[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Wharton (Sec. 2-18 of the Revised General Ordinances);
amended in its entirety 11-9-2015 by Ord. No. O-20-15. Subsequent amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Administration of government — See Ch. 3.
This chapter shall be known as the "Purchasing Ordinance of
the Borough of Wharton."
For the purpose of this chapter, the following terms, phrases,
words and their derivations shall have the meanings given herein:
The Borough of Wharton.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Wharton.
The purchasing agent of the Borough of Wharton.
Includes all telephone, gas, water, electric light and power
service, repair or maintenance of equipment, machinery and other Borough-owned
personal property. It shall not include professional and other contractual
services which are by their nature unique and not subject to bidding
under the laws of New Jersey.
The need for prompt action to protect the public health,
safety, or welfare or infrastructure of the Borough.
Includes all supplies, materials and equipment.
Any department or other unit, the various boards in the Borough
government using supplies or procuring contractual services as provided
for in this chapter.
The Department of Purchasing shall be a part of the office of
the Administrator of the Borough unless or until the Borough Council
shall authorize the establishment of a separate purchasing department.
A.
As already established by ordinance, the Administrator shall serve
as purchasing agent of the Borough, unless or until the Borough Council
shall authorize by ordinance the appointment of a different purchasing
agent who shall function separate and apart from the office of the
Administrator.
B.
The Purchasing Agent is required to possess a valid qualified purchasing
agent certificate, as issued by the New Jersey Division of Local Government
Services, Department of Community Affairs.
The agent shall have the power, and it shall be his duty to:
A.
Purchase or contract for all supplies and contractual services needed
by any using agency of the Borough, in accordance with Local Public
Contracts Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 5:34-6.1 et
seq.) and purchasing procedure as prescribed by this chapter and such
rules and regulations as the Mayor and Council shall adopt for the
internal management and operation of the purchasing procedure.
B.
Except as herein provided, it shall be unlawful for a using agency
or an individual to order or purchase any supplies or make any contract
within the purview of this chapter other than through the purchasing
agent.
C.
Any purchase order or contract made contrary to the provisions hereof
shall not be approved by the Borough purchasing agent, and the Borough
shall not be bound thereby.
D.
In addition to the purchasing authority conferred in Subsection C above and in addition to any other powers and duties conferred by this chapter, the agent should:
(1)
Endeavor to obtain full and open competition insofar as possible
on all purchases and sales.
(2)
Prescribe and maintain such forms as shall be reasonable necessary
to the operation of this chapter.
(3)
Prepare, adopt and maintain a systematic catalog file.
(4)
Take full advantage of all discounts, including those earned by bulk
and volume purchasing.
(5)
Act so as to procure for the Borough all federal and state tax exemptions
to which it is entitled.
(6)
Recommend to the Borough Council to declare vendors who default on
their quotations irresponsible bidders and to disqualify them from
receiving any business from the Borough for a stated period of time,
as recommended by the purchasing agent and approved by the Borough
Council.
(7)
Perform any and all functions necessary to fulfill the purpose and
intent of this chapter.
A.
Detailed requisitions; estimate of requirements. All using agencies,
either by or with the authorization of the head of the department
under which the using agency operates, shall file with the agent detailed
requisitions and estimates of their requirements in supplies and contractual
services in such manner, at such time and for such future periods
as the agent shall prescribe.
B.
Agent to examine each requisition. The purchasing agent shall examine
each requisition and estimate and shall have the authority to revise
it as to quantity, quality or estimated cost, but revision as to quality
shall be in accordance with the standards and specifications established
pursuant to this chapter.
A.
Conflict of interest. Any purchase order or contract within the purview
of this chapter in which any officer or employee of the Borough is
financially interested so as to create a conflict of interest, directly
or indirectly, shall be void.
B.
Prohibition. The agent and every officer and employee of the Borough
are expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from
any person, company, firm or corporation to which any purchase order
or contract is or might be awarded, any rebate, gift, money or anything
of value except where given for the use and benefit of the Borough.
