[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Paulsboro
as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-18-1980 by Ord. No. O.16.80]
There is hereby established within the office of the Borough Administrator
the position of Purchasing Agent, hereinafter referred to as the "Agent."
Until appointment of a separate Purchasing Agent, the Administrator shall
serve and act in this capacity.
A.
The Agent shall have the power and it shall be his duty
to purchase or contract for the purchase of all supplies and contractual services
needed by any Borough department, office, agency or any other personnel in
accordance with the procedures prescribed by this ordinance and such rules
and regulations promulgated and prescribed for the internal management and
operation of the purchasing system duly adopted by the Borough Council.
B.
In addition to the authority and duties conferred above,
the Agent shall:
(1)
Act to procure the highest quality in supplies and contractual
services at least cost to the Borough.
(2)
Recommend the promulgation and, when necessary, the amendment
of rules and regulations setting forth procedures and forms to be used in
the purchase of all supplies and contractual services within the Borough.
(3)
Maintain a vendor's catalogue file, according to
material, containing descriptions of vendor's commodities.
(4)
Discourage collusive bidding and endeavor to obtain as
full and open competition as possible in all purchases.
(5)
Procure all allowable exemption, discounts and price
reductions.
(6)
Prepare with the cooperation and assistance of the using
Borough departments, offices, agencies or personnel standardized specifications
for supplies, materials and services to be purchased or placed under contract
agreement.
(7)
Declare as irresponsible any vendors who default in their
bids or quotations and disqualify them from receiving any Borough business
for a specified period of time.
(8)
Sell or otherwise dispose of all obsolete or unusable
personal property of the Borough in accordance with the laws of the State
of New Jersey, Borough ordinances and/or regulations.
A.
The chairman of every department (or his designee), as
well as any other designated head of any Borough agency, office or personnel
shall file detailed requisitions and estimates of requirements for supplies
and contractual services in the time and manner prescribed in this ordinance
or prescribed by rule and regulations adopted pursuant to this ordinance.
B.
The Agent shall examine such requisitions and shall have
the authority to revise these as to quantity, quality or price; but revisions
as to quality shall be made after consultation with that person duly charged
with submitting the requisition.
A.
No office or employee shall order or purchase any supplies
or make any contract other than through the established procedures. Any contracts
or purchases made contrary to established procedures shall be void, and the
Borough shall be bound thereby.
B.
Any purchase order or contract in which any Borough officer or employee is financially interested, directly or indirectly, or which is secured as a result of conduct prohibited in Subsection C hereof, shall be void.
C.
The Agent and every officer and employee of the Borough,
its departments, its agencies, commissions and boards are expressly prohibited
from soliciting or accepting directly or indirectly from any person, company,
firm or corporation to which any purchase order or contract is or might be
awarded, any rebate, gift, money or anything of value whatsoever except when
otherwise permitted by law or given for the use and benefit of the Borough.
Such solicitation or acceptance shall, where not otherwise prohibited by law,
constitute cause for dismissal, suspension or removal from office or employment.
Unless otherwise provided by this ordinance, all purchases of the contracts
for supplies and contractual services and all sales of obsolete or unusable
municipal personal property shall be made either through formal bid quotations,
in accordance with such standards set forth in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.,
except those purchases which may be specifically exempted by this state statute.
A.
All supplies and contractual services costing in excess
of $4,500 shall be purchased by formal, written contract from the lowest responsible
bidder in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., and such procedures established
by this ordinance and any rule and regulation adopted pursuant thereto, provided
that the Agent may require bid deposits by so specifying in the public notice
inviting bid proposals. Unsuccessful bidders shall be entitled to return of
their surety on award of a contract. A successful bidder shall forfeit any
surety upon failure to agree to enter into a contract after 10 days following
the award.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this ordinance, the Borough Council may, subject to the extent provided by law, award or enter into any contract for services or supplies. All such contracts shall be awarded in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 and to the extent possible follow the procedure established in §§ 1B-8 and 1B-9 of this ordinance.
A.
Unless the Borough Council directs to the contrary:
(1)
All sealed bids shall be presented to the agent, and
all such bids shall be identified as to the bid items on the envelope's
exterior.
(2)
Bids shall be publicly opened and announced at the time
and place stated in the public notice. Unless specified, there will be no
award of contract at the opening.
B.
The Agent or the Borough Council shall have the authority
to reject all bids, parts of all bids or all bids for any one or more supplies
of contractual services.
C.
Award of contract.
(1)
The Agent shall review the proposals, assisted as necessary
by the using department chairman, or the person designated by the using Borough
agency, commission, board or other branch of Borough government.
(2)
The Agent shall then forward all bids to the Mayor and
Borough Council, together with his recommendations.
(3)
Contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder. In addition to price, when written (qualification and lowest responsible
bidder) standards have been prepared, the lowest responsible bidder shall,
be determined in accordance with those written standards. All such written
standards shall be made publicly available to all bidders. It shall be the
duty of the Agent to develop and update such standards annually.
(4)
A proper record of the prices and terms of all bids shall
be spread upon the minutes of the Borough Council.
