Yuba City Municipal Code Ch. 6 Purchasing System

The purpose of this chapter is to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, contractual services, and construction work for both public projects as defined in the Public Contract Code or non-public projects for the City at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, to exercise positive financial control over purchases, and to clearly define the authority for the purchasing function.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 1, Ord. 16-93, eff. January 6, 1994; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

(a) Contractual services: The rental, repair, or maintenance of equipment, machinery, and other City-owned property and other services of a like nature.

(b) Open market purchases: Purchases made without prior newspaper advertising or Council action.

(c) Professional services: Services performed by independent consultants such as legal, engineering, programming, planning, environmental, economic, financial, testing, specialized temporary employee services, medical, dental, accounting, surveying, landscape architecture, advertising, design, etc. This may also include services requiring peculiar or specialized abilities which by State law do not require competitive bidding.

(d) Public project: The City elects to be subject to the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act as set forth in Section 22000 et seq. of the Public Contract Code ("Act"), and the uniform construction cost accounting procedures as set forth in said Act. Public project shall be as defined in the Act and shall be performed or awarded in accordance with the Act as the Act now reads or as hereinafter amended.

(e) Purchasing Officer: The City Manager and/or the individual(s) designated by the City Manager as Purchasing Officer.

(f) Supplies, materials, and equipment: Any and all articles or things which shall be furnished to or used by any department, or division thereof.

(g) Operating department: Any department that utilizes the goods and/or services purchased under a requisition.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 16-93, eff. January 6, 1994; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Purchases of supplies, materials, equipment, contractual services, and public projects shall be made subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by resolution of the Council and to the provisions of the Public Contract Code.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 3, Ord. 16-93, eff. January 6, 1994; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

The City Manager or designee shall be authorized to process for payment those claims against the City where a reasonable advance estimate of costs is not possible or for essential services of a recurring nature. This shall include, but is not limited to, such items as utility services for telephone, electricity, and gas, approved claims for liability under the City's insurance program, renewal premiums for authorized insurance policies, and all expenditures for the City's payroll and employee withholdings.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

The Purchasing Officer shall have the power and duty to purchase or contract for supplies, materials, equipment, and contractual services needed by any and all departments of the City.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

All operating departments shall file with the Purchasing Officer appropriate documentation of their requirements for supplies, materials, equipment, and contractual services in such manner, at such times, and for such future periods as the Purchasing Officer shall prescribe and in accordance with the City's retention policy.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Editor's note— Formerly entitled "Estimates of requirements," which was amended as herein set out above by Ord. No. 003-22.

Each department, or division thereof, shall utilize the form of requisition to be prescribed by the Purchasing Officer. No purchase requisition shall be initiated unless the department has a sufficient unencumbered balance in excess of all unpaid obligations to defray the amount of such order.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

(a) Purchases up to $5,000. The small purchase order or procurement card, as prescribed by the Purchasing Officer, may be used for purchases up to $5,000 by any employee authorized by their department head.

(b) Purchases and sales up to $25,000.

(1) Purchases up to $25,000. The large purchase order prescribed by the Purchasing Officer may be used for the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services greater than $5,000 and up to $25,000, and may be made by City departments in the open market. Insofar as is practical, no less than three vendors shall be solicited to submit quotations. Award shall be made to the responsible vendor offering the lowest acceptable quotation. The names of the vendors submitting quotations, the date, and the amount of the quotation shall be recorded and maintained as a public record.

(2) Sales up to $25,000. City property, except real property, that has become obsolete or is to be disposed of for any other reason valued up to $25,000 may be sold by the Purchasing Officer in the open market. Insofar as is practical, no less than three offers shall be solicited from potential buyers. The sale shall be made to the buyer making the highest offer.

(c) Purchases and sales up to $100,000.

(1) Purchases up to $100,000. Purchases of supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services greater than $25,000 and up to $100,000 may be made by the Purchasing Officer in the open market through the informal bid process. The large purchase order shall be as prescribed by the Purchasing Officer.

(2) Sales up to $100,000. City property, other than real property, that has become obsolete or is to be disposed of for any other reason and whose value is greater than $25,000 and up to $100,000 may be sold by the Purchasing Officer through the informal bid process. Insofar as is practical, no less than three offers shall be solicited from potential buyers. The sale shall be made to the buyer making the highest offer.

(d) Soliciting informal bids. The Purchasing Officer shall serve the best interest of the City through soliciting informal bids by direct mail requests/e-mail, checking prices by telephone inquiry, the comparison of prices on file, use of the internet, or by other appropriate means. Insofar as it is practical, no less than three vendors shall be solicited to submit quotations. Informal bid awards for purchases shall be made to the responsible vendor offering the lowest acceptable quotation, sales shall be made to the buyer making the highest acceptable offer. The Purchasing Officer shall keep a record of all open market purchases and sales and informal bidding competition thereon, and such records shall be maintained as a public record.

