Monte Sereno Municipal Code Ch. 2.05 Purchasing and Bidding Procedures

In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of services, materials, supplies and/or equipment for the city at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, to exercise positive financial control over purchases, and to clearly define authority for the purchasing function to assure the quality of purchases, a purchasing procedure is adopted and a centralized purchasing office under the direction of a purchasing officer is established.

The purchasing officer shall be the city manager or his/her designated representative. The duties of purchasing officer may be combined with those of any other office or position. The purchasing officer shall have authority to:

A. Purchase or contract for services, materials, supplies and/or equipment required by any city department in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this chapter, such administrative regulations as the purchasing officer shall adopt for the internal management and operation of the purchasing office and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the city council;

B. Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the purchase of services, materials, supplies and/or equipment;

C. Procure for the city the needed quality in services, materials, supplies and/or equipment at the least expense;

D. Discourage uniform or collusive bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;

E. Prepare and recommend rules governing the purchase of services, materials, supplies and/or equipment for the city;

F. Prepare and recommend revisions and amendments to the purchasing rules;

G. Keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing, prices, market conditions and new products;

H. Prescribe and maintain such forms as reasonably necessary to the operation of this chapter and other purchasing rules and regulations;

I. Supervise the inspection of all services, materials, supplies and/or equipment purchased to insure conformance with specifications;

J. Recommend the transfer of surplus or unused supplies, materials and/or equipment between city departments as needed and the sale or trade of all supplies, materials and/or equipment which cannot be used by any city department or which have become unsuitable for city use; and

K. Maintain a bidders' list, vendors catalog file and records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing office.

For the purpose of this chapter:

"Emergency" means any natural disaster, work stoppage or other action or activity that impairs public health, safety or both.

A. "Materials", supplies and/or equipment" means all materials, supplies and/or equipment of whatever kind purchased by the city except materials, supplies and/or equipment for public works projects and governed by law related to bidding for public works projects.

B. "Professional services" means the services of attorneys, physicians, architects, engineers, consultants, auditors, specialized printers, other individuals or organizations possessing a high degree of professional, unique, specialized, technical skill and/or expertise not adaptable to competitive bidding, individuals contracting for special activities or negotiating for the acquisition of land, individuals contracting to provide services related to insurance bonds or any other services of a similar nature engaged for a particular project or series of projects, or other governmental agencies.

C. "Services" means all types of service except services provided by persons performing professional services.

The purchasing officer may authorize any city department to purchase or contract for specified services, materials, supplies and/or equipment independently of the purchasing officer, provided that such purchases or contracts shall be made in conformity with the procedures established by this chapter. Such authorization by the purchasing officer may be either verbal or in writing, except that any authorization in excess of the informal purchase limits shall be in writing.

All city departments shall file detailed estimates of their requirements for services, materials, supplies and/or equipment in such manner, at such time, and for such future periods as the purchasing officer shall prescribe.

Any single purchase of contractual services, materials, supplies and/or equipment of an estimated value of less than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00) may be made by the purchasing officer in the open market, subject only to such limitations as are set forth by the city council.

City departments requiring services, materials, supplies and/or equipment shall submit requests to the purchasing officer by standard requisition forms provided by the purchasing office.

Any single purchase of services, materials, supplies and/or equipment of an estimated value of Fifteen Thousand Dollars to Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00 to $25,000.00) may be made by the purchasing officer by observing the following procedures:

A. Inviting Informal Bids. The purchasing officer may solicit bids by written requests to prospective vendors, by telephone or by public notice posted on a public bulletin board in the Monte Sereno City Hall or by any other means deemed reasonably effective.

B. Written Informal Bids. The purchasing officer may accept sealed, written informal bids or oral bids as deemed appropriate.

C. Minimum Number of Bids. Purchases shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three (3) informal bids, and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, purchases and contracts for services, supplies, materials and/or equipment of an estimated value in excess of Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00) shall be formally bid as provided hereinafter.

A. Notice Inviting Bids. Notice inviting bids shall be published at least ten (10) days before the date set for opening the bids. (Notice shall be published at least once in a trade paper, magazine or a newspaper of general circulation). Notices inviting bids shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased, where bid blanks and specifications may be secured, and the time and place for opening bids.

B. Sealed Bids. Bids shall be submitted in sealed envelopes on or before the hour set by the city to receive the bids.

C. Bidders' Security. When deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, bidders' security may be required as set forth in public notices inviting bids. Unsuccessful bidders shall be entitled to return of their bid security. The successful bidder shall forfeit his bid security upon refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten (10) days after the notice of award of the contract has been mailed first class, postage prepaid by the city. The city council may, on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award the contract to the next lowest responsible bidder.

