It shall be the policy of the Town of Hudson, New Hampshire,
as adopted by the Board of Selectmen that:
A. The Administrative Code shall establish purchasing and contract procedures,
including the assignment of all responsibilities for such purchases,
to the Board or Selectman or its designee, or such purchasing agent
as established by the legislative body, and the combination purchasing
of similar articles by different departments.
B. The Board of Selectman (BOS) shall establish from time to time dollar
limits for purchases and contracts, which must be by competitive bid,
and shall establish the bidding procedures. No competitive bids shall
be required when purchasing through the State of New Hampshire bid
prices.
C. Requirements for bids may be waived in specific instances by a majority
vote of the BOS in attendance at a duly advertised meeting. The BOS
shall establish dollar amounts for purchases or contracts, beyond
which no purchase shall be made or contracts entered into without
the affirmative vote of a majority of the BOS in attendance at a duly
advertised meeting. Once the BOS has voted to make a purchase or enter
into a contract, the Chairman shall carry out the vote of the BOS
and enter into such transaction on behalf of the Town.
D. The purchase of, or the contract for the provision of, all materials,
supplies, and contractual services utilized by any agency of the Town
of Hudson shall be pursued in accordance with the provisions of this
article and other such rules and regulations, as may be promulgated
by the Finance Director with the approval of the Board of Selectmen.
E. In no instance shall such rules and regulations promulgated by the
Finance Director, with the approval of the BOS, contradict any provision
of this article. The provisions of these rules do not apply to the
acquisition or disposition of real property or improvements, nor does
it apply to appurtenant structures valued over $10,000.
The Finance Director of the Town shall serve as the Board of
Selectmen's designee as Purchasing Agent.
The Finance Director shall direct the operation of the Town's
purchasing system as follows:
A. With the approval of the BOS, the Finance Director shall establish,
and amend when necessary, all rules and regulations allowed by this
article and necessary to the effective operation of the purchasing
system.
B. The Finance Director shall approve and/or negotiate all purchases
and contracts made by the Town. All such approvals or negotiations
are subject to the review and/or approval of the BOS unless otherwise
provided for in this article.
C. The Finance Director shall prescribe and maintain such forms as he/she
shall find reasonable and necessary to fulfill the purpose of this
article.
D. The Finance Director shall prepare and adopt a standard purchasing
nomenclature for using agencies and suppliers.
E. When deemed necessary or desirable, the Finance Director shall combine
requirements of using agencies to effect delivery, unit cost or other
procurement factors that are in the best interests of the Town.
F. When deemed necessary or desirable, the Finance Director, with the
approval of the BOS, shall have the authority to join with other units
of government in cooperative purchasing plans to effect delivery,
unit cost or other procurement factors that are in the best interests
of the Town.
G. With the approval of the BOS, the Finance Director shall implement
the conditions and terms under which services, materials, and supplies
may be acquired from federal, state, school, and other government
agencies or associated organizations and to negotiate the prices of
such purchases.
H. The Finance Director shall maintain such stores of materials and
supplies as he/she deems necessary to support the individual and/or
aggregate requirements of the using agencies. The distribution of
items from such stores shall be executed only upon the approval of
the Finance Director according to rules and regulations promulgated
by the Finance Director.
I. With the approval of the BOS and in cooperation with using agencies,
the Finance Director may declare any operating equipment, materials
and supplies surplus. After reasonable public notice, the Finance
Director, with the approval of the BOS, may dispose of any item declared
to be surplus in a manner that encourages the most desirable financial
arrangement for the Town and provides for equal opportunity for participation
by the public.
Any purchase order or contract within the purview of this article
in which the Finance Director, or any officer or employee of the Town,
is financially interested directly or indirectly shall be void; except
that, before the execution of a purchase order or contact, the BOS
shall have the authority to waive compliance with this provision when
it finds such action to be in the best interest of the Town.
For all planned purchases and contracts of goods and services
estimated to total $10,000 or more, the following shall be required.
A. A description in the form of specifications, proposed scope of services,
or other such documentation shall be developed that allows prospective
bidders to make a responsive bid in accordance with the best interests
of the Town. Such specifications, proposed scope of services or other
such documentation shall be reviewed for compliance with all relevant
Town policies and procedures by the Finance Director, and by the Town
Administrator for all purchases and contracts estimated to total $25,000
or more.
B. Solicitation of bids. Bids shall be solicited as follows:
(1) At least four qualified bidders shall receive direct solicitations in writing to bid on the basis of documentation as described in §
98-7A. If fewer than four qualified bidders are solicited to bid, the reasons shall be documented and placed in the files of the Town. Such solicitations shall be mailed at least 14 days prior to the bid opening date as described below.
(2) The Town's desire to receive bids shall be published in at least
one general circulation news publication that serves the Nashua Standard
Metropolitan Statistical Area. Such advertisement shall briefly describe
the service, material, supply, or equipment to be purchased, the method
of obtaining the complete description of the desired service, material,
supply, or equipment, the form in which the bid is to be delivered
to the Town, the time, date and location of receipt of the bid, and
the time, date, and location for opening and announcement of bids.
Such advertisement shall appear at least 14 calendar days before the
planned date of receipt of bids.
C. Determination of successful bidder. For any purchase or contact of $25,000 or more, the Finance Director shall submit a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen, as described in §
98-5, no more than 30 days after the opening and/or announcement of bids. For purchases of $10,000 but less than $25,000, the Finance Director shall submit a recommendation for approval by a majority of the BOS.
D. Disqualified bidders. The Town of Hudson BOS shall review and consider
the past course of dealings that the municipality has had, if any,
with a prospective bidder, respondent, contractor, or employee in
evaluating a response to any Town solicitation for bids, proposals,
work, or employment.