Tehachapi Municipal Code Ch. 3.04 Purchasing System

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, adopted June 19, 2017, repealed the former Ch. 3.04, §§ 3.04.010—3.04.150, and enacted a new Ch. 3.04 as set out herein. The former Ch. 3.04 pertained to similar subject matter and derived from Ord. 72-O-375 §§ 1—2, 4—10, 13, 1972; Ord. 72-O-375 § 3(part), 1972; Ord. 81-03-453 § 1, 1981; Ord. 83-12-494 § 12, 1983; Ord. 86-02-522 § 1, 1986; Ord. 04-03-674 § 1, 2004; Ord. 07-06-691 §§ 1—3, 2007.

In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchases of supplies and equipment, to secure for the city supplies, equipment and services 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 adopted.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

Other than centrally utilized goods and services, purchasing will be done by each department for department specific goods and services.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

The city manager is the city's purchasing agent. The city manager may assign purchasing duties to other staff ("purchasing officer") based on recommendations from department heads.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

The purchasing agent shall have the authority to:

A. Purchase or contract for supplies and equipment required by any using agency, in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this chapter, such administrative regulations as the purchasing agent shall adopt for the internal management and operation of the purchasing department, and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the city 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 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 city council rules governing the purchase of supplies and equipment for the city;

F. Prepare and recommend to the city 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 reasonably necessary to the operation of this chapter and other rules and regulations;

I. Supervise the inspection of all supplies and equipment purchased, to insure conformance with specifications;

J. Recommend the transfer of surplus or unused supplies and equipment between departments, as needed;

K. Maintain a vendors catalog file, and records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing department.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

All using agencies shall file detailed estimates of their requirements in supplies and equipment in such manner, at such time, and for such future periods as the purchasing agent shall prescribe.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

Using agencies shall submit requests for supplies and equipment to the purchasing agent by standard requisition forms, or by other means as may be established by the purchasing rules and regulations except as follows;

Items from local and on-line hardware stores, general stores, stationery stores, and grocery stores in which the cost per item is less than one thousand dollars and materials, supplies, and equipment deemed necessary during an emergency.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

Purchases of supplies and equipment which require public bid shall be made only by purchase orders except as otherwise provided herein.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

Except in cases of emergency, or in cases where specific authority has been first obtained from the city council, the purchasing agent 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. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)

A. Purchases of less than one hundred thousand dollars may be made by the employees of the city by force account, by negotiated contract or by blank or open purchase order upon the authority of the purchasing agent. Prudent judgment shall be used at all times. The city manager may approve purchases less than one hundred thousand dollars.

B. For purchases between one hundred thousand dollars and one hundred fifty thousand dollars the purchasing agent will attempt to obtain at least three competitive quotations whenever reasonably possible for purchase. The city council may award the purchase to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder whose quote fulfills the intended purpose, quality, and delivery needs of the solicitation provided that an unencumbered appropriation for that item exists.

1. In lieu of awarding the purchase the city council may reject bids, or authorize the purchasing agent to negotiate further to obtain terms more acceptable to the city. The purchasing agent shall solicit bids by written request to prospective vendors or by telephone or by public notice posted on a public bulletin board in the city hall or by any combination of the foregoing and make reasonable efforts to obtain more than one bid, provided, however, that the purchasing agent may, in the exercise of the purchasing agents reasonable discretion, seek only a single bid from a single vendor.

2. The purchasing agent shall make reasonable efforts to identify local vendors (as defined hereinafter) who can provide the equipment or supplies and to solicit bids from same. If there is more than one bid, the bid shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, provided, however, that if the lowest responsible bidder is not a local city vendor, the bid shall nevertheless be awarded to the lowest responsible local city vendor who is not more than seven and one-half percent higher than the lowest responsible bidder; provided, however, that notwithstanding the foregoing, the purchasing agent may, in the purchasing agent's sole discretion, reject the local city vendor's bid if not the lowest responsible bidder provided the purchasing agent determines in his or her sole and absolute discretion that rejection is in the best interest of the city.