D. Bid Opening Procedure. The sealed bids shall be submitted to the purchasing officer 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.

E. Rejection of Bids. In its discretion, for any reason whatsoever, the city council may reject all bids presented, readvertise for bids, or waive the bidding procedure if deemed necessary by a four-fifths (⅘) vote of the city council.

F. Award of Contracts. Contracts shall be awarded by the city council to the lowest responsible bidder, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

G. 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 for delay to re-advertise for bids, the city council may accept the bid it chooses or accept the lowest bid made by negotiation with the tie bidders.

H. Emergency Procedures. In the event of an emergency as defined in Section 2.05.030, the purchasing office may purchase services, supplies, materials and/or equipment in the open market without complying with the provisions of this chapter.

By Council Resolution No. 1763, the City Council elected to be subject to the uniform construction accounting procedures set forth in Article 2 (commencing with Section 22010) of the California Public Contract Code (the "Act"). Public projects of the public works department, as defined in the Act (Section 22002), or as those sections may be amended from time to time by the state legislature, shall be advertised, bid and awarded in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 22030) of the Act. To the extent Sections 2.05.100 through 2.05.140 are inconsistent with the Act, the provisions of the Act shall prevail.

Public projects, as defined in the Act, of less than Seventy-five Thousand Dollars ($75,000.00) may be let as set forth in Section 22032, et seq., of the Act.

A list of contractors shall be developed and maintained in accordance with the provisions of Section 22034 of the Act and criteria promulgated from time to time by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission (the "Commission").

When a public project is to be performed that is subject to Section 2.05.010, a notice inviting informal bids will be mailed to all contractors for the category of work to be bid, as shown on the list developed in accordance with Section 2.05.120 Additional contractors or construction trade journals may be notified at the discretion of the department soliciting bids, provided however:

A. If there is no list of qualified contractors maintained by the City for the particular category of work to be performed, the notice inviting bids shall be sent only to the construction trade journals specified by the Commission; and

B. If the product or service is proprietary in nature such that it can be obtained only from a certain contractor or contractors, the notice inviting informal bids may be sent exclusively to that contractor or contractors.

The City Council will award informal contracts for public works projects and purchases under Section 2.05.080 or designate a specific City officer to make the award on a project by project basis.

Except in the event of an emergency as outlined in Section 2.05.090(H) of this Chapter, the Purchasing Officer shall not issue any purchase order for services, materials, supplies and/or equipment unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which the purchase is to be charged.

All City departments shall submit to the Purchasing Officer, at such times and in such manner as he/she may prescribe, reports showing all supplies, materials and/or equipment which are no longer used or which have become obsolete or no longer usable by the City. The Purchasing Officer shall have authority to sell, exchange or trade supplies, materials and/or equipment which no longer can be used by any City department or which are unsuitable for City use, or trade the same for new supplies, materials and/or equipment.

Whenever available at a reasonably comparable price, quality and fitness for intended use, the Purchasing Officer shall purchase recycled materials and supplies. All vendors providing paper products and printing and writing paper shall:

A. Provide recycled-content paper products and recycled-content printing and writing paper that consists of at least thirty (30) percent, by fiber weight, post-consumer fiber, if fitness and quality are equal, and available at equal or lesser price.

B. Provide paper products and printing and writing paper that meet Federal Trade Commission recyclability standard as defined in 16 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 260.12.

C. Certify in writing, under penalty of perjury, the minimum percentage of post-consumer material in the paper products and printing and writing paper offered or sold to the City. This certification requirement may be waived if the percentage of post-consumer material in the paper products, printing and writing paper, or both can be verified by a product label, catalog, invoice, or a manufacturer or vendor internet website.

D. Certify in writing, on invoices or receipts provided, that the paper products and printing and writing paper offered or sold to the City is eligible to be labeled with an unqualified recyclable label as defined in 16 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 260.12.

E. Provide records to the City's recovered organic waste product procurement recordkeeping designee of all paper products and printing and writing paper purchases within thirty (30) days of the purchase (both recycled-content and non-recycled content, if any is purchased) made by any division or department or employee of the City. Records should include a copy (electronic or paper) of the invoice or other documentation of purchase, written certifications as required in in this section for recycled-content purchases, purchaser name, quantity purchased, date purchased, and recycled content (including products that contain none), and if non-recycled content paper products are provided, include a description of why recycled-content paper products were not provided.

(Ord. No. NS-227, § 4, 11-2-2021)