Village of Rhinebeck, NY Chapter 15 Procurement Policy

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Rhinebeck 4-16-2012[1]; amended in its entirety 1-12-2021. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]

[1] Editor’s Note: This resolution also superseded former Ch. 15, Procurement Policy, adopted 6-8-1993.

§ 15-1 Review of purchase.

A. Every purchase to be made must be initially reviewed to determine whether it is a purchase contract or a public works contract. Once that determination is made, a good-faith effort will be made to determine whether it is known or can reasonably be expected that the aggregate amount to be spent on the item of supply or service is not subject to competitive bidding, taking into account past purchases and the aggregate amount to be spent in a year. The following items are not subject to competitive bidding pursuant to § 103 of the General Municipal Law: purchase contracts under $20,000 and public works contracts under $35,000; emergency purchases; certain municipal hospital purchases; goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped; goods purchased from correctional institutions; purchases under state and county contracts; and surplus and secondhand purchases from another governmental entity.

B. The decision that a purchase is not subject to competitive bidding will be documented, in writing, by the individual making the purchase. This documentation may include written or verbal quotes from vendors, a memo from the purchaser indicating how the decision was arrived at, a copy of the contract indicating the source which makes the item or service exempt, a memo from the purchaser detailing the circumstances which led to an emergency purchase or any other written documentation that is appropriate.

§ 15-2 Requests for proposals.

All goods and services will be secured by use of written requests for proposals, written quotations, verbal quotations or any other method that assures that goods will be purchased at the lowest price that achieves the best value for the product or service sought and avoids favoritism, except in the following circumstances: purchase contracts over $20,000 and public works contracts over $35,000; goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped pursuant to § 175-b of the State Finance Law[1]; goods purchased from correctional institutions pursuant to § 186 of the Correction Law; purchases under state contracts pursuant to § 104 of the General Municipal Law; purchases under county contracts pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 3, of the General Municipal Law; purchases from other governmental entities pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 16, of the General Municipal Law; or purchases pursuant to § 15-5 of this chapter.

[1] Editor's Note: Section 175-b of the State Finance Law was repealed by L. 1995, c. 83, § 33.

§ 15-3 Methods of purchase.

A. The following methods of purchase will be used when required by this policy in order to achieve the highest savings:

Estimated Amount of Purchase Contract	Method
$1,000 to $19,999	Good faith effort to obtain three written/fax/email quotes

Estimated Amount of Public Works Contract	Method
$3,000 to $34,999	Good faith effort to obtain three written/fax/email quotes

B. A good-faith effort shall be made to obtain the required number of proposals or quotations. If the purchaser is unable to obtain the required number of proposals or quotations, the purchaser will document the attempt made at obtaining the proposals. In no event shall the failure to obtain the proposals be a bar to the procurement.

§ 15-4 Documentation.

A. Documentation is required of each action taken in connection with each procurement.

B. Documentation and an explanation is required whenever a contract is awarded to other than the lowest responsible offeror. This documentation will include an explanation of how the award will achieve savings or how the offeror was not responsible. A determination that the offeror is not responsible shall be made by the purchasers and may not be challenged under any circumstances.

C. At the annual organizational meeting, The Board of Trustees will specify, by title, the individual in each department with authority to authorize purchases under this section, except as altered by union agreement. The Village Clerk and Deputy Clerk shall have purchasing authority. Management of department budgets and scheduling of budget meetings shall be determined at the annual organizational meeting as well. The Village Treasurer will provide additional training on procurement and purchasing for any newly named staff or officials. All purchases over the minimum thresholds in § 15-3 of this chapter shall require approval from the Board liaison for that particular department. All public works contracts will require liaison approval.

§ 15-5 Purchases not requiring alternative proposals.

The procurement policy may contain circumstances when or types of procurement for which, in the sole discretion of the governing body, the solicitation of alternative proposals or quotations will not be in the best interest of the municipality. In the following circumstances, it may not be in the best interest of the Village of Rhinebeck to solicit quotations or document the basis for not accepting the lowest bid:

A. Professional services or services requiring special or technical skill, training or expertise. The individual or company must be chosen based on accountability, reliability, skill, education and training, judgment, integrity and moral worth. These qualifications are not necessarily found in the individual or company that offers the lowest price, and the nature of these services are such that they do not readily lend themselves to competitive procurement procedures. In determining whether a service fits into this category, the Board of Trustees shall take into consideration the following guidelines: whether the services are subject to state licensing or testing requirements; whether substantial formal education or training is a necessary prerequisite to the performance of the services; and whether the services require a personal relationship between the individual and municipal officials. Professional or technical services shall include, but not be limited to, the following: services of an attorney; services of a physician; technical services of an engineer engaged to prepare plans, maps and estimates; securing insurance coverage and/or services of an insurance broker; services of a certified public accountant; investment management services; printing services involving extensive writing, editing or art work; management of municipally owned property; and computer software or programming services for customized programs or services involved in substantial modification and customizing of prepackaged software.

B. Emergency purchases pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 4, of the General Municipal Law. Due to the nature of this exception, these goods or services must be purchased immediately and a delay in order to seek alternate proposals may threaten the life, health, safety or welfare of the residents. This section does not preclude alternate proposals if time permits.

C. Purchases of surplus and secondhand goods from any source. If alternate proposals are required, the Village is precluded from purchasing surplus and secondhand goods at auctions or through specific advertised sources where the best prices are usually obtained. It is also difficult to try to compare prices of used goods, and a lower price may indicate an older product.

D. Goods or services under the minimum thresholds in § 15-3 of this chapter. The time and documentation required to purchase through this policy may be more costly than the item itself and would therefore not be in the best interest of the taxpayer. In addition, it is not likely that such de minimis contracts would be awarded based on favoritism.