C. Except as otherwise provided herein, any purchase of supplies and equipment exceeding an estimated value one hundred fifty thousand dollars shall be by written contract with the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the bidding procedures hereinafter prescribed; provided, however, that if the lowest responsible bidder is not a local city vendor, the bid shall nevertheless be awarded to the lowest responsible local city vendor who is not more than one percent higher than the lowest responsible bidder; provided further, however, that if there is no local city vendor or if no local city vendor is within one percent of the lowest responsible bidder, if the lowest responsible bidder is not a local county vendor, the bid shall nevertheless be awarded to the lowest responsible local county vendor who is not more than one percent higher than the lowest responsible bidder.

1. Notices 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.

2. Published Notice. Notices inviting bids shall be published at least ten days before the date of opening of the bids. Notices 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 public places in the city that have been designated by ordinance as the places for posting public notices.

3. Bidders' Security. When deemed necessary by the purchasing agent, bidders' security may be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to return of bid security; provided, however, that a successful bidder shall forfeit his bid security upon his refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten days after the notice of award of contract has been mailed, unless in the latter event the city is solely responsible for the delay in executing the contract. The city council may, on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the city council awards the contract to the next lowest bidder, the amount of the lowest bidder's security shall be applied by the city to the contract price differential between the lowest bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if any, may be returned to the lowest bidder. If the city council rejects all bids presented, and readvertises, the amount of the lowest bidder's security may be used to offset the cost of receiving new bids, and the surplus, if any, may be returned to the lowest bidder. Provided, however, that city may choose not to require bidder's security, in its sole discretion. The determination to return any surplus under either scenario is at the sole discretion of the purchasing agent. The bidder shall have no expectation whatsoever that any or all of a provided bid bond is to be returned if he or she fails to execute a contract as required.

4. Bid Opening Procedure. Sealed bids shall be submitted to the purchasing agent, 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 calendar days after the bid opening.

5. Rejection of Bids. In its discretion, the city council may reject any and all bids presented, and readvertise for bids pursuant to the procedure hereinabove prescribed. If no bids are received, the city council may make the purchase without further complying with this chapter.

6. Award of Contracts. Except as otherwise provided herein, contracts shall be awarded by the city council to the lowest responsible bidder.

7. Tie Bids. If two or more bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, the city council may, in its discretion, accept the one it chooses, or accept the lowest bid made by and after negotiation with the tie bidders at the time of the bid opening.

8. Performance Bonds. The city council shall have authority to require a performance bond before entering a contract, in such amount as it shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the city. If the city council requires a performance bond, the form and amount of the bond shall be described in the notice inviting bids.

D. Another method of purchasing items is by contract purchase orders. Contract purchase orders are the preferred method of purchasing repetitive-use items which may be common to several departments or within one department. Establishing contract purchase orders provides a means of obtaining volume pricing based upon the combined needs of all departments, reduces the administrative costs associated with seeking redundant competitive bids and processing a purchase order each time an order is placed, and allows departments to order as needed, reducing the requirement to maintain large to inventories of stock. All contract purchase orders exceeding one hundred thousand per year shall be approved by the city council. If a contract purchase order exists departments shall order all of their requirements from the successful vendor. No other source shall be used without prior approval of the purchasing officer, and where required hereunder, the city council. Departments shall submit in writing to the purchasing division any performance problem encountered immediately following the occurrence so that corrective action may be taken. Contract purchase orders are to be renewed every three years and may include options for an extension of up to two-years of the contract for specific products, product type, or services at agreed upon prices or pricing structure. All renewals of contract purchase orders shall be approved by the city council.

