Tracy Municipal Code Art. 1 General

The purposes of this chapter are to define the types of contracts regulated by this chapter, provide for the authority of City officers to enter into certain contracts, and to set forth the procedural requirements for the various types of contracts. All purchases and contracts for contracted services, commodities, equipment, and other personal property required by any department or other organizational unit of the City shall be made on behalf of the City in accordance with this chapter, except as otherwise provided by State law. However, a purchase or contract may be initiated only if sufficient funds have been appropriated and for which there is an unexpended and unencumbered remaining balance sufficient to pay for the purchase or contract. This purchasing system implements California Government Code sections 54201—54205.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

The contracts regulated by this chapter are:

(a) Contracts for consultant or professional services, governed by Article 3;

(b) Contracts for the purchase of commodities, equipment and general services, including maintenance contracts on same, governed by Article 4; and

(c) Contracts for public projects as defined by California Public Contract Code sections 20161 and 22002, governed by Article 5, and California Public Contract Code section 1101 as set out in Article 8.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) "Amendment" or "change order", means a change, modification, or addendum to a contract after it has been executed.

(b) "Commodities" means any tangible goods or items such as supplies, parts and materials. Generally, they are consumable in City operations, become part or a component of City equipment or City facilities, and/or have a useful life of one year or less.

(c) "Consultant services" or "professional services" means all services which:

(1) Are of an advisory nature,

(2) Provide a recommended course of action or personal expertise, or

(3) Have an end product which is a transmittal of information either written or verbal and which is related to the governmental functions of City administration and management and City program management or innovation, and which are obtained by awarding a services contract, a grant, or any other payment of funds for services of the above type. In general, "Professional services" are provided by qualified or licensed professionals in such disciplines as accounting, architectural, engineering, environmental, financial, legal, and medical fields.

(d) "Contract" means any agreement to do or not do a certain thing. "Contract" and "agreement" are synonymous. The term "contract" includes a contract for services, and an addendum or change order modifying an existing contract.

(e) "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.

(f) "Equipment" means tangible personal property with a useful life or more than one year. It may be mobile, portable or fixed, and is an independent functioning unit, as opposed to parts which are components. It would include office equipment, furniture, field equipment, shop, lab, and plant equipment, vehicles and rolling stock.

(g) "General services" includes:

(1) Any work performed, or services rendered by an independent contractor, with or without the furnishing of materials, including, but not limited to the following:

(i) Noncustodial maintenance or nonstructural repair of City buildings, structures or improvements which does not require engineering plans, specifications or design, including, but not limited to, unscheduled replacement of broken windowpanes, fire extinguisher maintenance, minor roof repairs, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and elevator maintenance;

(ii) Installation, repair, modification, and maintenance of City equipment;

(iii) Cleaning, analysis, testing, moving, removal or disposal (other than by sale) of City supplies, equipment, and waste products;

(iv) Providing other technical services to facilitate City operations such as communications, transportation, utilities;

(v) Performing repair, demolition or other work required to abate nuisances under this Code.

(2) Leasing or rental of equipment (personal property) for use by the City;

(3) A maintenance agreement for equipment owned or leased by the City.

(h) "General services" does not include work defined as a public project under the California Public Contract Code or services that are defined as professional services by this section or by City Council resolution.

(i) "Local vendor" or "local consultant or professional" unless otherwise noted herein (including Article 8), means a person or legal entity which has a place of business (other than a post office box) within the City and has a valid, current business license issued by the City. To qualify as a local vendor or local consultant or professional for the purposes of Sections 2.20.230, 2.20.130, or 2.20.140, the vendor, consultant, or professional shall submit with its bid or proposal a completed City-provided affidavit that documents the following:

(1) The business has a facility with a City of Tracy address,

(2) The business will attribute the sales tax from the sale to the City of Tracy, and

(3) The business has had a City of Tracy business license for at least one year prior to the opening of the bid.

(j) "Post-consumer recycled material" means material and by-products which have served their intended end use by a consumer and have been recovered or diverted from solid waste. It does not include those materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.

(k) "Public project" means the same as that term is defined in California Public Contract Code section 20161, and section 22002 and includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation, improvement, demolition, and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.

(2) Painting or repainting of any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.

(3) In the case of a publicly owned utility system, "public project" shall include only the construction, erection, improvement, or repair of dams, reservoirs, powerplants, and electrical transmission lines of 230,000 volts and higher.

(l) "Public project" does not include maintenance work. For purposes of this section, "maintenance work" includes all of the following:

(1) Routine, recurring, and usual work for the 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, power, or waste disposal systems, including, but not limited to, dams, reservoirs, powerplants, and electrical transmission lines of 230,000 volts and higher.

(m) "Recycled material" means material and by-products that have been recovered or diverted from solid waste and that can be utilized in place of raw or virgin material in manufacturing a product. It is derived from post-consumer recycled material, manufacturing waste, industrial scrap, agricultural waste, and other waste material, but does not include material or by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.

(n) "Recycled product" means material and by-products which have served their intended end use by a consumer and have been recovered or diverted from solid waste. It does not include those materials and by-products generated from, and commonly reused within, an original manufacturing process.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

Before a contract is signed by any City representative, or placed on a City Council agenda, the contract must:

(a) Include appropriate insurance and indemnification provisions reviewed by the City's Risk Management Officer and City Attorney;

(b) Be reviewed or approved as to form by the City Attorney or her/his designee (which may include review prior to a City Council meeting);

(c) Be approved as to budget availability and purchasing procedural compliance by the Finance Director or Budget Officer; and

(d) Be signed by the other party (except in the instance of a public entity, utility, or railroad, in which instance it may be signed by the City representative first). Contracts for professional services under Article 3 or general services and commodities under Article 4 valued at Fifty Thousand dollars and no/100ths ($50,000.00) or less may be made by contract, purchase order, invoice, or other written purchase documentation approved as to form by the City Attorney and as to content by the applicable City official.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

Each contract entered into under this chapter and requiring the payment of City funds, after execution, will be entered into the City financial system by an encumbrance against the appropriate budgeted funds.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

Each contract entered into under this chapter shall be filed with the City Clerk's Office, except for a contract for purchase of commodities, equipment or general services documented with a purchase order, which is filed with the Finance Department. Contracts that will be presented for recording shall contain an original signature or signatures and shall be filed with the City Clerk's Office. Records shall be retained in accordance with the City Council adopted retention schedule.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

(a) The following definitions apply to this section:

(1) "Electronic record" has the same meaning as in Section 1633.2 of the California Civil Code.

(2) "Electronic signature" has the same meaning as in Section 1633.2 of the California Civil Code.

(3) "Digital signature" has the same meaning as in Section 16.5 of the California Government Code.

(4) "UETA" means the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, commencing at Section 1633.1 of the California Civil Code.

(b) In any transaction or communication with the City for which the parties have agreed to conduct the transaction or communication by electronic means, the following provisions apply:

(1) When a record is required to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies that requirement, if it is in accordance with the UETA.

(2) When a signature is required, the parties may agree that either:

(i) An electronic signature satisfies that requirement, if it is in accordance with the UETA; or

(ii) A digital signature satisfies that requirement, if it is in accordance with Section 16.5 of the California Government Code.

(c) This section is intended to enable the City to use electronic records, electronic signatures, and digital signatures to the fullest extent allowed by law and does not limit the City's ability to use electronic records, electronic signatures, or digital signatures in any way.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

Any transaction failing to comply with this chapter in any respect is voidable at the discretion of the City Manager and City Attorney.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)