Watsonville Municipal Code Art. 1 General Provisions

(a) Except for public works and purchases involving the expenditure of State or Federal grant funds, all purchases or expenditures of equipment and supplies, professional and nonprofessional services shall be pursuant to this chapter.

(b) Purchases involving the expenditure of State or Federal grant funds shall comply with the granting agency’s requirements. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

The following definitions apply to this chapter:

(a) “Equipment” shall mean machinery, rolling stock, vehicles, implements, computers, servers, switches, printers and other computing apparatus, tools, devices, kits, software, appliances, fittings, and all other all fixed assets other than land or buildings.

(b) “Nonprofessional services” shall mean providing work or labor that primarily entails manual effort and trade skills learned through an apprenticeship or training program, including, but not limited to, craftspeople, building and construction trades, installers, food service workers, building maintenance, janitorial, landscaping maintenance, equipment maintenance and repair, automotive mechanics maintenance and repair, building maintenance, uniform cleaning, pest control, alarm and security services, tree trimming, automotive maintenance and repair and laboratory testing services.

(c) “Professional services” shall mean any service, labor or work which is generally characterized as a “profession” rather than a “business,” “industry,” “occupation” or “trade” under California State law or which requires a specific level of college education, typically a bachelor’s degree or higher, to perform its duties and responsibilities. Examples of professional jobs include design professionals, architects, auditors, appraisers, landscape architects, attorneys, engineers, surveyors, construction managers, municipal planners, real estate managers, leasing, or sales services, environmental planners and analysts, financial advisors, financial analysts, doctors, teachers, accountants, scientists, and authors.

(d) “Public works” are defined in City Charter Section 1117. This chapter does not apply to public works. Public works purchasing is governed by Chapter 7-14.

(e) A “request for proposals” (RFP) is the process used for one-time project-based professional services procurement where the work scope is known; a lump sum price for the specified design or other professional services is primary and experience and qualifications are known.

(f) A “request for qualifications” (RFQ) is the process used for recurring, ongoing or on-call nonproject-based professional services procurement, where the work scope is unknown, unit pricing for the specified design and other professional services is desired and no specific design exists and experience and qualifications are unknown.

(g) “Supplies” shall mean consumables, commodities, materials, parts, inventory and like items. Supplies have a shorter use or life span than equipment and are stocked for recurring use and typically of low cost charged to expenditure as incurred. Supplies are incidental to the production process and include such items as appropriate for the utility enterprises and the City’s general operations such as fuel, chemicals, pipe, sand, gravel and other building materials, paper and toner. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

A purchasing control system for the City is hereby adopted to:

(a) Obtain equipment, supplies, professional and nonprofessional services at the most economical cost commensurate with quality requirements by ensuring as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;

(b) Obtain effective financial control over expenditures;

(c) Clearly define authority and accountability for purchases;

(d) Minimize administrative actions and expense of processing purchase transactions while obtaining effective internal control; and

(e) Assure the quality of purchases made on behalf of the City. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

The Administrative Services Director is hereby designated as the Purchasing Officer. The Purchasing Officer shall have following duties and authority to:

(a) Seek as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;

(b) Recommend consolidation of department orders for like items, ensuring quantity discount pricing whenever possible;

(c) Keep informed of and maintain department awareness of current developments in the field of purchasing, pricing principles and marketing conditions;

(d) Prepare and recommend forms, administrative regulations and or periodic updates of this chapter to the City Manager.

(e) Facilitate the transfer of surplus or unused equipment and supplies between departments as needed and the sale of all supplies and equipment that cannot be used by any department or which have become unsuitable for City use; and

(f) Maintain files and records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing function. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

Competitive bidding and proposal categories, authorization limits or contract award procedures will be based on:

(a) Unit cost;

(b) Total purchase cost for consolidated bid items; or

(c) Fiscal year aggregates in the case of blanket purchase orders or similar ongoing purchasing arrangements. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

Purchases shall not be knowingly staged, or bids split or separated into smaller units or segments to evade the competitive formal or informal procurement procedures of this chapter. No person may:

(a) Knowingly pay or request smaller invoices of what is a larger purchase or ongoing relationship, to avoid competitive bidding procedures or authorization limits.

