Los Banos Municipal Code Art. 1 General

The purpose of this chapter is to:

(a) Establish efficient procedures for the purchase of commodities, equipment, and general services at the lowest possible cost commensurate with the quality needed;

(b) Establish procedures for contracting for professional services;

(c) Exercise positive financial control over purchases;

(d) Clearly define authority for the purchasing function;

(e) Assure the quality of purchases;

(f) Provide for the authority of City officers to enter into contracts.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

"Change order"

shall mean change, or modification, or addendum to a contract after it has been executed.

"City employee"

shall mean an individual who performs services for the City in the capacity of an elected or appointed official, or as a compensated employee of the City or of a temporary services agency retained by the City. "City employee" does not include independent contractors.

"Commodities"

shall mean any tangible goods or items such as supplies, parts and materials. Generally, they are consumable in City operations, become part or a component of City equipment or City facilities and/or have a useful life of one year or less.

"Contract"

shall mean any agreement to do or not do a certain thing. "Contract" and "agreement" are synonymous. The term "contract" includes, among other things, a purchase order, a contract for services, and an addendum or change order.

"Emergency"

shall mean and includes,

(1)

The existence or threatened existence of conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the City caused by fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot, earthquake, drought, energy shortage, or other causes, the existence or threatened existence of which has been proclaimed by the City Council or the Director of Emergency Services;

(2)

The existence of an immediate need to prepare for national or local defense;

(3)

The existence of a breakdown in machinery, equipment or essential governmental services which requires the immediate purchase of materials, supplies or equipment to protect the public health, safety or general welfare of the residents of the City; or

(4)

Where an essential governmental operation affecting the public health, safety or general welfare could be greatly hampered or disrupted by following the standard purchasing procedures.

"Equipment"

shall mean tangible personal property with a useful life of more than one year. It may be mobile, portable or fixed; and is an independent functioning unit, as opposed to parts which are components. It would include office equipment, furniture, field equipment, shop, lab, and plant equipment, vehicles and rolling stock.

"Financial interest"

shall mean and includes,

(1)

Ownership of any interest or involvement in any relationship from which, or as a result of which, a person has received compensation within the past year, or is entitled to, or is currently receiving compensation;

(2)

Ownership, whether wholly or in part, of any property or business; or

(3)

Status as an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee, or manager of a business.

"General services"

shall mean and includes,

(1)

Any work performed or services rendered by an independent contractor, with or without the furnishing of materials, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A)

Maintenance or nonstructural repair of City buildings, structures or improvements which does not require engineering plans, specifications or design, including, but not limited to, unscheduled replacement of broken window panes, fire extinguisher maintenance, minor roof repairs, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, elevator maintenance, custodial services, and pest control;

(B)

Installation, repair, modifications, and maintenance of City equipment;

(C)

Cleaning, analysis, testing, moving, removal or disposal (other than by sale) of City supplies, equipment, and waste products;

(D)

Providing other technical services to facilitate City operations such as communications, transportation, utilities;

(E)

Performing repair, demolition or other work required to abate nuisances under this Code.

(2)

Leasing or rental of equipment (personal property) for use by the City.

(3)

A maintenance agreement for equipment owned or leased by the City. General services does not include work defined as a public project under the Public Contract Code or services that are considered consultants or professional services.

"Gratuity"

shall mean a gift, payment, loan, advance, deposit of money, or service, presented or promised in return for or in anticipation of favorable consideration in the procurement process. "Gratuity" does not include the compensation paid by or due from the City or from a temporary service agency under contract with the City to an employee in connection with the employee's services for the City.

"Immediate family"

shall mean any spouse, child, stepchild, parent or stepparent of a City employee. The relationship of parent to child includes both natural and adoptive relationships.

"Local business"

shall mean a person or legal entity which has a place of business (other than a post office box) within the City and has a valid, current business license issued by the City.

"Professional services"

shall mean services which involve the exercise of professional discretion and independent judgment based on an advanced or specialized knowledge, expertise or training gained by formal studies or experience. Such services include, but are not limited to, those provided by appraisers, architects, attorneys, auditors, engineers, financial advisors, instructors, insurance advisors, physicians, planning, environmental and traffic consultants, and other specialized consultants.