E. In sole source situations, where a purchaser, acting in good faith and without intent to arbitrarily inhibit or restrict competition, determines that a particular item is required and that such item is available only from one supplier and there is no other substantial equivalent source for the required good or service, he/she shall seek the advice and approval of the Village Mayor when making a sole source purchase. When there is only one possible source from which to procure goods and/or services, thus indicating there is no possibility of competition, the following shall be shown and information may be furnished by the supplier:

(1) Unique benefits of items needed.

(2) No other product/service can compare.

(3) Cost is reasonable as compared to the product offered.

(4) There is no competition available.

§ 15-6 Choice of supplier factors.

Factors to be considered when choosing a supplier include, but are not limited to, the following:

A. Price history, consideration of volume purchase when cost reductions can be obtained.

B. Delivery performance.

C. Quality.

D. Financial stability of suppliers.

E. Competitiveness.

F. USA-made or locally made.

G. Environmentally preferable.

H. Veteran-, minority- and/or woman-owned pursuant to the best value standard in § 15-2.

§ 15-7 Green purchasing; procurement of services.

In order to ensure ease and utility of comparison of various products and vendor RFP submissions when assessing "environmentally preferable," the following standards are adopted:

A. Energy use. Priority shall be given to products and services which consume the least amount of energy in their manufacture, use and disposal. Where possible, ENERGY STAR^® qualification and/or an equivalent elevated measure of efficiency should be a minimum requirement in any energy-consuming equipment, device, vehicle or appliance purchase, such as refrigerators, computers, etc. When seeking competition, Village governments should consider whether energy-efficient equipment will produce savings in energy costs and, if properly justified, may include an energy efficiency threshold in their specifications or consider energy efficiency as part of a best value analysis.

B. Sustainability of materials and packaging.

(1) Priority shall be given to products and services which incorporate products which are made from sustainable materials, and/or contain a significant level of recycled or reprocessed material and/or which are manufactured locally. Priority shall be given to products which are minimally packaged using recycled, recyclable or biodegradable packaging materials and/or which are packaged to reduce transportation costs.

(2) General Municipal Law § 104-a sets forth an exception to the requirements of General Municipal Law § 103 for the purchase of recycled products. "Recycled product" is defined to mean any product manufactured from secondary materials (as defined in Economic Development Law § 261) and meeting the requirements of Environmental Conservation Law § 27-0717 (the state recycling emblem program) and any regulations of the Department of Environmental Conservation. If a recycled product meets specifications and the price is reasonably competitive, the political subdivision may award the contract to the vendor of the recycled product, notwithstanding the provisions of General Municipal Law § 103. "Reasonably competitive" is defined to mean a cost premium not to exceed 10% of the comparable nonrecycled product or 15% if at least 50% of the secondary material utilized in making the recycled product is generated from the waste stream in New York State.

(3) Some specific, common items:

(a) Light bulbs: NYSERDA's Lighting Clearinghouse and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center.

(b) Paper and paper products, including cardboard: "percent recycled" or Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC).

(c) Cleaning products and other chemicals for use in government buildings or operations: Green Seal^™ GS-37 guidance document, "Environmental Standard for General Purpose, Bathroom, Glass, and Carpet Cleaners for Industrial and Institutional Purposes."

(d) Containers, receptacles, binders, and other municipal office supplies. The following standard shall apply for determining the environmentally preferable nature for such purchases:

[1] Relative durability and reusability of the product, to reduce waste.

[2] Relative ease of composting the item, if applicable.

[3] Relative ease of recycling the item.

C. Environmental impacts. Priority shall be given to products which reduce impacts on the environment during manufacture, use or disposal.

D. Health impacts. Priority shall be given to products and services which reduce or eliminate health risks to employees and/or citizens in their manufacture, use or disposal. In particular, products that contain chlorine, PVC, and/or emit unhealthy levels of chemical emissions during use should be avoided.

E. Bid documents and requests for proposals shall be drafted to encourage environmentally preferable purchases and service by incorporating bidding specifications that procure goods and services with a reduced environmental impact where appropriate. For example, include language requesting the bidder to account for the recycling of demolition material or responsible disposal of waste harmful to the environment.

F. The Village Board may direct the Village Climate Smart Community Task Force to perform additional research in order to consider whether certain products meet the above-listed environmentally preferable standards. Preference shall be given to those products and services that demonstrate and effectively state the degree to which their product or service is environmentally preferable given the above standards.

G. Nothing in this policy shall be construed as requiring the procurement of products or services that do not perform adequately for the intended use or not available at a reasonable price in a reasonable period of time.

§ 15-8 Fleet purchasing.

The Village of Rhinebeck seeks to save on long-term costs by investing in vehicles that require less fuel, which also supports the Village's sustainability goals. In the case of vehicles and other capital expenditures, a Fleet Efficiency Policy shall serve to determine the environmentally preferable nature for such purchases.

§ 15-9 Verification of receipt of goods.

A. The requisitioning department head shall be given the receiving copy of the invoice.

B. When a delivery is made, the receiving employee must fill in the information as to the quantity, which can only be obtained by counting or weighing the goods delivered, or actual verification of the service rendered.

C. The completed and receipted copy should immediately be forwarded to the Village Treasurer who should compare it with the vendor's claim. Any invoices and/or shipping reports received from the vendor should also be transmitted to the Treasurer.

D. Signed and verified receiving slips or invoices are to be attached to the claim vouchers for further verification by the Village Board prior to authorization of payment of the claim. For services purchased that do not require delivery, a post audit must be performed to ensure that services requested were properly received by the Village Treasurer.