[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Mantua 10-25-2005 by Ord. No. O-16-2005 (Ch. 39 of the 1978
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Code of Ethics — See Ch. 26.
This chapter shall be known as "An Ordinance
Establishing a Fair and Open Process for the Award of Professional
Service Agreements and Other Agreements with Business Entities."
A. Any other provision of the law 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
B. 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 contract is awarded, during
the term of the contract. In the alternative to proceeding with the
fair and open process described herein, the Municipal Appointing Authority
thereof may award a contract to a business entity for an amount in
excess of $17,500, pursuant to procedures prescribed by the New Jersey
Local Public Contracts Law and without competitive bidding or competitive
proposals. However, such award may be made only if the recipient of
the contract provides a written certification that it has not made
a political contribution which would bar the award of the contract
to it.
A. 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: accessibility; understanding of the assignment; methodology/plan for accomplishing the assignment; general experience; experience specific to the assignment; sufficiency of resources to perform the task.
B. The fair and open process established by the Township
of Mantua shall require the following:
(1) The solicitation of proposals for any professional
position, service contract, or other contract not subject to bidding
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5, that shall expire as of 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 in sufficient time to give notice in advance of the contract
solicitation. The published notice shall set forth the name of the
position or contract which is to become open and set forth the criteria
to be considered and materials required to be submitted by the applicant/proposer
and a date, time and place when the proposals or qualifications shall
be publically opened.
(2) Should the applicant/proposer be a professional acquiring
licensure in the State of New Jersey, said applicant shall be licensed
for a period not less than five years.
(3) If the applicant/proposer is not a professional and/or
the contract to be awarded is not a professional services contract,
the applicant/proposer shall provide a "certificate of good standing"
or other similar document evidencing that it is authorized to do business
in the State of New Jersey.
(4) The applicant shall submit a resume which shall set
forth information, including but not limited to the following (as
applicable to a business entity or individual professional):
(a) Full name and business address;
(b) A listing of all post high school education of the
applicant/proposer;
(c) Dates of licensure in the State of New Jersey and
any other state;
(d) A listing of any professional affiliations or memberships
in any professional societies or organizations, with an indication
as to any offices held therein;
(e) The number of licensed professionals employed by/affiliated
with the business entity or the business entity which employs the
applicant/proposer;
(f) A listing of all special accreditations held by the
individual licensed professional or business entity;
(g) A listing of all previous public entities served by
the business entity or licensed professional, indicating the dates
of services and positions held.
C. 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.
D. The awarded contract shall be publicized in the official
newspaper of the Township of Mantua for publication of notices in
accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5.
E. 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 necessarily 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, but in every instance, the principles
of fair and open shall be maintained.
F. If any sentence, paragraph or section of this chapter
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
chapter 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 chapter.
G. The purpose of this chapter is to comply with the
provisions of N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5 et seq. The definitions as set
forth in that statute are referred to and incorporated into this chapter.