Placerville Municipal Code Ch. 6 Purchasing System

In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of supplies and equipment, to secure for the city supplies and equipment, to secure for the city supplies and equipment at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, to exercise positive financial control over purchases, to clearly define authority for the purchasing function and to assure the quality of purchases, a purchasing system is hereby adopted. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

There is hereby created the position of purchasing officer. The city administrator shall be the purchasing officer 1 . The purchasing officer shall have authority to:

(A) Purchase or contract for supplies and equipment required by any department in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this chapter, such administrative regulations as the purchasing officer shall adopt and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the council.

(B) Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the purchase of supplies and equipment.

(C) Act to procure for the city the needed quality in supplies and equipment at the 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 council rules governing the purchase of supplies and equipment for the city.

(F) Prepare and recommend to the council 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 are reasonably necessary to the operation of this chapter and other rules and regulations.

(I) Supervise the inspection of all supplies and equipment purchased to ensure conformance with specifications.

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

(K) Maintain a bidders list, vendors catalog file, and records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing department. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

The purchasing officer, with approval of the council, may authorize, in writing, any department to purchase or contract specified supplies and equipment independently of purchasing department, but he shall require that the purchases or contracts shall be made in conformity with the procedures established by this chapter, and shall further require periodic reports from the department on purchases and contracts under such written authorization. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

Purchases of supplies and equipment shall be by bid procedures pursuant to sections 1-6-7 and 1-6-8 of this chapter. Bidding shall be dispensed with only when an emergency requires that an order be placed with the nearest available source of supply, when the amount involved is less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or when the commodity can be obtained from only one vendor. (Ord. 1532, 5-14-1996)

Purchases of supplies and equipment shall be made only by purchase order. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

Except in cases of emergency, the purchasing officer shall not issue any purchase order for supplies or equipment unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which the purchase is to be charged. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

Except as otherwise provided herein, purchases and contracts for supplies and equipment of estimated value greater than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) shall be by written contract with the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the procedure prescribed herein.

(A) Notice Inviting Bids: Notices inviting bids shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased, shall state where bid blanks and specifications may be secured, and the time and place for opening bids.

1. Published Notice: Notice inviting bids shall be given at least ten (10) days before the date of opening of the bids. Notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the city, or if there is none, it shall be posted in at least three (3) public places in the city that have been designated by ordinance as the places for posting public notices.

2. Bidders List: The purchasing officer, or designated department head, shall also solicit sealed bids from all responsible prospective suppliers whose names are on the bidders list or who have requested their names to be added thereto.

3. Bulletin Board: The purchasing officer, or designated department head, shall also advertise pending purchases by a notice posted on a public bulletin board in the city hall.

(B) Bidder's Security: When deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, bidder's security may be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to return of the bid security; provided, that a 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 contract has been mailed, unless the city is responsible for the delay. The council may, on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the council awards the contract to the next bidder, the amount of the lowest bidder's security shall be applied by the city to the difference between the low bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.

(C) Bid Opening Procedure: Sealed bids shall be submitted to the city clerk 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.

(D) Rejection Of Bids: In its discretion, the council may reject any and all bids presented and readvertise for bids.

(E) Award Of Contracts: Contracts shall be awarded by the council to the lowest responsible bidder except as otherwise provided herein.

(F) Tie Bids: If two (2) 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 the delay of readvertising for the bids, the council may accept the one it chooses or accept the lowest bid made by negotiation with the tie bidders at the time of the bid opening.

(G) Performance Bonds: The council shall have authority to require a performance bond before entering into a contract in such amount as it shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the city. If the council requires a performance bond, the form and amount of the bond shall be described in the notice inviting bids. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

Purchases of supplies and equipment of an estimated value in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), but not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) may be made by the purchasing officer by informal bidding without observing the procedures prescribed by section 1-6-7 of this chapter.

(A) Bids: Three (3) bids shall be obtained, and the purchase shall be awarded based on the following factors: product availability, service and price. A bid from a local vendor shall be given preference if its price is essentially the same as that from a vendor outside the city limits, is responsive, and meets the other applicable provisions of this section.

