Shasta County Municipal Code Ch. 3.04 Purchasing

A. Except as otherwise provided by law or the board of supervisors, all purchases, lease purchases, leases, rentals, and contracts ("purchases") for materials, supplies, furnishings, equipment, livestock and other personal property required by any department or other organizational unit of the county shall be made on behalf of the county by or under the direction of the purchasing agent in accordance with state law and this chapter.

B. The purchasing agent may engage independent contractors to perform services for the county, with or without the furnishing of materials, so long as sufficient funds have been budgeted and the aggregate cost for each service does not exceed the maximum sum allowed by Government Code Section 25502.3; provided however, that the board may, by resolution, prescribe a sum lower than the amount authorized by Section 25502.3.

C. This chapter does not apply to the following services: legal services, legal brief printing, legal notices, election supplies, insurance, utility services, and ordinary travel expense items.

D. The chief executive officer or his or her designee(s) shall act as the county purchasing agent. Any such designee shall be subject to the direct supervision of the chief executive officer.

(Ord. 2007-1 § 1, 2007: Ord. 2005-5 § 1, 2005: Ord. 94-3 § 1, 1994; Ord. 92-6 § 1, 1992; Ord. 494-345 § 1, 1989: prior code § 1700)

A. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all purchases shall be based upon competitive procurement practices, including bids, quotations and proposals. However, if limitations on the source of supply, necessary restrictions in specifications, urgency to prevent loss of life or damage to property or other substantial reason for waiving competitive procurement practices exists, the purchasing agency may do so. If the cost of a purchase for which competitive procurement is proposed to be waived would or could exceed fifty thousand dollars, approval of the board of supervisors is first required.

B. At the discretion of the purchasing agency, purchases of less than twenty-five thousand dollars may be made on the open market without competitive quotations.

(Ord. 96-1 § 1, 1996: Ord. 93-12 (part), 1993; Ord. 91-11 § 1, 1991: Ord. 91-9 (part), 1991: Ord. 494-345 § 2, 1989: prior code § 1701)

A. If the cost of a purchase of related items commonly sold by a class of vendors would or could exceed twenty-five thousand dollars, a formal sealed bid shall be solicited by mailing a written invitation to known vendors, or by posting the invitation on a public bulletin board in the office of the purchasing agent, or by publishing the invitation or a summary of it in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. The award of formal sealed bids which exceed fifty thousand dollars requires advance approval by the board of supervisors.

B. If detailed specifications are required for any bid, the invitation shall include those specifications or indicate where they may be obtained. Each invitation shall specify the time and place where the bids will be opened. Each invitation shall include the following statement:

A bidder who attempts to influence the bid process by interfering or colluding with other bidders, or with any County officer, employee or agent, or who deviates from the bid process as set forth in this invitation may be disqualified at any time from further participation in this bid.

C. Bid or performance bonds may be required at the discretion of the purchasing agent.

(Ord. 96-1 § 2, 1996; Ord. 93-12 (part), 1993; Ord. 91-9 (part), 1991: Ord. 494-345 § 3, 1989: prior code § 1702)

A. If any bidder fails or refuses to furnish the purchasing agent with any information required to determine the bidder's responsibility as a bidder, the bid shall not be considered by the purchasing agent.

B. A bid that is not responsive to an invitation, or any specifications made a part of an invitation, shall not be considered by the purchasing agent.

C. The purchasing agent may remove from the list of prospective bidders the name of any person who fails or refuses to submit bids in response to at least two consecutive requests for bids on commodities of a class furnished by the person.

D. The purchasing agent may exclude from bidding any person who has failed to meet prior contractual requirements related to purchases made by the county.

(Ord. 494-345 § 4, 1989: prior code § 1703)

A. A five-percent preference not to exceed ten thousand dollars shall be granted to qualified local bidders on all formal sealed bids, except as to those contracts which state law requires to be granted to the lowest responsible bidder.

B. To qualify for local bidder preference, a local bidder must either submit a copy of a current city business license, issued by a city within the geographical boundaries of the county of Shasta, or complete and sign a declaration under penalty of perjury, stating that as of the date the request for bids was issued, the business as listed on the bid was physically maintained and operated at a fixed office or other business premises located within the geographical limits of the county, and providing such other information as may be requested.

