St. Helena Municipal Code Art. 1 Generally

The purpose of this chapter is to establish an efficient procedure for the purchase of supplies, equipment, and services, and to establish a procedure for performing or contracting for the construction of public works consistent with state law. These procedures are intended to allow the city to obtain the best professional services, to acquire quality supplies, general services and equipment, to construct public works at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, and to exercise positive financial control over purchases and also to define authority for the purchasing function. These procedures apply to all city employees. These procedures apply to all purchases of supplies, equipment and services, including purchases made online or over the phone. Employees are responsible for reading and understanding the requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 22-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 19-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 15-8 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 01-14; prior code § 2.90.010)

As used in this chapter:

“Bidder’s list” means a list of responsible prospective vendors capable of providing the items being bid upon.

“Contract” means an agreement, regardless of how titled, for the procurement of supplies, equipment or services, including without limitation a verbal or written agreement between the city and a contractor, the city and a service provider, and/or the city and a vendor.

“Emergency” means a sudden, unexpected occurrence that poses a clear and imminent danger, requiring immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health, property, or essential public services.

“Equipment” means furnishings, machinery, vehicles, rolling stock, and other personal property used in the city’s business.

“General services” are services such as janitorial, uniform cleaning, maintenance work and other services which do not require any unique skill, special background, or training. Obtaining such services at the lowest cost is the single most important factor in selection, as opposed to personal performance.

“Maintenance work” means:

1. Routine, recurring, and usual work for the cleaning, preservation or protection of any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes;

2. Minor repainting;

3. Resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch;

4. Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, planting, replacement of plants, and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems;

5. Work performed to keep, operate, and maintain publicly owned water or waste disposal systems including, but not limited to, dams and reservoirs.

“Professional or special services” means any work performed by an attorney, doctor, architect, engineer, land surveyor, construction manager, appraiser, expert, accounting firm, planner, consultant or those services such as computer services, and other services which require special performance criteria, specific experience, training, personal judgment, quality of work or factors other than simply obtaining the service at the lowest cost to the city.

“Public work” means a type of public construction project subject to the regulation of the California Public Contract Code, such as:

1. The erection, construction of, alteration, major painting, repair, or demolition of public buildings, streets, walkways, water and sewer facilities, drainage facilities, or other public facilities, whether owned, leased, or operated by the city;

2. Furnishing supplies for any of the above works or projects;

3. Public work does not include “maintenance work” as defined in this chapter.

“Purchase” includes the renting, leasing, purchasing, licensing, or a trade of equipment or supplies.

“Purchase order” is a written contract for equipment, supplies, or services with a specified consultant, contractor, or vendor and is initiated by a purchase order requisition. A purchase order submitted by an authorized person becomes a legally binding contract. It can stand alone or include attachments for clarification purposes. A purchase order encumbers the specified amounts to provide specified equipment, supplies, services, and/or fixed assets. Regular purchasers may be paid through a one-time payment of an amount up to the purchase order amount at the conclusion of performance (delivery of supplies, services, etc.), and/or incremental (progress) payments as provided in the contract for each time items are purchased.

“Purchasing officer” means the finance director or their designated representative.

“Requisition” is a request to authorize the acquisition of equipment, supplies or services from a specified consultant, contractor, or vendor.

“Services” means the furnishing of labor, time or effort to perform or complete a designated task.

“Special equipment/supplies” means unique supplies, machinery, computers, or other equipment which are not generally and regularly ordered in bulk by the city and which must perform complex tasks, or integrate efficiently with existing equipment or supplies.

“Supplies” means office supplies, janitorial supplies, materials, goods, tools, or other commodities used in the general conduct of the city’s business, excepting supplies for a public work which is regulated under Section 3.04.210.

“Uniform construction cost accounting procedures” means those procedures and rules established by the State Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission pursuant to California Public Contract Code Section 22030 et seq. (Ord. 22-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 19-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 15-8 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 01-14; prior code § 2.90.020)

Purchases and public works contracts shall not be knowingly staged or separated into smaller units or segments solely for the purpose of evading the competitive formal or informal bidding requirements of this chapter. (Ord. 22-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 19-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 15-8 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 01-14; prior code § 2.90.030)

Any dispute, contention, or disagreement relative to interpretation, application or enforcement of this chapter shall be submitted to the city council for determination in accordance with the appeal provisions of Chapter 1.16. (Ord. 22-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 19-7 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 15-8 § 1 (Exh. A); Ord. 01-14; prior code § 2.90.040)