La Palma Municipal Code Art. VII Purchase of Supplies, Materials, Equipment and Services

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State Law reference— Purchases of supplies and equipment by local agencies, Government Code § 54202 et seq.; Local Agency Public Construction Act, Public Contract Code § 20100 et seq.; bid procedures for public construction contracts awarded by cities, Public Contract Code § 20160 et seq.

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

(Code 1975, § 2-39; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1)

Purchases shall be in accordance with allocations approved in the City budget. At the same time, the City Council recognizes that in certain unanticipated exception cases, administrative necessity may dictate that a certain latitude be permitted in the implementation of this purchasing system.

(Code 1975, § 2-40; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1)

The authority for the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services shall be vested in the City Manager or his or her designee. In this regard, the City Manager shall have the authority to:

(1) Purchase supplies, materials, equipment and services in accordance with the purchasing procedures prescribed in this article;

(2) Act to procure for the City the needed quality in supplies, materials, equipment and services at the least expense to the City;

(3) Correlate purchase requests with the approved budget and availability of funds;

(4) Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services;

(5) Where possible, consolidate all of the department purchasing needs and schedule quantity discounts and volume buying;

(6) Endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;

(7) Prepare administrative rules and regulations governing the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services for the internal management and operation of the purchasing system;

(8) Keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing, prices, market conditions and new products;

(9) Prescribe and maintain such forms as reasonably necessary to the operation of this article;

(10) Prepare and recommend to the City Council revisions and amendments to the purchasing ordinance codified in this article.

(Code 1975, § 2-41; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1)

Purchasing shall be entered into pursuant to either formal or informal bid procedures as hereinafter prescribed. All solicitation of bids shall be unrestricted and competitive except as provided in subsection (3) of this section.

(1) Formal purchasing procedures. The purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services of estimated value greater than $25,000.00 shall require the approval of the City Council following a formal bid procedure as set forth in section 2-198. Purchases shall not be divided into smaller amounts to avoid formal bid procedures.

(2) Informal purchasing. The purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services of an estimated value of $25,000.00 or less shall be made pursuant to an informal bid procedure as set forth in section 2-199.

(3) Exceptions.

a. Other public agency bids. The purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services may be accomplished in accordance with any bid awarded by another public agency for which the City would normally follow its own formal or informal bid procedures. Prior approval of the City Council for specific purposes shall be required.

b. Certain professional services. The procurement of professional and other nonpublic works contractual services may be made on the basis of the qualification and experience of the bidders, and without following either formal or informal bid procedures.

(Code 1975, § 2-42; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1; Ord. No. 98-03, § 1)

Purchases shall be by written contract or approved purchase order pursuant to the procedure hereinafter prescribed. Purchases shall be awarded to the bidder whose bid is most responsive to the City in terms of price, quality and timeliness and where the bidder is determined by the City Council to be the most highly qualified and responsible bidder to supply the materials, supplies or service.

(1) Notice inviting bids. Notices inviting bids shall include a description of specifications of the articles to be purchased, delivery, conditions and discounts, and shall state where bid documents and specifications may be secured, the time and place for filing and of opening bids, and when the award will be made or all bids rejected.

a. Public notice. Notices inviting bids shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City at least ten days before the date of opening of the bids. As an alternative, when publication in a newspaper is not practical, notices may be posted in at least three public places in the City that have been designated by Council action as the places for posting public notices.

b. Other notices. The City Manager shall also advertise pending purchases by notices in such publications or trade journals or in such other manner as the City Manager may deem appropriate so as to ensure that competitive bids are secured by the City.

(2) Bidder's security. When deemed necessary by the City Manager, bidder's security may be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to return of bond security; provided, however, that a successful bidder shall forfeit his or her bond security upon his or her refusal or failure to execute the contract within the time period specified in the bid documents after the 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 of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award it to the next most responsive bidder. If the City Council awards the contract to the next most responsive bidder, the amount of the first most responsive bidder's security shall be applied by the City to the contract price differential between the first most responsive bid and the second most responsive bid, and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the first most responsive bidder.

(3) Bid opening procedure. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notices or as soon thereafter as possible. The date and time bids are received shall be marked on the envelope. Bids received after the deadline established in the notices inviting bids shall be returned to the bidder unopened. A tabulation of all bids received shall be open for public inspection during regular business hours for a period of not less than 30 calendar days after the bid opening. The name of the most responsive bidder will be identified.

(4) Rejection of bids. For stated reason, the City Council may reject any or all bids presented and readvertise for bids pursuant to the procedure hereinabove prescribed.

(5) Tie bids. If two or more bids received are 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 at its discretion accept the one it chooses or accept the lowest bid made by one of the bidders, after negotiation with the bidders that are tied at the time of the bid opening.

(6) Performance bonds. The City Manager shall have authority to require a performance bond before entering into a contract or approving a purchase order in such amount as it shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the City.

(Code 1975, § 2-43; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1; Ord. No. 98-03, § 2)

(a) Purchases may be made by the City Manager in the open market pursuant to the procedure hereinafter prescribed and without observing the procedure prescribed in section 2-198; provided, however, all bidding may be dispensed with for purchases having a total estimated value of less than $1,000.00.

(b) Purchases shall be awarded to the bidder whose bid is most responsive to the City in terms of price, quality and timeliness, and where the bidder is determined by the City Manager to be the most highly qualified and responsible bidder to supply the material, supplies or service.

(c) Minimum number of bids. Informal bid purchases shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three bids.

(d) Notice inviting bids. The City Manager, his or her designee or department head of the department requesting the supplies, materials, equipment and service, shall solicit bids of prospective vendors, personally, by telephone, by written request, or by public notice posted on the public bulletin board in the City hall.

(e) Written response. Written responses to the notice inviting bids shall be submitted to the City Manager with the request for purchase. Such responses shall be open to public inspection.

(Code 1975, § 2-44; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1; Ord. No. 92-11, § 1; Ord. No. 98-03, § 3)

Renewal of existing maintenance service agreements may be approved by the City Manager. A change in an existing maintenance service contractor may be made by the City Manager when, in his or her opinion, such change is necessary due to a change in the cost for such service or the quality of service. The purchase of substitute maintenance services shall be made in accordance with section 2-197.

(Code 1975, § 2-45; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1)

When, in the opinion of the City Manager, an emergency requires that a purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and services be made from the nearest available source, the City Manager, or his or her designee, may procure such without complying with the bidding procedures prescribed above. A complete report, including a description of the emergency and the source for the purchase shall be submitted to the City Council in conjunction with the warrant for the payment of the purchase of such supplies, materials, equipment and services.

(Code 1975, § 2-46; Ord. No. 84-17, § 1)

The provisions of this article are not applicable to any "public project," as defined in California Public Contract Code § 20161, for the construction or repair of a municipal building, work, improvement, or street by the City.