The Town of Clinton 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.
Every prospective purchase of goods or services
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.
All goods and services not subject to competitive
bidding will be secured by using written requests for proposals (RFP),
written quotations, verbal quotations or any other method (catalog,
advertisements, etc.) that assures that goods will be purchased at
the lowest price and that favoritism will be avoided.
A. The following method of purchase will be used when
required by this policy in order to achieve the highest savings:
(1) Purchase contracts.
|
Estimated Amount of
Purchase Contract
|
Method
|
---|
|
$250 to $1,000
|
Discretion of purchaser
|
|
$1,000 to $3,000
|
Oral request for the goods and oral/fax/catalog/advertisement
quotes from at least two vendors
|
|
$3,000 to $10,000
|
A written request (RFP) and written/fax/catalog/advertisement
quotes from at least three vendors
|
(2) Public works contracts.
|
Estimated Amount of
Pubic Works Contract
|
Method
|
---|
|
$500 to $1,000
|
Discretion of purchaser
|
|
$1,000 to $5,000
|
Written RFP and written/fax/proposals from at
least three contractors
|
|
$5,000 to $20,000
|
Written RFP and written/fax/proposals from public
notices in newspapers from at least four contractors
|
B. Any written RFP shall describe the desired goods,
quantity and the particulars of delivery. The purchaser shall compile
a list of all vendors from whom written/fax/oral quotes have been
requested and the written/fax/oral/catalog/advertisement quotes offered.
C. 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 will
document the attempt made at obtaining the proposals. In no event
shall the failure to obtain the proposals be a bar to procurement.
D. All information gathered in complying with the procedures
of this policy shall be preserved and filed with the documentation
supporting the subsequent purchase or public works contract.
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 proposer. If a proposer is not deemed responsible, facts
supporting that judgment shall also be documented and filed with the
records supporting the procurement.
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 104-b(2)(f)
the solicitation of alternative proposals or quotations will not be
required in the best interest of the municipality in the following
circumstances were proper 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:
A. Professional services or services requiring special
or technical skill, training, or expertise. The individual or company
must be chosen based on accountability, reliability, responsibility,
skill, education and training, judgment, integrity, and moral worth.
(1) In determining whether a service shall fit into this
category, the Town Board shall take into consideration the following
guidelines:
(a)
Whether the services are subject to state licensing
or testing requirements;
(b)
Whether substantial formal education or training
is a necessary prerequisite to the performance of the services; and
(c)
Whether the services require a personal relationship
between the individual and municipal officials.
(2) Professional and 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 engaged
to prepare plans, maps, and estimates; 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 artwork; management of municipally
owned property; and computer software or programming services for
customized programs or services involved in substantial modification
and customizing of pre-packaged software.
B. Emergency purchases pursuant to § 103(4)
of the General Municipal Law. Due to the nature of this exception,
these goods or services must be purchased immediately and delay in
order to seek alternate proposals may threaten 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 Town is precluded
from purchasing surplus and secondhand goods at auctions or through
specific advertised sources where the best prices are usually contained.
It is also difficult to try to compare prices of used goods and a
lower price may indicate an older product.
D. Goods under $250 and public works contracts for less
than $500. The time and documentation required to purchase through
this policy may be more costly than the item itself and therefore
not be in the best interest of the taxpayer. In addition, it is not
likely that such de minimis contracts would be awarded based on favoritism.
No portion of this chapter shall be construed
as preventing the competitive bidding of purchase contracts under
$10,000 or public works projects under $20,000, if so desired.
This policy shall be reviewed annually by the
Town Board at its organizational meeting or as soon thereafter that
is reasonably practicable.