San Diego Municipal Code Div. 32 Contracts for Goods, Services, and Consultants

(“Contracts for Personal Services, Goods, and Consultants” added 6–29–1998 by O–18532 N.S.) (Retitled to “Contracts for Services, Goods, and Consultants on 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.) (Retitled to “Contracts for Goods, Services, and Consultants” on 1-18-2018 by O-20893 N.S.; effective 2-17-2018.)

(a) This Division establishes requirements for award of contracts for goods, contracts for services, and consultant contracts.

(b) This Division authorizes the Purchasing Agent to enter into contracts on
behalf of City departments and establishes thresholds below which the
Purchasing Agent may award contracts without City Council approval. The
City Manager may exercise the authority granted to the Purchasing Agent by
this Division. The Purchasing Agent and City Manager may designate City
employees to act on their behalf in the award of contracts.
(“Purpose and Intent” added 6–29–1998 by O–18532 N.S.)
(Amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012.)
(Retitled to “Purpose and Intent; Authorization” and amended 1-18-2018 by
O-20893 N.S.; effective 2-17-2018.)

Except as otherwise provided in section 22.3208:

(a) For consultant contracts estimated to be $25,000 or more, notice of requests
for qualifications and proposals shall be published in a newspaper or posted
on the City’s website, or a website of a firm hired by the City to post such
notices.

(b) The selection of private architectural, landscape architectural, engineering,
environmental, land surveying, or construction project management firms
shall be on the basis of demonstrated competence and on the professional
qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services
required.

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(1) The Purchasing Agent shall negotiate the cost of the consultant
contract with the most qualified firm, for a price determined to be fair
and reasonable to the City.

(2) If the Purchasing Agent is unable to reach agreement with the most
qualified firm on the cost of the consultant contract, the Purchasing
Agent shall reject the proposal of the most qualified firm and may
begin negotiations with the next most qualified firm.

(3) This negotiation process may continue until an agreement is reached
with a qualified firm, or until all proposal are rejected pursuant to this
section or section 22.3015.

(c) The selection of all other consultants shall be on the basis of the proposal
offering the best value to the City, considering price, qualifications,
experience, and other factors determined by the Purchasing Agent.

(d) The Purchasing Agent may establish a short-list of qualified firms through
requests for qualifications or proposals to compete for consultant services on a
rotating, as-needed basis.

(e) This section does not apply to consultant contracts that are entered into pursuant to a developer reimbursement agreement as defined in Chapter 14, Article 2, Division 6 of this Code. (f) A consultant shall not be retained through a cooperative procurement contract. (g) In the selection of consultants, the Purchasing Agent shall follow the requirements of Chapter 2, Article 2, Division 36 of this Code to maximize the participation of small and local businesses. (“Authority to Enter Contracts; Competitive Bid Process Required” added 6–29–1998 by O–18532 N.S.) (Amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012.) (Retitled to “Competitive Process for Consultant Contracts” and amended 1-18-2018 by O-20893 N.S.; effective 2-17-2018.) (Amended 6-4-2020 by O-21192 N.S.; effective 7-4-2020.) (Amended 8-10-2022 by O-21516 N.S.; effective 9-9-2022.)

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Except as otherwise provided in section 22.3208, contracts for goods and contracts for services shall be awarded through a competitive process based on the estimated amount of City funds to be paid to the winning bidder under the contract.

(a) For contracts greater than $25,000 but equal to or less than $50,000, the
Purchasing Agent may award the contract but shall seek competitive prices
either orally or in writing.

(b) For contracts greater than $50,000 but equal to or less than $150,000, the
Purchasing Agent may award the contract but shall solicit written price
quotations from at least five potential sources.

(c) Contracts greater than $150,000 may be awarded only after the Purchasing
Agent advertises for sealed bids or proposals for a minimum of one day in the
City official newspaper at least ten days before bids or proposals are due.

(d) For contracts greater than $25,000, the Purchasing Agent shall follow the
requirements of Chapter 2, Article 2, Division 36 of this Code to maximize
the participation of small and local businesses.
(“Use of Brand Name in Specifications; Offers of “Or Equals;” Testing” added
6-29–1998 by O–18532 N.S.)
(“Competitive Process for Contracts for Goods and Services” added 4-23-2012 by
O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012. Former Section 22.3203 repealed.)
(Amended 5-15-2014 by O-20364 N.S.; effective 6-14-2014.)
(Amended 12-17-2014 by O-20443 N.S.; effective 1-16-2015.)
(Amended 8-10-2022 by O-21516 N.S.; effective 9-9-2022.)

