Any other provision of the law or ordinance to the contrary
notwithstanding, the Township or any board, authority, agency or instrumentality
thereof (hereinafter referred to as "municipal appointing authority") shall
not enter into a contract having an anticipated value in excess of $17,500
as determined in advance and certified in writing by the municipal appointing
authority, or its designee, with a business entity, except a contract that
is awarded pursuant to a fair and open process, if, during the preceding one-year
period, that business entity has made political contributions that are reportable
by the recipient under N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1 et seq., to any municipal committee
of a political party in the Township if a member of that political party is
serving in an elective public office of the Township when the contract is
awarded, or to any candidate committee of any person serving in an elective
public office of the Township when the contract is awarded; and
A business entity that has entered into a contract having
an anticipated value in excess of $17,500 with the municipal appointing authority,
except a contract that is awarded pursuant to a fair and open process, shall
not make such a contribution, reportable by the recipient under N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1
et seq., during the term of the contract to any municipal committee of a political
party in the Township if a member of that political party is serving in an
elective public office of the Township when the contract is awarded, or to
any candidate committee of any person serving in an elective public office
of the Township when the contact is awarded, during the term of the contract.
Any professional service entity or other business entity providing services to the Township shall be subject to a fair and open process for selection. That fair and open process shall be set forth in Subsection B below which shall establish a criteria for the fair and open process. Included in that criteria and made a part hereof shall be some or all of the following:
The solicitation of proposals or qualifications for professional
services agreements, exemptions as outlined in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5, as well
as "window contract," which constitutes the amount of a contract between $17,500
and the Township's bid threshold adopted by the governing body which
is exempt from the state public bidding laws, that shall expire on December
31 of that calendar year shall be published and advertised by the municipal
appointing authority or its designee either in the official newspaper of the
Township for publication of notices, or on the Township's Web site, not
less than 10 days prior to the date and time when the proposals or qualifications
shall be publicly opened to give notice in advance of the contract solicitation.
Should the applicant/proposer be a professional requiring
licensure in the State of New Jersey, said applicant/proposer shall be licensed
for a period of not less than five years, shall submit a "certificate of good
standing" from the New Jersey State certified board and shall submit a resume,
which shall include but is not limited to the following:
A listing of any professional affiliations or memberships
in any professional societies or organizations, with an indication of the
offices held therein;
A business registration certificate issued by the New
Jersey Secretary of State evidencing that the professional/business entity
is authorized to do business in the State of New Jersey.
If the applicant/proposer is not a professional and/or
the contract to be awarded is not for professional services, the applicant/proposer
shall submit the following:
A business registration certificate issued by the New
Jersey Secretary of State evidencing that the business entity is authorized
to do business in the State of New Jersey.
The municipal appointing authority shall thereafter publicly
select the professional or business entity for the position so advertised
which shall thereafter be confirmed or approved as required by law or ordinance.
Consistent with the provisions of N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.7,
the Township's determination of what constitutes a fair and open process
shall be final. Fair and open may be implemented differently for different
categories of procurement depending on the subject matter of the procurement
and the nature and nuances of the industry providing the services or product.
In the alternative to proceeding with the fair and open
process described herein above, the municipal appointing authority may award
a contract in excess of $17,500 for professional services agreements, exemptions
as outlined in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5, as well as "window contracts," which constitutes
the amount of a contract between $17,500 and the township's bid threshold
adopted by the governing body which is exempt from the state public bidding
laws, without competitive bidding or competitive proposals through a non-fair
and open process provided that:
Such contributions do not exceed the limits set forth
via resolution by the governing body in accordance with P.L. 2005 Chapter
271, wherein it permits local units to adopt measures limiting the awarding
of public contracts to business entities that have made contributions allowed
under state ELEC laws; and
Provided that the business entities receiving non-fair and open contracts submit a business entity disclosure certification pursuant to Chapter 19, as well as a political contribution disclosure pursuant to Chapter 271 to the municipal appointing authority no later than 10 days prior to the contract being awarded; and
Businesses awarded contracts in excess of $50,000 a year
must file an annual disclosure on political contributions with the Election
Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
The disclosure provisions do not apply in those cases where there is
a public emergency that requires the immediate delivery of goods or services
for the public's health, safety and welfare.
If any sentence, paragraph or section of this article
or the application thereof to any persons or circumstances shall be adjudged
by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, or if by legislative action,
any sentence, paragraph or section of this article shall lose its force and
effect, such judgment or action shall not affect, impair or void the remainder
of any of the provisions of this article.
The purpose of this article is to comply with the provisions
of N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5 et seq, and N.J.S.A. 40A:11-51. The definitions as
set forth in these statutes are referred to and incorporated into this article.