Salinas Municipal Code Art. III Purchasing

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, adopted October 14, 2025, amended Article III in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Article III, §§ 12-18—12-27, pertained to the same subject matter, and derived from Ord. No. 1688 (NCS), § 1.; Ord. No. 2243(NCS), § 1.; Ord. No. 2576(NCS), § 1, August 30, 2016; Ord. No. 2685(NCS), § 1—3, November 19, 2024.

This article shall be known as the City of Salinas purchasing ordinance. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Code, it shall govern all purchasing activity of the City.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

(a) "Professional Services" are services which require the exercise of professional discretion and independent judgment, based on advanced or specialized knowledge, expertise, or training gained by formal studies or experience.

(b) "Public Works Purchases" means, for purposes of this article, purchases for public works projects. "Public Works Projects" means construction, alteration, demolition, or repair work done under contract and paid for in whole or in part out of public funds. Public Works Project does not include maintenance work, which includes routine, recurring, and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned or operated facility for its intended purpose.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

The Purchasing Agent shall be appointed by the City Manager.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

Subject to specific limitations stated in this article, and except as may otherwise be specifically provided in this article, the Purchasing Agent shall have the following powers and duties:

(a) To act as the sole agent for the City in contracting for supplies, materials, equipment, and contractual services, except with respect to the procurement of legal services in which case the Purchasing Agent shall be the City Attorney.

(b) To prepare an [and] maintain a current purchasing manual to provide for the implementation of this article and for the direction and information of users and the public.

(c) To prepare or supervise preparation of written specifications and advertising.

(d) To advertise and award bids as authorized.

(e) To execute purchase orders and changes thereto.

(f) To inspect or supervise the inspection of delivered items to ensure adherence to specifications and standards.

(g) To purchase only when funds are available.

(h) To edit and issue specifications for all bids or quotations.

(i) To prescribe and maintain such forms as are reasonably necessary to fulfill the duties described in this section.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

(a) General Purchases. Except as otherwise directed by the City Council or pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, whenever the amount to be expended for any purchase in excess of two hundred-fifty thousand dollars the Purchasing Agent shall advertise for sealed bids and the contract of purchase shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

(b) Public Works Purchases. For public works purchases, except as otherwise directed by the City Council, whenever the amount to be expended for any purchase is in excess of two hundred-fifty thousand dollars, the Purchasing Agent shall advertise for sealed bids and the contract of purchase shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. The two hundred-fifty thousand dollar limit set forth above shall automatically adjust annually to reflect the construction cost index percentage change as published by the Engineering News Record. In no event shall the adjusted limit be less than two hundred-fifty thousand dollars.

(c) Bid Solicitation. Bid solicitation requests made pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) shall be published in a local newspaper of general circulation describing the goods and services required, stating the date, time, and place assigned for the public opening of the bids. No bids will be received at any time subsequent to the time indicated in the announcement. The Purchasing Agent shall submit a tabulation of bids to the City Council together with recommendations for award to the lowest responsible bidder.

(d) Rejection of Bids. The council, City Manager, and/or the Purchasing Agent shall have authority to reject any and all bids.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

All purchase orders or contracts for services, materials, equipment, or supplies involving general purchases or public works purchase of two hundred-fifty thousand dollars or less, may be approved by the City Manager. The two hundred-fifty thousand dollars limit set forth in this section shall automatically adjust annually, with respect to general purchases to reflect the change in the April Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward areas, and with respect to public works purchases to reflect the construct cost index percentage change as published by the Engineering News Record. In no event shall the adjusted limit be less than two hundred-fifty thousand dollars. These contracts shall be let in the open market in the manner calculated to ensure the best interests of the public, after solicitation for quotations by mail, telephone, or competitive negotiation by the Purchasing Agent. In the solicitation for competitive quotations, the Purchasing Agent shall contact as many local sources of supply as reasonable for the solicitation.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

In determining the lowest responsible bid, criteria will include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) The extent to which the offer meets the requirements and specifications of the City;

(b) Long-term and short-term costs to the City, including maintenance;

(c) Impact on operational efficiency, which includes delivery requirements;

(d) Reliability of the suppliers to provide and warranty the items procured; and

(e) Financial stability of the bidder.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

In the case of emergency affecting the public's health and safety, the Purchasing Agent and City Manager are authorized to purchase supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services required for such emergency, without regard to amount limitation or prior approval of the City Council.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

Exceptions to the competitive bidding requirements are professional services pertaining to, but not limited to, physicians, attorneys, appraisers, architects, engineers, auctioneers, consultants, arbitrators, designers, and auditors, or goods or services pertaining to, but not limited to, insurance, copyrighted materials, sole source items, gas, electricity, water, and cooperative purchasing with other governmental agencies, such as school districts, local, county, state, or federal agencies, when it is to the advantage of the City to purchase from such other governmental agencies.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

All purchases whatsoever shall be made only by the Purchasing Agent or, where specifically provided for in this article, by the City Manager, and no such purchase for the use of the City or any department thereof shall be valid or binding upon the City unless made by the Purchasing Agent or where authorized by the City Manager.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)

For those general purchases or public works purchases subject to approval by the City Council, except where competitive bidding is required by federal law or by reason of the source of funding for the project, the goods, materials, equipment, supplies, and/or services may be procured by negotiated contract and without exclusive low-bid based competition when the City Council determines that, due to the nature of the purchase, low-bid based competition is not likely to serve the best interests of the City, yield the best value to the City, or result in the lower price.

(Ord. No. 2689(NCS), § 1, 10-14-2025)