(Ord. 96-1 § 3, 1996; Ord. 91-10 § 1, 1991)

A. Formal sealed bids shall be opened and awarded by or under the direction of the purchasing agent, unless the invitation to bid or the board of supervisors directs otherwise.

B. Except as provided for in Section 3.04.045, formal sealed bids shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder meeting all bid specifications. Bids shall be opened at the time and place specified in the invitation or as soon thereafter as is reasonably possible. The purchasing agent may reject any bid for failure of the bid to respond to the invitation, including any specifications, for which the bid is submitted. The purchasing agent may provide a written explanation to any bidder whose bid has been rejected, upon written request from the bidder for such an explanation. The purchasing agent may reject all bids submitted in response to a particular invitation. The purchasing agent may waive any minor deviation from the specifications applicable to any bid or any minor technical error in any bid and may award the bid in spite of such a deviation or error, if the purchasing agent determines the award of the bid to be in the best interests of the county.

C. Each bid or the full details of each bid shall be kept on file by the purchasing agent and available for public inspection, together with the name of the successful bidder, for thirty days after a bid is awarded.

(Ord. 91-10 § 2, 1991: prior code § 1704)

The purchasing agent may purchase any materials, equipment or supplies available under a General Services Administration contract, a state of California contract, or any other cooperative contract available to the county, if the purchase can be made at lower cost than the purchasing agent can secure through competitive procurement.

(Prior code § 1705)

The purchasing agent shall consolidate and schedule orders whenever possible to take advantage of savings from discounts for quantity purchases, favorable market conditions, bulk shipment or any other circumstance which may avoid unnecessary expenditure of public funds. However, a purchase may not be divided into smaller units to evade the competitive procurement requirements of this chapter.

(Prior code § 1706)

No purchase shall be made if the purchase agreement, by its terms, requires the expenditure of funds not appropriated when the agreement is made, unless the approval of the board of supervisors is first obtained. This section does not apply to any multi-year purchase agreement when: (A) the county may terminate its obligations under the agreement if the board of supervisors, in its sole discretion, determines not to appropriate funds for the purchase for any fiscal year during the term of the agreement; or (B) the county does not guarantee in the agreement to purchase any minimum quantity of the matter subject to the contract.

(Prior code § 1707)

The purchasing agent and any other county officer, agent or employee authorized to make purchases for the county shall comply with such regulations that the board of supervisors may promulgate by resolution for purchases to be made by requests for quotations or by requests for proposals.

(Ord. 494-345 § 5, 1989: prior code § 1708)

A. A revolving fund, designated the purchasing agent stores account, is established. The amount appropriated for the account shall not exceed five thousand dollars. The purchasing agent may purchase and maintain a stock of general supplies and materials for county offices and departments with funds in the account. These supplies and materials may be requisitioned by any county office or department. As the supplies or materials are issued to a county office or department, the account shall be reimbursed by the auditor-controller from the budgeted funds of the requisitioning department. Procedures for the administration of and accounting for the funds in this account shall be established jointly by the auditor-controller and the purchasing agent.

B. The establishment of the purchasing agent stores account by this section has no effect upon the use by the purchasing agent of any other revolving fund otherwise provided for by law and available for such use.

(Prior code § 1710)

Pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 29853 a warrant is considered lost if it has been mailed and has not been received by the addressee within ten days after the date of mailing. When a warrant is so lost, the county auditor is authorized to issue and deliver a duplicate warrant upon the filing of an affidavit on or after the tenth day setting forth the fact of loss. The county treasurer shall pay the duplicate in lieu of the original warrant.

(Prior code § 1561)

Emergency purchases may be made by any county officer or employee authorized to sign requisitions when the purchasing agent or other persons in the purchasing department authorized to make purchases are not immediately available and when the item or items purchased are immediately necessary for the continued operation of the office or department involved or are immediately necessary for the preservation of life or property. Emergency purchases shall be subsequently approved and confirmed by the purchasing agent, or if the purchasing agent declines to confirm the purchase, by the board of supervisors. If a purchase is not approved and confirmed by the purchasing agent or the board of supervisors, the cost of the purchase shall not constitute a legal charge against the county.

(Ord. 494-345 § 6, 1989)