(B) Local Vendor: "Local vendor" shall mean a business or individual who regularly maintains a place of business and/or has an inventory of merchandise for sale within the boundaries of the city, and has obtained a city business license as provided for in title 5, chapter 1 of this code. (Ord. 1532, 5-14-1996)

The purchasing officer or ordering department shall inspect supplies and equipment delivered to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order or contract. The purchasing officer or ordering department shall have authority to require chemical and physical tests of samples submitted with bids and samples of deliveries which are necessary to determine their quality and conformance with specifications. (Ord. 1417, 6-23-1987)

(A) COOPERATIVE PURCHASE AGREEMENT: The purchase of goods, services or equipment, utilizing a form of intergovernmental cooperative purchasing in which one government agency or jurisdiction performs the solicitation and award process for several agencies or jurisdictions, but separate contracts or purchase orders are executed between each participating agency and the vendor.

(B) PIGGY-BACK AGREEMENT: The form of intergovernmental cooperative purchasing in which a public agency requests competitive bids, enters into a contract and arranges, as part of the contract for other public agencies to purchase from the selected vendor under the same terms and conditions as itself. This process eliminates the need to competitively bid the particular item again. May only be used if the public agency received the competitive bids within two (2) years prior to the award of contract under piggy-back.

(C) As an exception to competitive bidding requirements, and as long as the purchasing officer determines the commodity or equipment can be procured using a cooperative purchase agreement (e.g., through Sourcewell, NIPA or GSA) and, the price to the City is equal to or better than the price to that public agency, the Purchasing Officer is authorized to identify and pursue cooperative agreements with the State of California, Counties, other Cities and other governmental agencies and organizations in order to obtain cost savings for the City.

(D) When the Purchasing Officer identifies a Piggyback Agreement being prepared by and processed through another local, state, or federal governmental agency: Under such circumstances, the Purchasing Officer may join into an existing written purchase contract obtained within the last twenty-four (24) months through a competitive bidding process prepared by and awarded by another local, state or federal governmental agency. City Council consent is required for such arrangements where the estimated value of the equipment or supplies is twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or more. (Ord. 1718, 3-12-2024)

ARTICLE A. INFORMAL BIDDING PROCEDURES UNDER THE UNIFORM PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION COST ACCOUNTING ACT 1

SECTION:

(A) The city council of the city of Placerville hereby elects to be subject to the uniform construction cost accounting procedures set forth in division 2, part 3, chapter 2, article 2 (commencing with section 22010) of the California Public Contract Code. The dollar amounts set forth hereinbelow shall be subject to any amendments to California Public Contract Code section 22032 as said section may be amended from time to time.

(B) "Public projects", as defined by the uniform public construction cost accounting act ("the act") (commencing with Public Contract Code section 22000), of less than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00), or the current amount in section 22032 of the Public Contract Code as it may from time to time be amended, may be performed by the employees of the city by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.

(C) Public projects of less than one hundred twenty five thousand dollars ($125,000.00), or the current amount in section 22032 of the Public Contract Code as it may from time to time be amended, may be let to contract by informal procedures as set forth in the act.

(D) Public projects of more than one hundred twenty five thousand dollars ($125,000.00), or the current amount in section 22032 of the Public Contract Code as it may from time to time be amended, shall, except as otherwise provided, be let to contract by formal bidding procedure. (Ord. 1645, 12-13-2011)

A list of contractors shall be developed and maintained in accordance with the provisions of section 22034 of the Public Contract Code and criteria promulgated from time to time by the California uniform construction cost accounting commission. (Ord. 1416, 6-23-1987)

(A) Where a public project is to be performed which is subject to the provisions of this article, a notice inviting informal bids shall be mailed to all contractors for the category of work to be bid, as shown on the list developed in accordance with section 1-6A-2 of this article, and to all construction trade journals as specified by the California uniform construction cost accounting commission in accordance with section 22036 of the Public Contract Code. Additional contractors and/or construction trade journals may be noticed at the discretion of the department/agency soliciting bids; provided, however:

1. 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.

2. 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 such contractor or contractors.

(B) All mailing of notices to contractors and construction trade journals pursuant to this section shall be completed not less than ten (10) calendar days before bids are due. The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms, how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids. (Ord. 1416, 6-23-1987)