Village of Solvay, NY Procurement Policy

Every purchase 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. The following items are not subject to competitive bidding pursuant to § 103 of the General Municipal Law: purchase contracts under $20,000 and public works contracts under $35,000; emergency purchases; certain municipal hospital purchases; goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped; goods purchased from correctional institutions; purchases under state and county contracts; and surplus and secondhand purchases from another governmental entity.

[Amended 3-22-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011]

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.

§ 29-2 General methods.

[Amended 3-22-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011]

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: purchase contracts over $20,000 and public works contracts over $35,000; goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped pursuant to § 175-b of the State Finance Law; goods purchased from correctional institutions pursuant to § 186 of the Correction Law; purchases under state contracts pursuant to § 104 of the General Municipal Law; purchases under county contracts pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 3, of the General Municipal Law; or purchases pursuant to § 29-6 of this policy.

§ 29-3 Specific methods.

The following method of purchase will be used when required by this policy in order to achieve the highest savings:

[Amended 3-22-2011 by L.L. No. 2-2011]

Estimated Amount of Purchase Contract	Method
$250 to $2,999	2 verbal quotations
$3,000 to $19,999	3 written/fax/electronic quotations based upon written request for proposal

Estimated Amount of Public Works Contract	Method
$250 to $2,999	2 verbal quotations
$3,000 to $4,999	2 written/fax/electronic proposals
$5,000 to $34,999	3 written/fax/electronic quotations based upon written request for proposal, including scope of work

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.

§ 29-4 Documentation of action required.

Documentation is required of each action taken in connection with each procurement.

§ 29-5 Documentation and explanation for award to other than lowest bidder.

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 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.

§ 29-6 Conditions for nonsolicitation of alternative proposals.

Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 104-b, Subdivision 2f, 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 Village of Solvay to solicit quotations or document the basis for not accepting the lowest bid:

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 a 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:

(a)

Services of an attorney.

(b)

Services of a physician.

(c)

Technical services of an engineer engaged to prepare plans, maps and estimates.

(d)

Securing insurance coverage and/or services of an insurance broker.

(e)

Services of a certified public accountant.

(f)

Investment management services.

(g)

Printing services involving extensive writing, editing or art work.

(h)

Management of municipally owned property.

(i)

Computer software or programming services for customized programs or services involved in substantial modification and customizing of prepackaged software.

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 section does not preclude alternate proposals if time permits.

Purchases of surplus and secondhand goods from any source. If alternate proposals are required, the village 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.

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 de minimis contracts would be awarded based on favoritism.

§ 29-7 Piggybacking.

[Added 8-26-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Procurement Policy, the Village of Solvay may, for purposes of public purchases, utilize the provisions of General Municipal Law § 103 with regard to so-called "piggybacking" of purchases. Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 103, the Village of Solvay may purchase through the bids solicited by the United States government, New York State and/or any other state, political subdivision (counties, towns, villages, school districts, etc.), provided those contracts clearly state that they are available for use by other governmental entities within the requirements of General Municipal Law § 103, Subdivision 16. Prior to such purchase, the Village of Solvay will ensure that a piggyback purchase qualifies as follows:

(1)

The contract must have been let by the United States or any agency thereof, any state or any other political subdivision or district therein.

(2)

The contract involved must have been available for use by other governmental entities through the bid solicitation process. In such case, the Village of Solvay should determine that there is contained within the bidding political subdivision's bid package a provision that the bid is open to and can be used by either the Village of Solvay or other municipalities. This determination should be made on a case-by-case basis.

(3)

The specific contract must have been issued in accordance with or in a manner consistent with the provisions of General Municipal Law § 103.

§ 29-8 Purchasing based on best value.

[Added 8-26-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]

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, municipalities may award purchase contracts which would otherwise be subject to the "lowest bidder" rule on the basis of best value, as defined in State Finance Law § 163, to a responsive and responsible bidder or offeror. The Village of Solvay Board of Trustees hereby determines that it is in the best interest of the Village of Solvay and its residents for the Village of Solvay to have the authority to award purchase contracts on the basis of best value. Factors that may be used to enact the "best value" option, where cost efficiency over time to award the good(s) or service(s) to other than the lowest bidder, are:

(1)

Lowest cost of maintenance for good(s) or service(s);

(2)

Durability of good(s) or service(s);

(3)

Higher quality of good(s) or service(s); or

(4)

Longer product life of good(s) or service(s).

The Village of Solvay 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 Labor Law Article 8, on the basis of best value, as defined in State Finance Law § 163, to a responsive and responsible bidder or offeror.

(1)

Where the basis for award is the best value offer, the Village of Solvay shall document, in the procurement record and in advance of the initial receipt of offers, the determination of the evaluation criteria, which, whenever possible, shall be quantifiable, and the process to be used in the determination of best value and the manner in which the evaluation process and selection shall be conducted.

(2)

Where appropriate, the solicitation shall identify the relative importance and/or weight of cost and the overall technical criterion to be considered by the Village of Solvay in its determination of best value.

(3)

The election to award any such contract on the basis of best value shall be made by the appropriate department head and Village Board of Trustees. In the event that no such election is made, purchase contracts will continue to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder furnishing any required security in accordance with this chapter.

§ 29-9 Effective date; review of policy.

[Amended 8-26-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]

This policy shall go into effect January 1, 1992, and will be reviewed annually.