[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of the Town of Plainville 9-18-2023.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
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.
A.
All requests
for supplies, material and equipment required by any department, office,
board, commission or agency of the Town shall be made on requisition
forms. The following information shall be recorded on all requisitions:
(1)
Name of agency requesting goods or services.
(2)
Name of suggested vendor.
(3)
Description of kind and quantity of goods or services required, indicating
part number, unit price, and total price per item. If prices are unavailable,
estimated dollar value shall be required.
(4)
Location to which goods are to be shipped.
(5)
The purpose of expenditure shall be required and the budget account
number to be charged shall be shown.
(6)
All requisitions shall be signed by the department head or chairperson
of the board, commission or agency requesting goods or services.
B.
Requisitions
shall be submitted to the Director of Finance for approval.
A.
The following purchases shall be exempt from § 106-3 of this article:
(1)
Subscriptions for magazines, periodicals, or professional publications.
(2)
Maintenance on office equipment.
(3)
Vehicles and building maintenance, not exceeding $10,000 in value.
(4)
Established monthly billings, such as business machine charges, communications
equipment service charges, utilities, and like items.
A.
For purchases
between the amount of $0 and $14,999.99, the Purchasing Agent may
require one written or verbal quote.
B.
For purchases
between the amount of $15,000 and $24,999.99, the Purchasing Agent
may require three written quotes.
C.
Purchases
of $25,000 or more require a competitive procurement process (e.g.,
sealed bid, request for proposal, and request for qualification).
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.
A.
The Department of Finance shall be notified of goods or services
received by agencies. This shall be either in the form of a verified
packing slip or by verbal notification. When invoices are received
for goods or services rendered by the vendor, such invoices shall
be distributed to the appropriate agency. The department head or agency
chairperson shall be required to approve payment and forward to the
Department of Finance.
B.
This purchasing procedure is to maintain control of costs. The Department
of Finance shall provide information concerning budget performance
and status to each department head or agency chairperson. This shall
give the department head or agency chairperson the opportunity to
maintain control of the particular departmental expenditures and thus
stay within budget appropriations.
C.
Records of bids and proposals/qualifications and of the successful
bidder/respondent shall be kept digitally by, or in the office of,
the Purchasing Agent for the appropriate retention period.
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.
A.
An encumbrance
is defined as an executed contract for goods or services that will
be delivered, provided or performed by the vendor outside of the budget
year in which the contract was executed. Personnel costs are not encumbrances.
B.
In order
for an encumbrance to be confirmed, a specific purchase order must
be placed and/or contract executed with a purchase order issued (i.e.,
mailed) to the vendor prior to June 30 of each year and subject to
the procedure outlined below.
A.
A listing of all outstanding encumbrances shall be submitted to the
Town Council by July 1 of every fiscal year. The list shall include
the vendor name, date of contract or purchase order, a description
of the goods or service, the budget account number and a purchase
order posting report. Copies of all contracts for goods or services
and purchase orders shall be attached.
B.
The Town Council will review all outstanding encumbrances by July
15 of each year. If requested by the Town Council, any Town staff
responsible for encumbering Town funds will attend meetings of the
Town Council to answer questions and provide additional information
regarding the encumbrances. The Town Council will confirm all encumbrances
as defined above and make Town funds from the current fiscal year
available to pay said encumbrances.
C.
Town funds from the current fiscal year will not be made available
to pay outstanding encumbrances after June 30 of each fiscal year
unless confirmed by the Town Council.
