The Town of Phelps 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.
Pursuant to Subdivision 2f of General Municipal
Law § 104-b, 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 Town of
Phelps to solicit quotations or to 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 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 Town of Phelps 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.
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
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 Subdivision 4 of § 103
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 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 $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 minimis contracts
would be awarded on favoritism.
[Adopted 7-14-2014 by L.L. No. 3-2014]
New York State General Municipal Law § 103 requires
competitive bidding for purchase contracts and public works contracts
and has historically required that such bids be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder whose bid meets the requirements of the specifications
for the project. Section 103 was amended to provide that by enacting
a local law so providing, towns and other municipalities may award
purchase contracts (including contracts for service work), which would
otherwise be subject to the "lowest bidder" rule, on the basis of
best value, as defined in the New York State State Finance Law § 163,
to a responsive and responsible bidder or offerer. The Town Board
hereby determines that it is in the best interest of the Town of Phelps
and its residents for the Town to have the authority to award purchase
contracts on the basis of best value.
In addition to the other manners of awarding contracts provided
in the New York State General Municipal Law § 103 and the
Town of Phelps Procurement Policy, the Town of Phelps may award purchase contracts, including
contracts for service work, but excluding any purchase contracts necessary
for the completion of a public works contract pursuant to Article
8 of the New York State Labor Law, on the basis of best value, as
that term is defined in § 163 of the New York State State
Finance Law, to a responsive and responsible bidder or offerer in
the manner provided by § 103 of the New York State General
Municipal Law.
This local law is enacted pursuant to the authority of the Municipal
Home Rule Law and the General Municipal Law § 103(1).