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The Purchasing Agent is prohibited from subdividing into two or more purchases any purchase of goods or services for an expenditure of $150,000 or more that logically should be made as a single transaction if the purpose of the subdividing is to avoid the bidding requirements of the San Diego Municipal Code and the City Charter. (“Subdividing Purchase Prohibited” added 6–29–1998 by O–18532 N.S.) (Amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012.) (Amended 5-15-2014 by O-20364 N.S.; effective 6-14-2014.)

All contracts for services shall be reviewed by the Civil Service Commission. (“Civil Service Commission Review” added 6–29–1998 by O–18532 N.S.) (Amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012.) (Amended 5-15-2014 by O-20364 N.S.; effective 6-14-2014.)

(a) Except as provided in section 22.3206(b), the Purchasing Agent shall award contracts for goods and contracts for services to the bidder offering the best value to the City, considering price and other factors. The City may consider the following factors in evaluating which bid or proposal offers the best value to the City: unit cost, life cycle cost, economic cost analysis, operating efficiency, warranty and quality, compatibility with existing equipment, maintenance costs (including the costs associated with proprietary invention), experience and responsibility of the bidder, and any additional factors the City deems relevant.

(b) The Purchasing Agent may award contracts for goods and contracts for
services to the lowest responsible and reliable bidder if the Purchasing Agent
determines that the quality of the goods or services in responsive bids will be
substantially equal and that the primary difference between bids will be the
price.

(c) The Purchasing Agent may award a contract for goods through a reverse
auction.

(d) The Purchasing Agent may award a contract for goods or a contract for
services that provides for an expenditure of an amount greater than
$3,000,000 provided that:

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(1) The procurement for goods, services, or both, is identified and
appropriated through the Annual Appropriation Ordinance, or the
annual appropriation changed as authorized by Charter section 73; and

(2) The Purchasing Agent advertised for sealed bids or proposals for a
minimum of one day in the City official newspaper at least ten days
before bids or proposals are due and the contract for goods or contract
for services is awarded through a competitive process, unless the
contract is not required to be competitively awarded as provided in
section 22.3208.

(3) The City Council may, by resolution, require that certain procurements
identified and appropriated through the Annual Appropriation
Ordinance, or the annual appropriation changed as authorized by
Charter section 73, be returned to City Council for approval prior to
contract award.

(e) Unless otherwise provided in this Division, contracts for goods and contracts
for services that exceed $3,000,000 as awarded, amended, or extended, must
be approved by the City Council.
(“Award of Contracts for Goods and Services” added 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.;
effective 5-23-2012.)
(Amended 5-15-2014 by O-20364 N.S.; effective 6-14-2014.)
(Amended 12-17-2014 by O-20443 N.S.; effective 1-16-2015.)
(Amended 6-4-2020 by O-21192 N.S.; effective 7-4-2020.)

(a) The Purchasing Agent may award a consultant contract without City Council approval if:

(1) The consultant contract does not exceed $1,000,000; and

(2) The total cumulative amount of contract awards to the consultant,
including the current award, does not exceed $1,000,000 in any given
fiscal year.

(b) Notwithstanding section 22.3207(a), the Purchasing Agent may award
a consultant contract for a public works project without City Council
approval provided that:

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(1) The public works project was previously identified and appropriated
through the Annual Capital Improvements Program budget adopted by
City Council or identified in a City Council resolution establishing an
Underground Utility District;

(2) The consultant contract does not exceed $3,000,000; and

(3) The total cumulative amount of contract awards to the consultant,
including the current award, does not exceed $5,000,000 in any given
fiscal year.

(c) All other consultant contracts must be approved by the City Council.

(d) Notwithstanding section 22.3207(b), when the Annual Capital Improvements
Program budget is approved, the City Council may, in that resolution, require
certain consultant contracts for public works projects in the budget to be
returned to City Council for approval prior to award.

(e) Notwithstanding section 22.3207(b), when a resolution establishing an
Underground Utility District is adopted, the City Council may, in that
resolution, require certain consultant contracts for public works projects in
that Underground Utility District be returned to City Council for approval
prior to award.
(“Award of Consultant Contracts” added 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective
5-23-2012.)
(Amended 12-9-2013 by O-20325 N.S.; effective 1-8-2014.)
(Amended 8-10-2022 by O-21516 N.S.; effective 9-9-2022.)
(Amended 10-12-2022 by O-21537 N.S.; effective 11-11-2022.)

