[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Saugerties 7-6-1993; amended in its entirety 3-5-2012 by L.L. No. 1-2012.
Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
The Village of Saugerties does hereby adopt the following procurement
policy which is intended to apply to all goods and services which
are not required by law to be publicly bid.
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.
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 and that favoritism will be avoided, 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; 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; or purchases pursuant to § 28-7 of this chapter.
The following method of purchase will be used when required
by this chapter in order to achieve the highest savings:
|
Estimated Amount of Purchase Contract
|
Method
|
|---|---|
|
Under $1,000
|
Discretion of purchaser
|
|
$1,001 to $4,999
|
Telephone quote, 3 vendors, if available
|
|
$5,000 to 19,999
|
Written/fax quote, minimum 3 vendors
|
|
$20,000 and above
|
Formal bid
|
|
Estimated Amount of Public Works Contract
|
Method
|
|---|---|
|
Under $2,999
|
Discretion of purchaser
|
|
$3,000 to $4,999
|
Telephone quote, 3 vendors, if available
|
|
$10,000 to $34,999
|
Written/fax quote, minimum 3 vendors
|
|
Over $35,000
|
Formal bid
|
Documentation is required of each action taken in connection
with each procurement.
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 purchaser and may not be challenged
under any circumstances.
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 104-b, Subdivision
2(f), the procurement policy may contain circumstances when, or types
of procurements 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 interests of the Village of
Saugerties 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.
(1)
The individual or company must be chosen based on accountability,
reliability, responsibility, 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.
(2)
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.
(3)
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 account; investment management
services; printing services involving extensive writing, editing or
artwork; 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 of Saugerties 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 $250. The time and documentation required
to purchase through this chapter 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.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing in the
office of the New York State Secretary of State and will be reviewed
annually.
