[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Avon 7-22-2004
by L.L. No. 5-2004. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town of Avon 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 purchase made will be initially reviewed to determine whether
it is a purchase contract or a public works contract. The ratio of the cost
of services to the goods should not be the sole determinative factor of whether
a contract is one of purchase or public works. 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. As a general
guide, items of work of the same or similar nature which are customarily handled
by the same vendors or contractors should be treated as single items for purposes
of determining whether the dollar threshold will be exceeded.
The following items are not subject to competitive bidding pursuant
to § 103 of the General Municipal Law:
A.
Purchase contracts under $10,000 and public works contracts
under $20,000.
B.
Emergency purchases.
C.
Goods purchased from correctional institutions or agencies
for the blind or severely handicapped.
D.
Purchases under state and county contracts.
E.
Surplus and secondhand purchases from another governmental
entity.
F.
Items which may only be purchased from one source.
G.
Goods purchased at auction.
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:
A.
Purchase contracts over $10,000 and public works contracts
over $20,000.
B.
Goods purchased from correctional institutions pursuant
to § 186 of the Correction Law.
C.
Purchases under state contracts pursuant to § 104
of the General Municipal Law.
D.
Purchases under county contracts pursuant to § 103(3)
of the General Municipal Law.
A.
The following method of purchase will be used when required
by this policy in order to achieve the highest savings:
|
Estimated Amount of Purchase Contract
|
Method
| |
|---|---|---|
|
$250 to $2,999
|
2 verbal quotations
| |
|
$3,000 to $9,999
|
3 written/FAX quotations or written request for proposals
|
|
Estimated Amount of Public Works Contract
|
Method
| |
|---|---|---|
|
$250 to $2,999
|
2 verbal quotations
| |
|
$3,000 to $4,999
|
2 written/FAX quotations
| |
|
$5,000 to $19,999
|
3 written/FAX quotations or written request for proposals
|
B.
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 the procurement.
A.
Documentation is required for each action taken in connection
with each procurement.
B.
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 and/or why
it is in the best interests of the Town and its taxpayers to make an award
to other than the low bidder and/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.
C.
A request for proposal may be restricted within the Town
or county, provided that it does not violate the competitive bidding requirements.
In the event that a request for proposal will contain such a geographic restriction
the purchaser shall document the manner in which it does not violate the competitive
bidding requirements.
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 104-b, Subdivision 2f,
a 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 Town of Avon 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. In determining whether a service fits into this category, the
Board of Trustees 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.
(c)
Whether the services require a personal relationship
between the individual and municipal officials.
(2)
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 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 by and through its department heads may, at
its discretion, require that the professional provide the following:
(a)
A completed acquisition form submitted to the department
head which provides a request for work to be performed, including hours to
be spent, description of work to be performed and projected cost.
(b)
The Town shall have the option of obtaining additional
quoted for the services to be provided and may accept a lower quote.
(c)
In the event that the cost of services to provided shall
exceed the amounts specified on the acquisition form the professional shall
submit an extension request form to the department head for approval prior
to expending additional materials or services in excess of the amount specified
in the original acquisition form.
(d)
Prior to payment the professional shall submit the following:
[1]
Complete description of work performed;
[2]
Hours for each item with appropriate rate charged; and
[3]
Copy of approved acquisition form signed by the appropriate
department head together with any signed extension forms for sums due in addition
to the amounts set forth in the original acquisition form.
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 subsection 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 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 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 small contracts would be awarded based
on favoritism.
This policy shall go into effect July 1, 2004, and will be reviewed
annually.