"Recycled products"

shall mean products manufactured with waste material that have been recovered or diverted from the waste stream. Recycled material may be derived from post-consumer recovered material (material that has served its intended end use and been discarded by a final consumer), pre-consumer recovered material (material that has not reached the end use consumer but would otherwise be discarded) industrial scrap, manufacturing waste and/or other waste that otherwise would not have been utilized.

"Sole source"

shall mean contracts for which the City's Purchasing Officer has determined, after conducting a good faith review of available products and sources, that the City's requirements can be met solely by a single patented, copyrighted or proprietary article or process available from a single source. Examples of acceptable sole source purchases are equipment for which there is no comparable competitive product, a component or replacement part for which there is no commercially available substitute and which can be obtained only from the manufacturer, and an item where compatibility with items in use by the City is the overriding consideration.

"Specifications"

shall mean a description of the physical or functional characteristics or of the nature of the required goods and/or services.

"Surplus personal property"

shall mean goods owned by the City which are no longer needed or which are obsolete or unserviceable or, property that is a by-product (scrap metal, used tires and oil, etc.).

"Technology product"

shall mean hardware, software, or communications equipment, or related equipment and goods which incorporate any such items.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

As provided in Section 2-3.121 of this Code, the City Manager shall be responsible for the purchase of all supplies for all of the departments of the City. No expenditures shall be submitted or recommended to the City Council except on the report and approval of the City Manager. As Purchasing Officer, the City Manager shall have the authority to:

(a) Purchase or contract for commodities, equipment, and services required by any using department in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed in this chapter;

(b) Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the procurement of commodities, equipment, and services;

(c) Act to procure for the City the needed quality in commodities and equipment at least expense to the City;

(d) Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;

(e) Prepare and recommend to the City Council amendments to ordinances governing the procurement of commodities, equipment, and services;

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

(g) Prescribe and maintain such forms as are reasonably necessary to the operation of this chapter and other administrative rules and regulations;

(h) Supervise the inspection of all commodities and equipment purchased to ensure conformance with specifications;

(i) Transfer surplus or unused commodities and equipment between departments as needed, and sell or dispose of surplus or unused commodities and equipment which have become unsuitable for City use;

(j) Maintain records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing program.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

The Purchasing Officer may, by written authorization grant authority to any Department Head to purchase, or contract for specific supplies and equipment independently of the Purchasing Officer; but shall require that such purchases or contracts be made in conformity with the procedures established by this chapter and may further require periodic reports from the Department Head regarding the purchases and contracts made pursuant to such authority.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

A purchase or contract may be initiated only if sufficient funds have been appropriated and for which there is an unexpended and unencumbered remaining balance, sufficient to pay for the purchase or contract. The only exception to this provision is in cases of emergency as defined in this chapter.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

(a) Conflict of interest. No City employee shall participate in the award or administration of a purchase contract if a conflict of interest, real or apparent would be involved. Such a conflict would arise when the employee, any member of his or her immediate family, his or her partner, or an organization which employs or is about to employ any of the above, has a financial or other interest in the firm selected for award.

(b) Gratuities. No City employee may accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, rebate, money, or anything else of value whatsoever from any person or entity if the gift, rebate, money or item of value is intended as a reward or inducement for conducting business, placing orders with, or otherwise using the employee's position to favor the contributor.

(c) Interference with bidding. No City employee shall aide or assist a bidder in securing a contract to furnish commodities, equipment or services, or, favor one bidder over another, or give or withhold information from any bidder not given or withheld from all other bidders, or willfully mislead any bidder in regard to the bid specification, or knowingly certify to a greater level of service performed, or commodities or equipment furnished, than has respectively been performed or received.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

A record of all informal and formal bid quotations, bids and proposals shall be kept for a period of three years after audit of the fiscal year in which the purchase of contract was made. This record, while so kept, shall be open to public inspection.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)

Any transaction failing to comply with this chapter in any respect is voidable at the discretion of the City Council.

(§ 1, Ord. 1068, eff. February 1, 2008)