(6)
Hearing to determine lowest responsible bidder.
(a)
If the Borough Council determines that the lowest bidder
is not the lowest responsible bidder, as defined by N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.,
all bidders submitting lower bids than the bidder determined by the Borough
Council to be the lowest responsible bidder shall be offered an opportunity
to be heard before the Borough Council or such person as the Borough may designate
for that purpose.
(b)
If such a hearing is requested by such bidder, the Borough
Council, or its designee, shall provide all bidders an opportunity to be heard,
to present such proofs as may be necessary in support of that bidder's
position. The Borough Council may also offer at that time the testimony of
such persons as well as such other proofs to support its initial determination
as to lowest responsible bidder.
(c)
If the award is not given to the lowest bidder, a full
and complete statement of the reasons therefor shall be read upon the minutes
and filed with the records of that transaction.
A.
All purchases of supplies and contractual services of less than $4,500, or purchases exempted from public bid pursuant to the provisions of § 1B-6B, shall be made in the open market without newspaper advertisment or use of formal field bids.
B.
All requisitions shall be approved by the department
chairman or his designee or, where otherwise applicable, by that Borough agency,
commission or board head for whom the supplies and services are to be contracted.
C.
Unless for a good cause shown, all open-market purchases
shall be based on at least three competitive quotations and shall be awarded
to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the established standards.
If a purchase exceeding $500 was not awarded to the lowest bidder a record
of the bids and a full and complete statement of the reasons for placing the
bid elsewhere must be prepared by and filed with the records of the transaction.
E.
The Agent shall keep a record of all open-market orders
and the quotations submitted thereon.
Emergency purchases are restricted to situations requiring the immediate
purchase of materials or supplies to meet an actual or imminent threat or
danger to the public health, safety or welfare. They shall be made in accordance
with N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., and such other procedures as duly implemented
by rule and regulation duly adopted.
A.
All Borough departments, agencies, boards, commissions
and other personnel required to make purchase of services and supplies through
the Purchasing Agent shall submit to the Agent, in such form and manner as
he may require, reports showing stocks of all supplies which are no longer
needed or which have become obsolete, worn out or useless. Such persons designated
by the Borough Administrator to respond on behalf of the applicable Borough
users shall be required to make the submissions in the manner and form indicated.
B.
The Agent shall submit to all applicable departments,
boards, commissions, agency and personnel, prior to the sale of surplus materials,
a list of items no longer required to determine if they can use any of the
equipment, parts and supplies listed.
(1)
The Agent shall have the authority to transfer surplus
stocks to other using entity.
(2)
The Agent shall have the authority to sell all supplies
which have become unsuited for public use or to exchange the same, or trade
in the same one, for new supplies. Sales under this section shall be made
to the highest responsible bidder. A record of each sale shall be made and
placed on file.
The Agent shall have the authority to participate in joint or cooperative
purchasing plans with other units of government when it is in the Borough's
best interests.
A.
The Borough Council is hereby empowered from time to
time to make and establish, amend or repeal by resolution or ordinance, such
rules and regulations not inconsistent with the laws of this state or the
ordinances of this Borough as may be deemed necessary and proper to carry
out the objects and implementation of this ordinance.
B.
All rules and regulations made pursuant hereto shall
be in writing, certified as adopted by the Mayor and Borough Council. The
original, as certified, shall be filed in the office of the Borough Clerk.
A certified copy shall be filed in the office of the Borough Administrator.
Such rules and regulations shall be binding on all persons subject to the
jurisdiction of this Borough.
A.
Where it is determined that the purchase of supplies
or the contracting for services is essential to the current operation of Borough
government, and the department chairman or his designee is unavailable, the
Purchasing Agent may make the required purchase or procure the required service.
Thereafter the Purchasing Agent shall advise, as soon as practicable, the
department chairman of such contract or purchase.
B.
The provisions of this ordinance shall not apply to any
Borough board, commission or authority for which the Borough Council does
not have statutory authority to mandate the manner of budget disbursement.
However, nothing herein shall prohibit such board, commission or authority
from entering into an agreement to utilize the services of the Borough's
Purchasing Agent, in which event the provisions of this ordinance shall then
apply.
C.
Any provision of this ordinance determined to be inconsistent
with or violative of any state statute or regulation shall be void, in which
event the state statute or regulation shall be deemed to apply.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances, resolutions or parts of bylaws
inconsistent with this ordinance shall be and are hereby repealed.
This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage and publication
according to law.
[Adopted 11-14-2005 by Ord. No. 21.05]
A.
Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding,
the Borough 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 Borough if a member of that political party is serving in an
elective public office of the Borough when the contract is awarded or to any
candidate committee of any person serving in an elective public office of
the Borough 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 an 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 Borough if a member of that political party is serving in an
elective public office of the Borough when the contract is awarded, or to
any candidate committee of any person serving in an elective public office
of the Borough 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 Borough 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 Borough
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 Borough for publication of notices,
or on the Borough's website 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 publicly
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 position 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 Borough of Paulsboro 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 ordinance
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 ordinance 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 ordinance.
G.
The purpose of this ordinance 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 ordinance.
