Lancaster Municipal Code Art. II Procurement Procedures for Materials and Services

A. Quotation Requirement. The procurement of materials and services of thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) up to one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000.00) may be made by the purchasing officer in the open market, following the procedure described in this section.

(1) Minimum Number of Quotations. Open market procurements shall, whenever possible, be based on at least three quotations.

(2) Inviting Quotations. The purchasing officer shall solicit quotations by written request (including facsimile and electronic mail) or telephone to prospective vendors.

(3) Quotations. Quotations shall be submitted to the purchasing officer, who shall keep a record of all open market orders and quotes for a period of one year after the order is placed. These records shall be made available for public inspection for up to one year following award of the contract.

(4) No Responsive Quotation. If no quotation, or no responsive quotation, is received after inviting quotations under this section, the purchasing officer may proceed to hire or have services performed or procure the materials or services in the open market.

B. Exceptions. The quotation procedure under this section may be dispensed with in the following instances:

(1) Emergency. In an emergency, when time is of the essence and in accordance with the procurement procedures manual for one of the following reasons:

(a) To preserve or protect life, health or property;

(b) Upon natural disaster;

(c) To forestall a shutdown of essential public services.

(2) Sole Source. Where the purchasing officer determines that the materials or services are unique and available only from one source, so that the quotation procedure required by this section would be meaningless. Sole source procurements may include proprietary items sold directly from the manufacturer, items that have only one distributor authorized to sell in this area, or a specified product that the purchasing officer determines to be the only product that is acceptable. The basis upon which this determination is made shall be supported by written documentation signed by the requesting department head and provided to the purchasing officer.

(3) Cooperative Purchasing Program. Where materials or services are procured through a cooperative purchasing program maintained by any public agency, if the underlying procurement was made using quotation or bid procedures at least as restrictive as the city's. In all such cases, the materials and services must be the same and be offered at the same price as the materials and services subject to the agreement or program, allowing for variation in customizing the order or for desirable options.

C. Local Preference. Local businesses shall be given a preference in the procurement process by allowing for a local vendor to submit within forty-eight (48) hours a new quotation if they are within five percent of the lowest offer. This provision only applies to quotations and proposals below the bidding threshold and only for materials and services, excluding construction services. A "local vendor" is a business that meets the following criteria:

(1) Has its headquarters, distribution point or locally-owned franchise located in or having a street address within the city for at least six months immediately prior to the request for quotations;

(2) Holds all required business licenses by the city; and

(3) Employs at least one full-time employee or two part-time employees whose primary residence(s) is located within the city, or if the business has no employees, shall be at least fifty (50) percent owned by one or more persons whose primary residence(s) is located within the city.

(Ord. No. 976, § 1, 2-28-2012)

The purchasing officer shall procure materials and services in excess of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000.00) pursuant to the formal bidding procedure described in this section, subject to the exceptions set forth in subsection B of Section 3.32.200 above.

A. Invitation for Bids. An invitation for bids shall be issued and shall include the specifications, the contract to be used, and shall state where bid forms and specifications may be secured, and the final time and place for submitting bids.

(1) Public Notice. Invitation for bids shall be given by public notice in the manner directed by the purchasing officer.

(2) Bidder's List. The purchasing officer may also solicit sealed bids from prospective suppliers whose names are on a bidder's list.

B. Bidder's Security. When deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, required bidder's security may be prescribed in the invitation for bids. Bidders shall be entitled to the return of their bidder's security; provided, however, that a successful bidder shall forfeit his bid security upon his refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten days 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 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 remaining bids presented and re-solicits, the amount of the lowest bidder's security may be used to offset the cost of soliciting and receiving new bids. The surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.

C. Performance Bonds. The purchasing officer shall have the authority to require a performance bond before entering into a contract in such amount as it shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interest of the city. If the purchasing officer requires a performance bond, the form and amount of the bond shall be described in the invitation for bids.

D. Insurance and Indemnity. Bid solicitations for contractual services or specialized equipment shall include required insurance and indemnity clauses.

E. Bid Opening. Sealed bids shall be submitted to the purchasing officer and shall be identified on the envelope as a bid. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the invitation for bids. A tabulation of all bids received shall be open for public inspection in the purchasing officer's office during regular business hours for a period of not less than thirty (30) calendar days after the bid opening.

