedule of completion;

d. Price, unless excluded by state or federal law.

To the extent that the provisions of Government Code, section 4526, as may be amended, apply to the particular type of service to be procured the selection process shall comply with its requirements which shall take precedence over any conflicting provisions in this section.

3. Based on the results of the initial screening process, the top firms may be invited to present their qualifications. Based upon their qualifications and presentations, the city shall rank order the firms. The city may negotiate the price, terms and conditions of the project with the top firm. The city also reserves the right to negotiate with another top-ranked firm if an agreement cannot be reached with the number one ranked firm.

4. Once the firm is selected, the contract shall be forwarded to the city attorney for review.

5. A staff report with recommendations shall be presented to the city manager.

6. The city manager is authorized to exercise his/her discretion to award the contract based upon the selection criteria set forth in subsection (B)(2) and staff's recommendation for professional services required by the city, for which an appropriation has been made in the current budget, provided the contract involves an expenditure of city moneys greater than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000.00) and less than or equal to thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) and the total proposed expenditure of city moneys under the contract and any amendments thereto will not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00).

7. The city manager shall submit to the city council for its consideration at a regular meeting or special meeting, unless not permitted by law, any contracts for professional services that involves an expenditure of city moneys greater than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) or when the total proposed expenditure of city moneys under the contract and any amendments thereto will exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00).

8. The contract procuring the professional services shall be approved as to form by the city attorney prior to execution by the city. The city clerk shall retain the original contract. The finance department shall encumber the amount against the budget.

D. If no proposals are received in response to the RFP after solicitation as required by this section, then this may serve as a presumption that no competitive advantage may be served by further solicitation of bids as it would either be impossible or not in the public interest. Upon such a determination by the city manager, or the city council for contracts in excess of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), no further solicitation of bids is required by this section.

(Ord. No. 419, § 1, 3-17-2015; Ord. No. 431, § 3, 8-16-2016)

The city council, or the city officer it designates, shall inspect supplies and equipment delivered to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order. The city council 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. 138 §11, 1978).

A. All department heads of the city shall submit to the city council at such times, and in such form as may be prescribed, reports showing stock, materials, equipment and any real property on hand not then in use in said department. When a surplus of stock, materials, equipment, or real property exists in any department, the city council may transfer the same to any other department having a need for such stock or any portion thereof on approval of the city council or its designated official.

B. When it is found by the city council that stock, materials, equipment, or real property exists which is not needed for use by any city department, the city council may authorize the sale thereof, and the proceeds from any such sale or sales shall be deposited in the city treasury.

C. Upon the city council's finding and authorization of the sale of surplus stock, materials, equipment, or real property, the city manager may take whatever steps necessary to obtain the highest price in exchange for the sale of the surplus stock, materials, equipment, or real property. The determination of the highest price that will be most favorable to the city will be made by the city manager, within his/her sole discretion. The city manager may thereafter enter into and complete the sale of the surplus stock, materials, equipment, or real property on behalf of the city.

(Ord. 138 §12, 1978).

(Ord. No. 402, § 2, 11-20-2012)