All purchase of and contracts for supplies and contractual services
and all sales of obsolete equipment shall, except as specifically
provided herein, be based wherever possible on competitive bids.
A.
The purchase of any item, service, contract or agreement must be
made through a purchase order unless specifically authorized by the
purchasing agent to use a voucher or where established policy already
permits use of vouchers.
B.
Confirming purchase orders will not be recognized unless the item,
service, contract or agreement is of an emergent nature.
A.
Public bidding is required where the purchase cost of any item, service,
contract or agreement exceeds the bid threshold established by the
Borough Council and subject to the rules established by the State
of New Jersey.
B.
Two informal quotations are required where the cost of any items,
service, contract or agreement exceeds 15% of the bid threshold set
by the Borough Council but is less than the bid threshold. Where two
informal quotations cannot be procured, then a statement must accompany
the purchase order certifying that an attempt was made to satisfy
this requirement.
C.
Normal bidding procedures may only be eliminated where the Borough
Administrator has rendered an opinion that an emergent situation exists.
In the absence of the Borough Administrator, the Assistant Borough
Administrator may render the opinion. If the Mayor and Council concurs,
an emergency resolution authorizing the elimination of the bidding
procedure must be confirmed through adoption at the next Council meeting;
D.
Bid deposits; return; forfeit of surety. When deemed necessary by
the agent, bid deposits shall be prescribed in the public notices
inviting bids. Unsuccessful bidders shall be entitled to return of
surety where the agent has required such. A successful bidder shall
forfeit any surety required by the agent upon failure on his part
to enter a contract within the specified period after the award.
F.
Rejection of bids. The Borough Administrator shall have the authority
to reject all bids, parts of all bids, or all bids for any one or
more supplies or contractual services included in the proposed contract
when the public interest will be served thereby, as provided by law.
G.
Award of contract.
(1)
Prohibited. The agent may not award the bid of a contractor or supplier
who is in default on the payment of taxes, licenses or other monies
due to the Borough, the county or the State of New Jersey.
(2)
Lowest responsible bidder. Contracts shall be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder.
(3)
Tie bids. If all bids received are for the same total amount of unit
price, quality and service being equal, the contract shall be rebid
until such tie is broken. Where the tie bid cannot be broken, the
agent shall award the contract to one of the tie bidders by drawing
lots in public.
(4)
Performance bond required. The agent shall have the authority to
require a performance bond before entering a contract in such an amount
as he shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best interests
of the Borough.
(5)
Prior approval of Borough Attorney. All contracts, performance bonds
and deposits shall have the prior approval of the Borough Attorney
before acceptance.
A.
Using agency; Borough Engineer. The head of the using agency and/or
the Borough Engineer shall inspect or supervise the inspection of
all deliveries of supplies or contractual services to determine their
conformance with the specifications set forth in the order or contract.
B.
Laboratory tests. The purchasing agent shall have the 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 the specifications. In the performance of such
tests, the agent shall have the authority to make sure of laboratory
facilities of any outside laboratory. The cost of such test shall
be charged to the using agency.
D.
Partial delivery. Where a partial delivery is made, the using agency
shall have the option to receipt acceptance of the lesser amount and
notify the purchasing agent in writing to adjust the purchase order
accordingly.
All using agencies shall submit to the agent, at the times and
in such form as he shall prescribe, reports showing stocks of all
supplies which are no longer used or which have become obsolete, worn
out or scrapped. The agent shall submit to all departments, prior
to the sale of surplus materials as described below, a list of items
no longer required to determine if they can use any of the equipment,
parts and supplies listed.
A.
Surplus stock. The agent shall have the authority to transfer surplus
stock to other using agencies.
B.
Sale; exchange of unsuitable supplies. The agent shall have the authority
to sell all supplies which have become unsuitable for public use or
to exchange the same for or trade in the same on new supplies. Sales
under this subsection shall be made to the highest responsible bidder.
A record of each sale shall be made and placed on file in the Administrator's
office.
The agent shall have the authority to join with other units
of government in cooperative purchasing plans as stated in the Revised
Statutes of the State of New Jersey when the best interests of the
Borough could be served thereby.
