[Amended 10-4-2010 by L.L. No. 1-2010; 5-15-2012 by L.L. No.
1-2012; 1-11-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016]
Every purchase to be made must be initially reviewed by the
Village officer, board, department head or other individual with the
requisite purchasing authority (hereinafter "purchaser") to determine
whether it is a purchase contract or a public works contract. Once
that determination is made, the purchaser shall make a good faith
effort to determine whether the cumulative amount likely to be spent
by the Village in a fiscal year on the particular item of supply or
service exceeds, or will exceed, the monetary limits requiring competitive
bidding, taking into account past purchases. In making such a determination,
the purchaser shall canvas other Village departments whenever necessary
or appropriate. If the purchase, whether budgeted for or not, shall
exceed $7,500 for a purchase contract or $7,500 for a public works
contract, then the purchaser must, in addition to the other requirements
contained in this chapter, obtain the approval, by majority vote,
of the Board of Trustees of the Village. The information gathered
and the conclusions reached shall be documented and filed with the
Village Clerk, who shall keep the same with the file or other documentation
supporting the purchase activity.
The purchaser may conduct discussions with responsible
offerers who submit proposals or quotes determined to be reasonably
susceptible of being selected for award for the purpose of clarification
to assure full understanding of and responsiveness to the solicitation
requirements. Offerers shall be accorded fair and equal treatment
with respect to any opportunity for discussion and revision of proposals
or quotes, and such revisions may be permitted after submissions and
prior to award for the purpose of obtaining best and final offers.
In conducting discussions, there shall be no disclosure of any information
derived from proposals or quotes submitted by competing offerers.
Any RFP or other solicitation may be canceled,
or any or all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part, when
in the judgment of the purchaser it is in the best interests of the
Village so to do. The reasons therefor shall be made part of the contract
file, but every effort should be made not to reject offers after prices
have been publicly disclosed.
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 104-b(2)(f),
the Village considers the following to constitute circumstances in
which it may not be in the best interests of the Village of Chester
to solicit quotations or to document the basis for not accepting a
lowest bid:
A. Professional services or services requiring special
or technical skill, training or expertise. The individual or company
to provide such services shall be chosen based on accountability,
reliability, responsibility, skill, education and training, judgment,
integrity and moral worth. These qualifications will not necessarily
be 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 purchaser 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 or architect; 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 involving substantial modification or customizing of prepackaged
software.
B. Emergency purchases pursuant to § 103, Subdivision
4, of the General Municipal Law. An "emergency" is defined as a situation
which arises out of an accident or unforeseen occurrence or condition
which affects public buildings, public property or the life, health,
safety or property of the Village's residents and which requires immediate
action which cannot await competitive bidding. 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 may be precluded
from purchasing surplus or 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 $500. 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 interests of the
taxpayer. In addition, it is not likely that such de minimis contracts
would be awarded based on favoritism.
E. Sole source. Since patented or monopoly items are
only available from a single source, the policy of obtaining alternative
proposals is inapplicable.
The Village adopts the Code of Ethics for purchasing
agents set forth in the Financial Management Guide for Local Governments
§ 8,0070, page 8, and every purchaser shall comply with
the code. (A copy of the code is set forth as Appendix B.)
The unintentional failure to fully comply with
the provisions of General Municipal Law § 104-b shall not
be grounds to void action taken or give rise to a cause of action
against the Village of Chester or any officer or employee thereof.
This policy shall go into effect on January
1, 1992, and will be reviewed annually.