[HISTORY: Adopted by the City Council of the City of Atlantic City as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 7-23-2014 by Ord. No. 42-2014]
For the purposes of this article, the following definitions shall apply:
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT
Any agreement for the erection, repair or alteration of any building, structure, bridge, roadway or other improvement to real property.
CITY
The City of Atlantic City.
QUALIFIED VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
A business which has its principal place of business in this state, is independently owned and operated, is at least fifty-one-percent owned and controlled by a veteran or that wherein at least 25% of the required workforce for the contract are veterans, including new hires if additional workers are required to perform the contract, and is qualified pursuant to Section 25 of P.L. 1971, c. 198 (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-25).
SET-ASIDE CONTRACTS
A. 
A contract for goods, equipment, construction, or services which is designated as a contract for which bids are invited and accepted only from qualified veteran business enterprises; and, as appropriate
B. 
A portion of a contract when that portion has been so designated; or
C. 
Any other purchase or procurement so designated.
TOTAL PROCUREMENTS
All purchases, contracts or acquisitions of the county contracting agency, whether by competitive bidding, single-source contracting, or other method of procurement, as prescribed or permitted by law.
VETERAN
Shall have the same meaning as set forth in Subsection b. of N.J.S.A. 11A:5-1, except that the veteran shall present to the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs sufficient evidence of a record of service and receive a determination of status no later than the date established for the submission of bids.
These provisions concerning qualified veteran business enterprise participation in the City's purchasing set-aside program shall apply to construction, service and procurement contracts awarded by or through the City's Purchasing Division.
The purpose of this program of implementing the provisions of the City's qualified veteran business enterprise set-aside program is to establish a goal for the City to set aside 5% of the dollar value of its total procurements to be awarded as set-aside contracts to qualified veteran business enterprises.
A. 
For the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2015, and for every fiscal year thereafter, the initial goal for the qualified veteran business enterprise set-aside program shall be five-percent City-contract participation.
B. 
The City of Atlantic City may revise the goals established herein by subsequent ordinance.
C. 
The above-stated percentage relates to the total dollar value of the City's total procurements to be set aside for qualified veteran business enterprises, as a goal for the City to achieve by the end of each fiscal year.
A. 
Efforts which are merely pro forma shall not be deemed the good faith efforts necessary to generate a level of qualified veteran business enterprise participation sufficient to meet the goals of the program.
B. 
Actions which demonstrate a good faith effort on the part of the City may include, but are not limited to:
(1) 
Notices to veteran-owned businesses soliciting their participation in the set-aside program.
(2) 
The Division of Purchasing's provision of plans, specifications and requirements of the contract(s) to interested veteran-owned businesses.
(3) 
The Division of Purchasing's provision of an annual list of anticipated City purchases (approximate) by item category, dollar amount and month of bid to interested veteran-owned businesses.
If a City contract, construction, service or procurement, which would otherwise be subject to the provisions of this article, is or becomes subject to federal or state laws which conflict with this program or actions thereof, federal or state law shall apply, and the contract shall be interpreted and enforced accordingly. The provisions of this article shall not be construed to abolish or alter the City's requirements regarding construction contracts.
In order to implement the City's qualified veteran-owned business set-aside program, and pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-41 et seq.:
A. 
The Division of Purchasing shall make a good faith effort to attain the goals established by the City Council pursuant to this program.
B. 
The Division of Purchasing may designate a contract, subcontract or other means of procurement as a set-aside contract if it is likely to receive bids from at least two qualified veteran business enterprises at a fair and reasonable price.
C. 
Set-aside designation as described in Subsection B shall be made prior to any advertisement for bids (if required). Notice of such designation shall be included in the advertisement not less than 10 days prior to the date fixed for receiving bids.
D. 
If the Division of Purchasing determines that two bids from qualified veteran business enterprises cannot be obtained, the Division may withdraw the designation of the set-aside contract and resolicit bids on an unrestricted basis.
E. 
If the Division of Purchasing determines that acceptance of the lowest responsible bid will result in the payment of an unreasonable price, the Division shall reject all bids and withdraw the designation of the set-aside contract. The qualified veteran business enterprise shall be notified, in writing, of the set-aside cancellation, the reasons for the rejection and the agency's intent to resolicit bids on an unrestricted basis.
The following provisions shall apply to ensure good faith effort toward achieving the purpose of this program as stated in § 53-4.
A. 
Each City contracting agency shall submit an annual report to the City Council by January 31 of each year describing the agency's efforts in attaining the set-aside goals and the percentage of the dollar value of total procurements awarded pursuant to § 53-5 of this article.
B. 
The City shall publish a list of the City's attainments in the immediately preceding fiscal year, to include the City average, in at least one newspaper circulating in the City, as appropriate, by March 1 of each year.
A. 
In order to be designated a veteran business enterprise, a bidder must, at the time of bidding, submit to the Division of Purchasing, a sworn certification indicating compliance with the definition as set forth in § 53-1. Such certification shall include a determination of veteran status from the Adjutant General of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for each veteran employee and all other necessary proof. The certification shall include a provision acknowledging that the statements and proof contained therein shall be subject to § 53-10, which details penalties associated with false statements. To qualify as a veteran business enterprise based on a veteran composition of 25% of the bidder's work force, the bidder must also certify that 25% of all man-hours of work performed will be completed by veterans.
(1) 
In any situation where the contract performance is anticipated to extend into the ensuing calendar year, the veteran business enterprise shall submit another certification attesting to its continuing qualification. The certification shall be submitted on or before January 31 of the ensuing year.
B. 
Veteran business enterprises shall submit quarterly forms to the Division of Purchasing showing proof of veteran status for all veteran employees and, if applicable, the percentage of man-hours of work performed by veterans.
A. 
Where the City determines that a business has been classified as a qualified veteran business enterprise on the basis of false information knowingly supplied by the business and has been awarded a contract to which it would not otherwise have been entitled under the Local Public Contracts Law,[1] the City may:
(1) 
Assess against the business any difference between the contract and what the City's cost would have been if the contract had not been awarded in accordance with the provisions of this chapter;
(2) 
In addition to the amount due under Subsection A, assess against the business a penalty in an amount of not more than 10% of the amount of the contract involved; and
(3) 
Bar the business from transacting business with the City for a period of one year.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
B. 
Nothing contained herein shall preclude the violator from facing criminal sanctions for false swearing and other crimes that may be applicable under the New Jersey Criminal Code.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 et seq.