(b) Knowingly phase, delay or divide purchases to avoid competitive bidding or authorization limits. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

(a) For retail sales occurring within the City limits, the City receives sales tax revenues. Therefore, for bids from retail firms located in the City at the time of proposal closing for which sales tax is allocated to the City, two percent (2%) of the taxable amount of the bid will be deducted from the proposal by the City in calculating and determining the lowest responsible, responsive bidder.

(b) Pursuant to City Charter Section 1120, merchants with places of business located within the City shall be given preference if service, quality and prices are equal. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

All contract changes (e.g., amendments to contracts, amended contracts, addenda, additive or deductive change orders, changes in scope of work or changes to contract expiration date) shall reasonably relate to the scope of the original contract and be based on post-award information that requires modification of the contract based on unforeseen conditions or by mutual agreement of the parties and must return to the original signing authority for approval unless:

(a) The cumulative result of changes pushes the total contract or purchase order amount into the next level approver’s authority; i.e., if the cumulative result of the changes goes from under One Hundred Thousand and no/100ths ($100,000.00) Dollars to over One Hundred Thousand and no/100ths ($100,000.00) Dollars, it must be approved by Council, even if the original contract was not required to be approved by the Council.

(b) An emergency requires that action be taken immediately, in which case approval by the signing authority should occur at the next possible date. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

The City Council may, in its sole discretion, waive any defect, irregularity, or informality in bids or proposals or in the competitive procedures established in this chapter as long as no unfair advantage results, and no such defect, irregularity, or informality shall void any contract entered into by the City once executed. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

(a) It is unlawful and a misdemeanor (pursuant to Section 1-2.01) for any person to engage in practices which might result in unlawful contract-related activity including, but not limited to, personal rebates, kickbacks, or any other unlawful consideration.

(b) City employees shall not participate in the selection process when they have a relationship with a person or business entity seeking a contract. (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

In determining the best qualified vendor, consideration is to be given to quality and performance of the equipment or supplies to be purchased or non-professional services or professional services to be provided. Criteria for determining the best qualified vendor shall include but not be limited to the following:

(a) The cost or best value of the equipment and supplies, or nonprofessional services or professional services;

(b) The ability, capacity, and skill of the vendor to perform the contract and to provide the equipment and supplies, or nonprofessional services or professional services requested;

(c) The ability of the vendor to provide the equipment and supplies or nonprofessional services or professional services requested promptly or within the time specified, without delay or interference;

(d) The ability of the vendor to demonstrate the attributes of trustworthiness, quality, fitness, capacity, and experience to satisfactorily perform the contract;

(e) The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the vendor;

(f) The quality of vendor’s previous services to the City;

(g) The ability of the vendor to provide future maintenance, repair parts, and services for the use of equipment and supplies purchased;

(h) The ability of the vendor to demonstrate its prior, current, and continued compliance during the contract term with all applicable Federal, State, and local laws, statutes, ordinances and all lawful orders, rules, and regulations promulgated thereunder;

(i) The ability of the vendor to timely produce a complete and accurate IRS Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification). (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)

(a) Only the City Manager and, in the City Manager’s absence, the Assistant or Deputy City Manager authorized by the City Manager, may sign contracts on behalf of the City. No other employee is authorized to sign a contract binding the City, and any other contract is voidable.

(b) Before a contract is signed by the City Manager or placed on a City Council agenda for approval, the contract must:

(1) Include appropriate insurance and indemnification provisions reviewed by and approved by the City’s Risk Manager or City Attorney;

(2) Be approved as to form by the City Attorney;

(3) Be approved as to budget availability and purchasing procedural compliance by the Finance Director; and

(4) Be executed by the other party (except in the instance of a public entity). (Ord. 1403-20 (CM), eff. May 28, 2020)