[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Eaton 4-12-2016 by L.L. No. 1-2016. Amendments noted where applicable.]
General Municipal Law § 103 generally requires competitive
bidding for purchase contracts and public works contracts and has
historically required that such bids be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder whose bid meets the requirements of the specifications for
the project, but also provides that by enacting a local law so providing,
municipalities may award purchase contracts which would otherwise
be subject to the "lowest bidder" rule on the basis of "best value,"
as defined in State Finance Law § 163, to a responsive and
responsible bidder or offeror. The Town Board of the Town of Eaton
hereby determines that it is in the best interest of the Town of Eaton
and its residents for those Town of Eaton officials and employees
making purchase decisions (hereafter referred to as "Purchasing Agent")
to have the authority to award purchase contracts on the basis of
best value. Factors that may be used to enact the best value option
to optimize quality, cost and efficiency and thereby award a contract
for the procurement of good(s) or service(s) to other than the lowest
bidder are:
A.
Lowest cost of maintenance for good(s) or service(s);
B.
Durability of good(s) or service(s);
C.
Higher quality of good(s) or service(s);
D.
Longer product life of good(s) or service(s);
E.
The cost of delivery and/or transportation of the good(s) to their
needed location;
F.
Availability of the good(s) or service(s) and the length of time
between order and delivery.
On and after the effective date of this chapter, the Purchasing
Agent may award purchase contracts, including contracts for service
work, but excluding any purchase contracts necessary for the completion
of a public works contract pursuant to Labor Law Article 8, on the
basis of best value, as defined in State Finance Law § 163,
to a responsive and responsible bidder or offeror.
A.
Where the basis for award is the best value offer, the Purchasing
Agent shall document, in the procurement record and in advance of
the initial receipt of offers, the determination of the evaluation
criteria, which, whenever possible, shall be quantifiable, and the
process to be used in the determination of best value and the manner
in which the evaluation process and selection shall be conducted.
B.
Where appropriate, the solicitation shall identify the relative importance
and/or weight of cost and the overall technical criterion to be considered
by the Purchasing Agent in their determination of best value.
C.
The election to award any such contract on the basis of best value
shall be made by the Purchasing Agent in consultation with the relevant
department head, and also the Town Board in such instances where Town
Board approval of the purchase contract is otherwise required. In
the event that no such election is made, purchase contracts will continue
to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder furnishing any required
security in accordance with otherwise applicable law and policy.