(e) Rejection of informal bids, offers, or quotations. The Purchasing Officer may reject any and all informal bids, offers, or quotations when, at the Purchasing Officer's discretion, it shall be in the best interest of the City to do so.

(f) Public projects informal bidding procedures. Except as otherwise authorized by Section 22032(a) of the Public Contract Code, public projects as defined by the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act may be let to contract by informal procedures as set forth in Section 22000 et seq., of the Act as follows:

(1) A list of contractors shall be developed and maintained in accordance with the provisions of Public Contract Code § 22034 and criteria promulgated from time-to-time by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.

(2) Where a public project is to be performed which is subject to the provisions of this chapter, a notice inviting informal bids shall be mailed, faxed, or emailed to all contractors for the category of work to be bid, as shown on the list developed in accordance with this section, and to all construction trade journals as specified by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission in accordance with Public Contract Code § 22036. Additional contractors and/or construction trade journals may be notified at the discretion of the City, provided, however:

(i) If there is no list of qualified contractors maintained by the City for the particular category of work to be performed, the notice inviting bids shall be sent only to the construction trade journals specified by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.

(ii) If the product or service is proprietary in nature such that it can be obtained only from a certain contractor or contractors, the notice inviting informal bids may be sent exclusively to such contractor or contractors.

(3) The Purchasing Officer is authorized to award informal contracts pursuant to this chapter.

(4) All mailing of notices pursuant to this subsection shall be completed not less than ten calendar days before the bids are due.

(5) The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms, how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 1, Ord. 881, eff. October 19, 1981; § 4, Ord. 16-93, eff. January 6, 1994; § 1, Ord. 14-99, eff. October 7, 1999; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

(a) Soliciting bids; notices. Purchases of supplies, materials, equipment, contractual services, and sales of City property, except real property, which has become obsolete or unusable or for any other reason is to be disposed of, when the total expenditure or the value of the City property to be sold exceeds the limits of Section 2-6.08(c) of this Code as the same now reads or as hereinafter amended, shall be made after notice has been posted on the City's website and/or two notices inviting bids are published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City, the advertisement of which shall begin at least 14 days before the time for opening the bids.

(1) Notices inviting formal bids for the construction of public projects shall be provided in accordance with Public Contract Code § 22037.

(b) Tabulating bids and award. At the time specified in the notice inviting bids, such bids shall be opened publicly and declared by the City Clerk or designee. The Purchasing Officer or designee shall review all bids received and make award recommendations to City Council. Public records of all bids received shall be maintained as per the City's retention policy.

(c) Rejection of bids. The City Manager or City Council may reject any and all bids presented and may re-advertise at its discretion.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 881, eff. October 19, 1981; § 5, Ord. 16-93, eff. January 6, 1994; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

No undertaking involving amounts in excess of the limits set forth in Sections 2-6.08(a), (b), and (c) of this Code shall be split into parts by the department head requesting the purchase or by the Purchasing Officer so as to produce amounts less than the referenced statutory limits set forth herein for the purpose of avoiding the provisions of this chapter.

(§ 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

When deemed necessary by the Purchasing Officer, bidder's security may be required. Bidders shall be entitled to the return of bid security; however, a successful bidder shall forfeit the bid security upon refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten days after the contract is awarded, unless the City is responsible for the delay. On the refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, the bid may be awarded to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the contract is awarded to the next lowest bidder, the amount of the lowest bidder's security shall be applied by the City to the difference between the low bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.

Bidder's security for the construction of public projects shall be required in accordance with Public Contract Code § 20170 or as amended.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

When deemed necessary by the Purchasing Officer, a performance bond may be required before entering into a contract in such amount as is reasonably necessary to protect the best interests of the City.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

When deemed necessary by the Purchasing Officer, or for a public works contract involving an expenditure in excess of $25,000 as said amount may be amended by Civil Code § 9550, a payment bond shall be required before commencement of work. Payment bonds for the construction of public projects shall comply with the requirements of Civil Code § 9554 as amended.

(§ 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Editor's note— Formerly entitled "Labor/material bonds," which was amended as herein set out above by Ord. No. 003-22.

