[HISTORY: Adopted by the Special Town Meeting
of the Town of Griswold 4-22-2008[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Budget and appropriations — See Ch. 10.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed
former Ch. 24, Contracts, adopted by the Special Town Meeting 6-10-1993.
Except as provided in §§ 24-2 and 24-3 of the Code of Ordinances, no contract for services or purchases that are anticipated to cost $7,500 or more shall be authorized by the Board of Selectmen until a proposed contract, or a request for proposals, for such services or purchases has been put out to bid by advertising in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Griswold and the bids received have been opened and announced in the public view. For purposes of this section, the term "services" shall mean services to be provided in connection with discrete matters of limited duration, such as, but not limited to, specific building or construction projects.
A.
Routine professional services. Unless otherwise required
by law, this chapter shall not apply to services provided by professional
consultants who are appointed to handle on-going, routine Town business
on a regular basis and whose appointment may be terminated at will
by the Town, such as, but not limited to, the Town Attorney and Town
Engineer.
B.
Emergencies. Nothing in this chapter shall preclude
the Board of Selectmen from acting in an emergency, provided that
the facts constituting the emergency have been stated in writing and
placed on the record of the special meeting of the Board of Selectmen
called for that purpose. For purposes of this subsection, the term
"emergency" shall mean a breakdown in machinery or equipment resulting
in the interruption of an essential service or a distinct threat to
public health, safety, or welfare.
C.
Proprietary or limited-source items. When required
supplies, materials, equipment, or services are of a proprietary nature,
or are otherwise of such specific design or construction as to be
available from one or few vendors, or are specifically desired for
purposes of maintaining cost-effective system consistency, the Board
of Selectmen may waive bidding procedures; provided, however, that
where such items or services are available from more than one source,
the Board of Selectmen must make a specific finding, either:
D.
Continuing provision of goods or services. The Board
of Selectmen may waive bidding when:
(1)
Supplies, materials, equipment, or services are to
be provided in connection with discrete matters of limited duration,
such as, but not limited to, specific building or construction projects
that extend beyond the end of any fiscal year;
(2)
The Town used bidding procedures to designate the
provider(s) of such supplies, materials, equipment, or services when
the relevant matter was initiated, or as soon thereafter as the supplies,
materials, equipment or services were needed;
(3)
The same or similar supplies, materials, equipment
or services would continue to be delivered by the same providers;
and
(4)
The relevant provider or providers have performed
satisfactorily and have not defaulted on any obligations to the Town.
E.
Cooperative purchasing. The Board of Selectmen may
waive bidding procedures when the Town would be joining with other
municipalities to procure supplies, materials, equipment, or services
through cooperative purchasing or service agreements.
F.
State or federal requirements. The procedures established pursuant to § 24-1 shall be deemed to be superseded whenever state or federal laws or regulations proscribe different procedures.
G.
State procurements. The Board of Selectmen may waive
bidding procedures when the State of Connecticut has performed a bid
process and allows municipalities' access to their bid rates.
[Added 8-12-2014]
A.
Definition; applicability; affidavit.
(1)
For the purpose of this section "Town-based business" shall mean a business with a principal place of business located within the legal boundaries of the Town of Griswold, including the Borough of Jewett City (the "Town"), for more than 18 months, in a location appropriately zoned for that business and which operates on a day-to-day basis. A business shall not be considered a Town-based business unless evidence satisfactory to the Board of Selectmen has been submitted with each bid submitted by such business to establish that the business has a bona fide principal place of business within the Town. Such evidence may include evidence of ownership of, or a long-term lease (greater than one year) for, the real estate from which the principal place of business is operated at the time of bid submission and for the duration of the business' Town contract and/or payment of property taxes to the Town on the personal property of the business to be used in the performance of the bid. This proof, together with the affidavit provided for in Subsection A(2), must be submitted at the same time and in the same manner as any bid in order to be considered a Town-based business. Late or incomplete submissions will not be reviewed. No bid will be considered if the Town-based business is delinquent, as of the date of the submission of its bid, on its real estate, personal property and/or motor vehicle tax obligations to the Town. Post office boxes, secondary or satellite offices shall not be considered for purposes of determining whether or not the business constitutes a Town-based business. Determination of whether or not the business qualifies as a Town-based business shall be made by the Town and shall be final. This section shall not apply in any situation where the preference created by this section would violate federal or state law or any existing contracts. Further, this section shall not apply when the bid in question involves a cooperative purchasing agreement between the Town and other municipalities or the State of Connecticut.
