The purpose of this article is to establish uniform purchasing
procedures in accordance with Chapter VII, Sections 10 and 11, of
the Charter of the Town of Plainville and any other applicable provisions
thereof.
The Town Manager or his or her designee shall be the Purchasing
Agent for the Town of Plainville and shall have the rights and responsibilities
set forth in Chapter VII of the Charter.
If any purchase or contract for services, including a continuing
contract for the same service over a period of time, involves the
expenditure of $25,000 or more, either the Town Council or the Town
Manager shall invite sealed bids or proposals, giving at least 10
days' public notice thereof by at least one publication in a newspaper
having circulation in the Town, unless the Council determines that
it is against the best interests of the Town to require competitive
procurement with respect to a particular purchase or contract for
service (for example, sole source purchases, etc.). No transaction
that is essentially a unit shall be divided for the purpose of evading
the provisions of this section.
A. Procurement
by sealed bid.
(1) Purchases
to be made on a bid basis shall be the responsibility of the Purchasing
Agent. He or she shall have the cooperation of any and all agencies
requesting purchases on bids. This shall include preparation and publication
of bid specifications and other necessary information.
(2) If
a purchase is put to bid, the Council shall either award the contract
to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder thereon or shall reject
for any reason all such bids.
(3) Whenever
there is a desire to award the bid to a vendor other than the lowest
responsive, responsible bidder, the Purchasing Agent shall submit
the file concerning such matter to the Council, together with his
or her recommendations and a report from the interested department
head. The Council may award the contract to a vendor other than the
lowest bidder. The Council minutes shall specify the reasons for awarding
the bid to a vendor other than the lowest responsive, responsible
bidder.
(4) All
such sealed bids shall be opened publicly.
B. Procurement
by request for proposals or qualifications.
(1) Purchases
to be made on a proposals/qualifications basis shall be the responsibility
of the Purchasing Agent. He or she shall have the cooperation of any
and all agencies requesting purchases on proposals/qualifications.
This shall include preparation and publication of proposal/qualifications
specifications and other necessary information.
(2) The
proposal shall be awarded to the vendor who will provide the best
value to the Town. The principal consideration shall be the vendor's
experience and competence and its ability to provide the highest level
of service at a reasonable, negotiated price.
(3) If
a purchase utilizes a proposal/qualifications process, the Council
shall award the vendor that meets the aforementioned criteria or shall
reject for any reason all such submissions of proposals/qualifications.
Contracts for professional services may be negotiated for rather than procured through a competitive procurement process and therefore will not be subject to the provisions of §
106-6 of this article.
Sole source purchases and waivers of the competitive procurement process may be authorized or ratified by the Council when goods, services, or works are unique, proprietary, compatible with existing systems, required in emergency situations, when specific expertise is essential, or when it is in the best interest of the Town. Competitive procurement procedures set forth in §
106-6 of this article can be waived if it is justified in the Town's best interest.
Any purchase exceeding $500 and not specified in §
106-4 of this article may require a purchase order by the Director of Finance. The Director of Finance shall approve all purchase orders for goods or services and lease purchases.
Violations of the provisions of this article shall be the same
as provided in Chapter VII, Section 15, of the Charter of the Town
of Plainville, which section is hereby incorporated herein as if fully
set forth herein.
The Purchasing Agent may utilize cooperative purchasing services in an effort to maximize cost benefits. Cooperative purchasing services may consist of but may not be limited to competitive procurement solicitations initiated by the State of Connecticut, the federal government, other municipalities in Connecticut, the Plainville Board of Education, or other national/regional purchasing authorities/consortiums. If cooperative purchasing services are utilized, the competitive procurement procedures set forth in §
106-6 of this article are not applicable. The Purchasing Agent shall present cooperative procurement solicitations to the Town Council for approval.
Purchases involving projects approved or anticipated to be eligible
for federal or state grants will conform to the specific requirements
associated with the type of funding or grant. These requirements may
include but are not limited to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Title 2/Subtitle A/Chapter II/Part 200/Subpart D/Procurement Standards
(200.317-200.327).
The purpose of the policy below is to limit Town entities from
initiating new purchases late in the fiscal year and to prevent the
carrying of encumbered funds across fiscal years. For reasons of fiscal
and budgetary soundness, this policy below shall apply to all departments,
offices and agencies of the Town of Plainville.