[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.
Documentation is required of each action taken in connection
with each procurement.
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.
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:
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 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:
(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.
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 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 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.
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 de minimis contracts would
be awarded based on favoritism.
[Added 8-26-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]
A. 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.
[Added 8-26-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]
A. 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).
B. 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.
[Amended 8-26-2014 by L.L. No. 4-2014]
This policy shall go into effect January 1, 1992, and will be
reviewed annually.