(2)
Subject to any other provisions set forth herein, the provisions of Subsection A(1) are applicable to contracts for the procurement of goods and/or services where competitive bidding or a request for proposal ("RFP") is required or elected by the Town and the total contract price or value is over $7,500.
(3)
In publishing its RFP for a Town contract for goods or services,
the Town shall include a copy of this section and the following affidavit:
AFFIDAVIT PURSUANT TO THE
ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR BID PREFERENCE FOR TOWN-BASED
BUSINESSES
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The undersigned, being duly sworn, disposes and says as follows:
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1.
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That he/she is over the age of 18 years of age;
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2.
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That he/she believes in and understands the obligations of an
oath;
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3.
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That he/she is submitting a bid as a Town-based business, pursuant
to those conditions delineated in the Town of Griswold's Ordinance
Providing for Bid Preference for Town-based businesses.
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4.
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That he/she believes that his/her business, qualifies as a Town-based
business, pursuant to those conditions delineated in the Town of Griswold's
Ordinance Providing for Bid Preference for Town-based businesses.
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Name of Local Bidder
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Date
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(Please Print)
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Signature of Local Bidder
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B.
After opening all bids that were presented on time and according
to bid specifications, the lowest qualified and complete bid shall
be determined. If the lowest qualified and complete bid is not a Town-based
business, the bid may be offered to a Town-based business if the business
also submitted an on-time, qualified and complete bid and is within
10% of the determined low bid. If there is more than one Town-based
business who qualifies and who is within 10% of the determined low
bid, then the bid will be offered to the Town-based business with
the lowest submitted bid first; if declined, then it would be offered
to the next lowest Town-based business who submitted an on-time, qualified
and complete bid and is within 10% of the determined low bid and so
on and so forth until it is accepted by a Town-based business or offered
to all who meet the criteria previously mentioned. If the bid is accepted
by a qualified Town-based business that was within 10% of the determined
low bid, the Town-based business bidder must agree to match the determined
low bid. If there are no qualified and complete Town-based businesses
within 10% of the determined low bid, or if the bid is refused by
all such Town-based businesses within 10% of the determined low bid,
then the determined lowest qualified and complete bid shall be deemed
to be awarded. In all instances, the acceptance by the bidder shall
be submitted, in writing, to the Town, and received by the Town, during
the next business day following the offer made by the Town. The Town's
decision hereunder shall be final.
C.
General contractors or professional service companies who are awarded the bid and who will subcontract services or materials must place a RFP in a publication of general circulation within the Town, or send the RFP to the Town's Finance Director for placement on the Town website, for any tradespersons or materials needed to complete the Town project. When bids for the subcontract work are received, the same process noted in Subsection B above shall be followed. The general contractor or professional service company shall verify with the Board of Selectmen the Town-based business qualification of any proposed Town-based business subcontractor. The Board of Selectmen may provide a waiver from using a Town-based business subcontractor if the general contractor or professional service company presents reasonable cause (as determined by the Board of Selectmen) to not use a Town-based business subcontractor. After bids from any proposed subcontractor (both Town-based business and non-Town-based business) are opened by the general contractor or professional service company, a list of such bids, along with their bid price, a designation of whether they qualify as a Town-based business and the determined low bid price, must be submitted by the general contractor or professional service company to the Town's Finance Director within seven calendar days. The Town's decision hereunder shall be final.
D.
The foregoing section shall apply to all Town bids for all Town departments,
with the following exceptions:
(1)
Professional services awarded on subjective and objective criteria,
in addition to cost.
(2)
Contracts using state, federal or other funds that have governing
regulations disallowing such practice, including school construction
subject to statutorily required competitive bidding.
(3)
In the event where any federal or state grant, in whole or in part,
is used to fund any part of the project, purchase or contract, and
the state or federal guidelines or requirements prohibit or restrict
local preferences, then there shall be no local preference.
E.
This section will become effective 30 days after publication in accordance
with law.