In accordance with § 104-b of the General Municipal
Law (GML), the Town of Sand Lake hereby adopts the following procurement
policy which is intended to apply to all goods and services which
are not required by law to be publicly bid pursuant to GML § 103.
The goal of this policy is to assure the prudent and economical use
of public moneys in the best interests of the taxpayers of the Town,
to facilitate the acquisition of goods and services of maximum quality
at the lowest possible cost under the circumstances and to guard against
favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption.
When competitive bidding is not required pursuant to General Municipal Law § 104-b, and §
38-3 of this policy does not specify a procedure, alternative proposals or quotations for goods and services shall generally be secured by use of written requests for proposals, written quotations, verbal quotations or any other method of procurement which fosters competition and is designed to safeguard the interests of the taxpayer. However, the Town Board has determined that the solicitation of alternative proposals or quotations may not be in the best interest of the municipality in the following circumstances, as and to the extent set forth below:
A. Professional services or services requiring special or technical
skill, training or expertise. The individual or company must be chosen
based on qualifications showing 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.
(1) In determining whether a service fits into this category, the 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 or technical services shall include but shall 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 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 involved
in substantial modification and customizing of prepackaged software.
(3) The Town Board may determine in its sole discretion when a request
for proposal (RFP) will be conducive to obtaining the best professional
services at the lowest cost.
B. Emergency purchases pursuant to GML § 103, Subdivision
4. In the event of an emergency, goods or services must sometimes
be purchased immediately and a delay in order to seek alternate proposals
may threaten the life, health, safety or welfare of the residents
and/or public property. An attempt to obtain alternate proposals,
quotes or price comparisons should be made if time and circumstances
permit. Documentation of the emergency situation and any price comparisons
must be submitted to the Purchasing office.
C. Purchases of surplus and secondhand goods from the federal government,
the State of New York or any other political subdivision, district
or public benefit corporation. If alternate proposals were required,
the Town would be 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.
Accordingly, surplus and secondhand goods may be purchased without
use of the foregoing procedures.
D. Individual goods or services under $500 or public works contracts
under $1,000. 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 minimus contracts would be awarded based on favoritism.
Whenever possible, however, purchasers shall attempt to obtain two
to three comparison prices or purchase through state or county contracts
to realize the best price.
E. Leases. Leases are not purchases, and, therefore, a true lease is
not subject to General Municipal Law § 103. However, the
substance of the agreement will prevail over its form. A transaction
cast in terms of a "lease," when the substance of the contract is
really a purchase, is a purchase. Lease-purchase arrangements as authorized
by General Municipal Law § 109-b must be competitively bid.
An RFP, a comparison of quotes or advertised lease prices or competitive
negotiation should be used for true leases when more than one supplier
or vendor offers the product to be leased and the Town Board determines
that a better price, quality or terms may be obtained through competition.
F. Sole source. When there is only one source for the required good,
service or construction, the accepted price and terms and conditions
shall be achieved through negotiation between the Town and the vendor.
Documentation justifying the sole source must be submitted and approved
by the Purchasing Director.
G. Insurance. An RFP should be used whenever the Town Board determines
that the solicitation of proposals will provide the best service to
the Town.
The unintentional failure to comply fully with the provisions
of General Municipal Law, § 104-b, and this policy shall
not be grounds to void action taken or give rise to a cause of action
against the Town of Sand Lake or any officer or employee thereof.
This policy shall go into effect immediately upon adoption by
the Town Board and will be reviewed annually.