Avalon Municipal Code Art. 1 General

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

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

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018; amended 2-4-2020 by Ord. No. 1182-20, effective 3-25-2020]

Purchases of services, including maintenance work, supplies and equipment shall be by competitive process pursuant to § 3-4.105 of this article. These procedures shall be dispensed with only when the purchasing amount involved is less than $25,000, unless an exception applies.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

Purchases of services, supplies and equipment greater than $1,000 shall be made only by purchase order issued by the City Manager or the City Manager's designee.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

Except in the case of emergency, neither the City Manager or the City Manager's designee shall issue any purchase order for supplies or equipment unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which such purchase is to be charged.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018; amended 2-4-2020 by Ord. No. 1182-20, effective 3-25-2020]

See § 3-4.206.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018; amended 2-4-2020 by Ord. No. 1182-20, effective 3-25-2020]

For any procurement of services, supplies and equipment of $25,000 or more, contracts shall be awarded using one of the following competitive procedures:

(a) Vendor Price Quotes. The City Manager or the City Manager's designee shall solicit via posted notice, telephone request, mail, email, fax or any other reasonable solicitation method, price quotes in writing from a minimum of three vendors. If unable to obtain three price quotes, City staff shall document that there were no other companies to solicit price quotes from or that they solicited to other companies and all declined to provide a quote.

(b) Request for Proposals/Qualifications. The City Manager or the City Manager's designee shall solicit via posted notice, telephone request, mail, email, fax or any other reasonable solicitation method, proposals in writing from a minimum of three firms or from the public at large. If unable to obtain three proposals, City staff shall document that there were no other companies to solicit proposals from or that they solicited publicly or to other companies and all declined to provide a proposal.

(c) Best Competitive Value. "Best competitive value" means a value determined by evaluation of criteria that may include, but is not limited to, price, features, functions, lifecycle costs, experience, and past performance. City shall publish the requirements for vendors that define the terms, conditions, and specifications for services, supplies or equipment required by the City and award the contract to the vendor providing the best competitive value as defined in the solicitation.

(d) Formal Bids. The City may elect to use similar procurement procedures as the formal bidding procedure contained in § 3-4.206 for any procurement other than a public project, in which case the contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

(e) Small Purchases. Purchases of $1,000 and less may be made without a formal purchase order by a department head of the City or the department head's designee.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

The City Manager or the City Manager's designee shall inspect any supplies and equipment delivered to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order or contract. The City Manager or the City Manager's designee shall have the authority to require chemical and physical tests of samples submitted with bids or proposals and samples of deliveries which are necessary to determine their quality and conformance with specifications.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

All purchases of services, supplies and equipment, by contract or otherwise, in an amount in excess of $25,000 shall be specified as a "lump sum" or as a "not-to-exceed" amount. The City Council may by a 4/5 vote approve exceptions to this requirement only after expressly finding that a determination of a "not-to-exceed" price is not feasible.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

As set forth in further detail in § 3-4.110, the City Council has made findings and adopted a Local Vendor Preference Program ("Local Program") applicable to certain purchases of materials, supplies, and equipment, as well as contracts for public works construction, maintenance and general services contracts described in this section. Accordingly, construction, maintenance and general services contracts that follow the City's formal contract bid procedure or competitive process procedures shall be subject to the Local Program set forth in § 3-4.110. A properly certified Local Small Businesses (as defined in § 3-4.110) shall be entitled to the specified reduction of 5% in the tabulation of its bid for purposes of determining the lowest responsible vendor or proposed price for services or delivery of goods, unless otherwise prohibited by law. This 5% adjustment shall only apply to local small businesses when such local small businesses are at least equal in responsibility and quality to other businesses bidding on contracts. Such findings shall be made by the City Council when awarding the contract to a local small business. If the Program is applicable to a bid offering, it shall be noted in the applicable bid solicitation. The 5% preference shall only apply to the determination of the business that is awarded the City contract. The price set forth in the actual bid or quote will be the price set forth in the agreement between the City and the local small business.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018]

Based upon the findings provided for in the recitals of the Ordinance adding this section, the City Council has determined that is in the best interests of the City to give a minimum preference to local small businesses when the City is making certain purchases of materials, supplies, and equipment, as well as when it is entering into contracts for public works construction, maintenance, and general services, as set forth in this Local Vendor Preference Program ("Program").

The Program shall consist of the following general requirements, which shall be implemented by the City Manager:

(a) A local small business for the purposes of this Program shall mean the vendor: (i) has fixed facilities with employees located at a business address within City limits (a post office box or nonbusiness residence alone is insufficient); (ii) has an appropriate City business license/permit (iii) has at least 50% of its full-time employees residing within City limits; and (iv) has no more than 25 employees employed full-time. A full-time employee is one who works more than 35 hours a week. A vendor seeking to qualify for this Program shall provide supporting information and certify in writing that it meets the above requirements as part of its bid.

(b) In applying the Program to bids on a City purchase subject to the Program, qualifying local small business shall be entitled to a reduction of 5% in the tabulation of its bid for purposes of determining the lowest responsible bidder or price for comparison to other businesses, unless otherwise prohibited by law (i.e. special State or Federal grant programs). This 5% adjustment shall only apply to local small businesses when such local small businesses are at least equal in responsibility and quality to other businesses bidding on contracts. Such findings shall be made by the City Council when awarding the contract to a local small business.

(c) The Program shall only be applicable to purchases of materials, supplies and equipment, and contracts for public works construction, maintenance, and general services which are competitively bid. If the Program is applicable to a bid offering, it shall be noted in the applicable bid solicitation.

[Ord. 1165, eff. April 5, 2018; amended 2-4-2020 by Ord. No. 1182-20, effective 3-25-2020]

(a) Emergencies. During an emergency that requires the immediate procurement of contractual services, professional services or materials, supplies and equipment, the City Manager or the City Manager's designee is authorized to procure these items without immediate Council approval and without giving notice for proposals. The City Manager or the City Manager's designee will report to the Council within 48 hours any and all actions taken to deal with the emergency. A written public record shall be kept showing the nature of the emergency and the City Manager or the City Manager's designee's authorization to proceed under the provisions of this section. The emergency action shall be terminated at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.

(1) "Emergency" means a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear, eminent danger requiring immediate action to protect the health and safety of the public, including to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property or public services.

(b) Sole Source Vendors. When there is only one source that provides the necessary public project, services, goods and equipment to ensure compatibility with existing City public projects, services, goods or equipment, or the public project, services, goods or equipment are proprietary in nature, the City may procure the public project, goods or services from the sole source.

(c) Economic Efficiency. If a competitive market does not exist, or the City will not gain a competitive advantage by using the formal contract bid or other competitive procedure, or where the public project, goods or services may be obtained more economically or efficiently without the procedure, the City may dispense with formal bidding or other competitive procedures.

(d) Cooperative Purchases. If a competitive bid procedure has been conducted by another public agency, including, but not limited to, another local agency, the state through the California Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS), the federal government through the General Services Administration (GSA), or a joint powers agency, authority or alliance that procures competitive contracts; and the price to the City is equal to or better than the price to that public agency, then the City may procure the contract without further bidding or other competitive procedures.

(e) Otherwise Authorized. The City may utilize any alternative procurement method that is authorized by state or federal law.