Competitive bidding requirements for purchases and sales over the limits set forth in Section 2-6.08 may be waived when the Council determines that it is in the best interest of the City to do so. The conditions authorizing waiver of the competitive bidding requirements may include, but not be limited to, cooperative purchasing or sales in conjunction with other governmental entities (including piggybacking), professional services, annual service or supply agreements, or purchases necessary for standardization on particular types of equipment or sole source when the purchase or sale can only be obtained from one source.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 3, Ord. 881, eff. October 19, 1981; § 2, Ord. 14-99, eff. October 7, 1999; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

(a) In the event an emergency shall arise which precludes action by the Council and that requires any purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services, the Purchasing Officer is hereby authorized to secure in the open market at the lowest obtainable price any such supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services even though the amounts thereof shall exceed the limits set forth in Section 2-6.08. In each such instance, the Purchasing Officer shall submit to the Council in writing a full explanation of the circumstances of such emergency and a description of the supplies purchased; this report shall become a part of the records of the next ensuing meeting of the Council and be open for public inspection.

(b) Pursuant to Public Contract Code § 22050, in the event of an emergency for public projects, the authority to order any action required by an emergency to procure the necessary equipment, services, and supplies, without giving notice to bids to let contracts, is delegated to the City Manager. If the City Manager orders such action, the City Manager shall report to the Council at its next meeting the reasons justifying why the emergency will not permit a delay resulting from a competitive solicitation for bids and why the action is necessary to respond to the emergency. The Council shall initially review the emergency action not later than seven days after the action, or at its next regularly scheduled meeting if that meeting will occur not later than 14 days after the action, and at least at every regularly scheduled meeting thereafter until the action is terminated, to determine, by a four-fifths vote, that there is a need to continue the action, unless the City Manager has terminated that action prior to the Council reviewing the emergency action and making a determination pursuant to this subsection.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 4, Ord. 881, eff. October 19, 1981; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Upon ascertaining the price to be paid for any supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services, the Purchasing Officer shall prepare a purchase order on a prescribed form.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2. Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Upon the receipt of a copy of the purchase order from the Purchasing Officer, the Finance Division shall encumber any amount of purchase over $5,000 against the unencumbered appropriated balance indicated on the records of such department as the purchase is made. This may be completed electronically.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Upon the receipt by any department of supplies, materials, equipment, and contractual services, the operating department head or designee shall be responsible for making a careful check of the quality, condition, and quantity received against a copy of the purchase order to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order or contract. If the goods or services have been determined to be satisfactory and in conformance with the purchase order, the operating department shall approve and forward any invoice(s) to the Finance Department for payment.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff., April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

The Finance Department shall compare the vendor's invoice with the copy of the purchase order. It shall check the invoice for correctness of unit prices, discounts, transportation allowances, and the like, and with the reports of quantity and quality of goods received. Upon satisfaction that the invoice is correct, the Finance Department shall approve the invoice for payment.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

(a) Surplus/unclaimed property. The Purchasing Officer shall have the authority to sell, exchange, or trade in all supplies, materials, and equipment which are no longer used, have become obsolete, worn out, or scrapped, or which have become unsuitable for public use. The Purchasing Officer shall have the power to sell unclaimed property. All unclaimed property shall be sold or otherwise disposed of in accordance with Civil Code § 2080 et seq. All sales shall be in accordance with the provisions outlined in Section 2-6.08 and Section 2-6.09.

(b) Disposal of personal property not worth more than $500. Pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code § 217, in lieu of the provisions contained in Civil Code § 2080, an alternative procedure is established with respect to the disposal of unclaimed personal property not worth more than $500. The Purchasing Officer is authorized with respect to such personal property, which has been unclaimed for at least 90 days, to transfer and deliver any such items to the Probation Officer of the County, to the Welfare Department of the County or to any charitable or nonprofit organization which is authorized under its articles of incorporation to participate in a program or activity designed to prevent juvenile delinquency and which is exempt from income taxation under Federal or State law, for use in any program or activity designed to prevent juvenile delinquency.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 1, Ord. 32-92, eff. February 4, 1993; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 003-22 deleted former §§ 2-6.20—2-6.22, and § 2-6.25, which pertained to inspections of goods received; storerooms and warehouses; warehouse revolving fund; inventory records; and annual reports, and derived from: § 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; and § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008. Sections 2-6.23 and 2-6.24 were renumbered as §§ 2-6.20 and 2-6.21 accordingly, as herein set out.

The Purchasing Officer shall establish, and from time-to-time amend, all rules and regulations authorized by this chapter and any others necessary to its operation. Such rules and regulations, and amendments thereto, shall be subject to the approval of the Council by resolution.

(§ 2, Ord. 688, eff. October 16, 1974; § 2, Ord. 008-07, eff. May 31, 2007; § 2, Ord. 003-08, eff. April 17, 2008; Ord. No. 003-22, § 3, 2-1-2022)

Editor's note— Formerly codified as § 2-6.24, see Editor's Note under § 2-6.20.