The Purchasing Agent may award the following contracts without advertisement or a competitive process:

(a) A contract that provides for an expenditure of $25,000 or less;

(b) A contract necessary to safeguard life, health, or property due to extraordinary
fire, flood, storm, epidemic, or other disaster, provided that:

(1) The Purchasing Agent immediately reports the emergency award and
its justifications to the City Council in writing; and

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(2) The City Council ratifies the award by resolution and by a two-thirds
vote.

(c) A cooperative procurement contract provided that the Purchasing Agent first
certifies in writing that the cooperative procurement contract:

(1) Is in the best interests of the City; and

(2) Is to the City’s economic advantage; and

(3) Was competitively awarded using a process that complies with the
policies, rules, and regulations developed and implemented by the City
Manager.

(d) A sole source contract certified by the Purchasing Agent pursuant to section
22.3016, provided that if the justification of the sole source contract is the
emergency nature of the project, the Purchasing Agent notifies the City
Council and obtains the City Council’s approval pursuant to section
22.3208(b).

(e) Purchase orders for an expenditure greater than $25,000 for commercially
available materials and supplies provided that they are:

(1) Required by City forces for immediate completion of work in
progress; and

(2) Less than $150,000.

(f) Contracts for inmate services which comply with section 22.3209.

(g) Contracts for services with agencies or non-profit organizations which
comply with section 22.3210.

(h) An energy conservation contract in the best interest of the City awarded in compliance with California Government Code sections 4217.10 through 4217.18. (Renumbered from former Section 22.3212, retitled to “Contracts Not Required to be Competitively Awarded” and amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012.) (Amended 5-15-2014 by O-20364 N.S.; effective 6-14-2014.) (Amended 12-17-2014 by O-20442 N.S.; effective 1-16-2015.) (Amended 6-4-2020 by O-21192 N.S.; effective 7-4-2020.) (Amended 3-11-2021 by O-21298 N.S.; effective 4-10-2021.)

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The Purchasing Agent may award a contract for inmate services without City Council approval provided that:

(a) The Purchasing Agent has certified in writing that the contract is in the public
interest; and

(b) The contract does not exceed $500,000 per year; and

(c) The Purchasing Agent has considered all of the following:

(1) Whether the agency agrees to direct supervision of the workers; and

(2) Whether the agency agrees to provide workers’ compensation
insurance for the workers; and

(3) Whether the agency agrees to indemnify, protect, defend, and hold the
City harmless against any and all claims alleged to be caused or
caused by any act or omission of the worker or agency employee.
(Renumbered from former Section 22.3221, retitled to “Contracts For Inmate
Services” and amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.; effective 5-23-2012.)
(Retitled from “Contracts For Inmate Services” to “Contracts for Inmate Services”
on 6-4-2020 by O-21192 N.S.; effective 7-4-2020.)

The Purchasing Agent may award contracts for services to any agency or to any non- profit organization qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code without City Council approval, provided that:

(a) The Purchasing Agent has certified in writing that the contract furthers a
specific public policy; and

(b) The Purchasing Agent has certified in writing that the contract is in the public
interest; and

(c) The contract does not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year; and

(d) The Purchasing Agent has considered all of the following:

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(1) Whether the agency or non–profit organization agrees to direct
supervision of the workers; and

(2) Whether the agency or non–profit organization agrees to provide
workers’ compensation insurance for the workers; and

(3) Whether the agency or non–profit organization agrees to indemnify,
protect, defend, and hold the City harmless against any and all claims
alleged to be caused or caused by any act or omission of the worker
or agency employee.
(Renumbered from former Section 22.3222, retitled to “Contracts for Services with
Agencies and Non–Profit Organization” and amended 4-23-2012 by O-20148 N.S.;
effective 5-23-2012.)
(Amended 5-15-2014 by O-20364 N.S.; effective 6-14-2014.)

The City Manager may enter into a Caltrans Cooperative Agreement without City Council approval provided that:

(a) The City’s contribution does not exceed $30,000,000 for construction costs or
$5,000,000 for design and other construction support services for a particular
project; and

(b) The project was identified and appropriated through the Annual Capital
Improvements Program budget adopted by City Council.
(“Caltrans Cooperative Agreements” added 10-12-2022 by O-21537 N.S.; effective
11-11-2022.)

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Article 2: Administrative Code