Every prospective purchase of goods or services shall be evaluated
to determine the applicability of General Municipal Law § 103.
Every Town officer, board, department head or other personnel with
the requisite purchasing authority (hereinafter "purchaser") shall
estimate the cumulative amount of the items of supply or equipment
needed in a given fiscal year. That estimate shall include the canvass
of other Town departments and past history to determine the likely
yearly value of the commodity to be acquired. The information gathered
and conclusions reached shall be documented and kept with the file
or other documentation supporting the purchase activity.
All purchases of supplies or equipment which will exceed $10,000
in the fiscal year or public works contracts over $20,000 shall be
formally bid pursuant to General Municipal Law § 103.
The lowest responsible proposal or quote shall be awarded the
purchase or public works contract unless the purchaser prepares a
written justification providing reasons why it is in the best interest
of the Town and its taxpayers to make an award to other than the low
bidder. If a bidder is not deemed responsible, facts supporting that
judgment shall also be documented and filed with the record supporting
the procurement.
A. There shall be no open ended contracts.
B. All contracts or services shall have a "not to exceed" dollar amount.
(1) Any services, professional or otherwise, that are performed on an
hourly basis must include a scope of work and budgetary estimate of
the total cost.
(2) All acquisition of professional services shall require written proposals.
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 shall document
the attempt made at obtaining the proposals. In no event shall the
inability to obtain the proposals or quotes be a bar to the procurement.
Except when directed by the Town Board, no solicitation of written
proposals or quotations shall be required under the following circumstances:
A. Emergencies declared by the Town Supervisor and highway-related emergencies
declared by the Highway Superintendent.
B. Sole-source situations where the supplier provides documented verification
of being the sole-source provider.
C. Goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped.
D. Goods purchased from correctional facilities.
E. Goods purchased from another governmental agency and goods purchased
through state or county bid contracts.
F. Goods purchased at auction.
G. Goods purchased for less than $250 ($500 for Highway, Maintenance
and Recycling Departments).
H. Public works contracts for less than $500 ($1,000 for Highway Department).
This policy shall be reviewed periodically by the Town Board.
Budget transfers from one line to another cannot be made without
the prior approval of the Town Board, based on a written request from
the party requesting a transfer.