E. The city may participate in purchases and contracts established by other political jurisdictions provided the cooperative agreement is established following a competitive bid process. The city council shall authorize the award of any such cooperative purchase agreements

F. Commodities which can be obtained from only one vendor as determined by city are exempt from competitive bidding. Sole source purchases may include proprietary items sold directly from the manufacturer, items that have only one distributor authorized to sell in this area, or where a certain product has been proven to be the only product that has proven to be acceptable. All sole source purchases shall be supported by written documentation signed by the appropriate department head and forwarded to the purchasing officer. Final determination that an item is a valid sole source purchase will be made by the purchasing officer or designee.

G. Urgency purchases are defined herein as purchases for any of the following reasons: to preserve or protect life, health or property, or in the event of a natural disaster, or to forestall a shutdown of essential public services. Urgency purchases do not require competitive quotes or properly encumbered funds be committed. The city manager may approve urgency purchases without city council action or approval. The city manager shall use sound judgment in keeping such orders to an absolute minimum. The following requirements shall apply to urgency purchases:

1. Contact Purchasing Officer. The purchasing officer shall be contacted as soon as possible for an advance purchase order number which may be given verbally to cover the urgent transaction.

2. Purchase Requisition. A completed purchase requisition shall be submitted to the purchasing officer within two working days or as soon as the information is available. All purchase requisitions for urgent purchases shall be signed by the appropriate department head.

3. Nature of the Urgency. Documentation explaining the circumstances and nature of the urgency purchase shall be submitted as follows: For purchases of the competitive bid amount hereinafter described or more the city manager shall report the purchase to the city council at its next scheduled meeting for ratification.

4. Additional Appropriations. If the urgency purchase causes any budget line item to exceed the approved budget the city manager shall obtain subsequent city council approval for an additional appropriation or to make a transfer to cover the purchase.

H. The city council may by ordinance or resolution modify the amounts described in Sections A, B, C, and D for when one form of purchase or another is required.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017; Ord. No. 25-03-781, § 1A, 6-16-2025)

A. Professional services may be selected by the following process: Any professional services contracts exceeding one hundred thousand dollars will require a request for proposals and qualifications. For professional services contracts up to one hundred thousand dollars, the purchasing agent or designated staff will attempt to obtain three competitive quotations.

1. The requesting department head shall request proposals and qualifications from firms with a description of the project and a scope of work to be performed. As a rule, proposals from a minimum of prospective firms shall be solicited. However, this requirement may be waived by the city manager depending upon the nature of the services to be provided.

2. The department shall review all proposals received. The general selection criteria for determining which firm is to be selected include: qualifications; experience with similar projects; schedule of completion; and price, unless excluded by state or federal law.

3. Based on the results of the initial screening process, the top firms may be invited to present their qualifications. Based upon their qualifications and presentations, the city shall rank order the firms. The city may negotiate the price, terms and conditions of the project with the top firm. The city also reserves the right to negotiate with another top-ranked firm if an agreement cannot be reached with the number one ranked firm.

4. Once the firm is selected, the contract shall be forwarded to the city attorney for review.

5. A staff report with recommendations shall be presented to the city manager, and upon approval from the city manager, the purchasing agent or department head will then present the matter to the city council as a regular agenda item.

6. The city clerk shall retain the original contract. The finance department shall encumber the amount against the budget.

B. The following professional services are not readily adaptable to the open market and bidding process or, due to the high degree of professional or technical skill or the unique nature of the services, are hereby exempt from the provisions set forth in this Section 3.04.100: architectural, engineering, testing, land surveying, appraising, environmental, planning, financial, economic, accounting, legal, development processing, waste management, governmental operations, construction project management, entertainment, nonprofit vendor services at community-wide activities, bond counsel, bond underwriter, fiscal advisors, auditors, artists, collection services, and web design and development. Other service providers can be designated as "professional service" when recommended by a department head and approved by the city manager based on demonstrated competence and necessary qualifications for the satisfactory performance of the services required and fair and reasonable prices for the services.

(Ord. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017; Ord. No. 25-03-781, § 1B, 6-16-2025)

The

purchasing agent shall inspect supplies and equipment delivered, to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order. The purchasing agent 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. No. 17-04-742, § 1, 6-19-2017)