F. Bid Evaluation. Bids shall be evaluated based on the requirements set forth in the invitation for bids, which may include criteria to determine acceptability such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose. Those criteria that will affect the bid price and be considered in evaluation for award shall be objectively measurable. The invitation for bids shall set forth the evaluation criteria to be used. The contract will be awarded to the lowest responsible and qualified bidder whose bid meets the requirements and criteria set forth in the invitation for bids.

G. Rejection of Bids. The purchasing officer or the requesting department may recommend rejection of any or all bids if it is determined to be in the best interests of the city. Reasons for rejection may include, but are not limited to, the following: a bid is determined to be non-responsive, the number of bids received is inadequate, bids received are not reasonably uniform in price, or the lowest bid received is deemed to be too high. The purchasing officer may, in any given case, reject all bids with or without cause and submit the material or services involved to a new bidding process. If all bids are rejected, the purchasing officer may be authorized to re-solicit bids, negotiate a contract for the procurement, or abandon the procurement.

H. Tie Bids. If two or more bids are received which are in all respects equal, the award will go to the bidder with local preference. If both bidders or neither have local preference, the purchasing officer will select by means of random selection, such as a coin toss.

I. Award of Contracts. Procurements or contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsive and qualified bidder. In determining the lowest responsive and qualified bidder, the following will be taken into consideration:

(1) Bids shall be awarded to the "responsive" and "qualified" bidder who submits the lowest bid.

(2) In determining the lowest "responsive" bid, the following elements shall be considered in addition to price:

(a) A responsive bid is one which is in substantial conformance with the requirements of the invitation for bids, including specifications and the city's contractual terms and conditions. Bidders who substitute terms and conditions or who qualify bids in such a manner as to nullify or limit their liability shall be considered non-responsive.

(b) Conformance with the requirements of the invitation for bids may also include providing proof of insurance, completing all forms, including references, and all other information required in the bid document.

(c) The successful bidder must demonstrate the ability to successfully fulfill a contract, including rendering of subsequent and continued service. Staff may request proof of a prospective bidder's reliability. Prospective bidders may be requested to furnish proof of financial resources, a list of current or previous customers, and other pertinent data. Such action may also be taken after receipt of bids.

(d) A bidder may be determined to be non-responsive if a prospective bidder fails to furnish proof of qualifications when required.

(3) In determining the lowest "qualified" bidder, the following elements shall be considered in addition to price:

(a) Products offered provide the quality, fitness, and capacity for the required usage.

(b) Bidder has the ability, capacity and skill to perform the contract satisfactorily and within the time required.

(c) Bidder's experience(s) regarding past procurements or contracts by the city or other public agencies demonstrates the reliability of the bidder to perform the contract.

(d) When a bid is recommended to be awarded to other than the low bidder, written justification is required. The written statement, signed by the appropriate department head, shall be attached to the procurement requisition, delivered to the purchasing officer, and maintained in the files of the appropriate department.

(Ord. No. 976, § 1, 2-28-2012)

A. Competitive Sealed Proposals. Procurements of professional services in an amount in excess of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000.00) shall be solicited by competitive sealed proposal.

B. Request for Proposal. Proposals shall be solicited through a request for proposal.

C. Public Notice. Public notice of the request for proposal shall be given in the manner directed by the purchasing officer.

D. Receipt of Proposals. Sealed proposals shall be submitted to the purchasing officer by the date and time specified in the request for proposal.

E. Proposal Evaluation. The request for proposal shall state the criteria for evaluation and the relative importance of price and other factors.

F. Negotiation. The most qualified and responsive offer will be selected for contract negotiation. If agreement cannot be negotiated with the first choice offer, the second choice offer will be contacted with first choice offer being dismissed from further consideration on that particular project. The negotiation process shall be documented by the purchasing officer.

G. Award. Award shall be made to the responsible offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the city, taking into consideration price and the criteria established for evaluation set forth in the request for proposal. The contract file shall contain documentation of the basis on which the award is made.

H. Rejection of Proposals. The city reserves the right to reject any or all proposals in whole and may waive any irregularities or informalities in the proposals when such action is considered to be in the best interest of the city. The purchasing officer shall have the authority to reject proposals and waive irregularities and informalities on behalf of the city. All proposals received after the designated closing date and time shall be considered non-responsive and shall be rejected.

I. Exceptions. The purchasing officer may waive the requirement of this chapter when it may be shown that that the competitive selection process will fail to produce an advantage to the city.

(Ord. No. 976, § 1, 2-28-2012)