It is the purpose of this article that, notwithstanding that
professional services contracts are exempt from the competitive bidding
requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1
et seq., the Township Committee deems it appropriate, in order to
avoid any public perception that professional services contracts are
awarded in consideration for, e.g., political contributions or other
considerations, that said contracts, consistent with the already existing
custom and procedure of the Township, shall continue to be awarded
through a competitive, quality-based, fair and open process.
No professional services contracts, as that term is used in
the Local Public Contracts Law, shall be awarded after the date of
the adoption of this article, unless the following competitive, quality-based,
fair and open process is followed:
A. Professional services may be awarded by virtue of a combined publicly
advertised request for qualifications (RFQ) and request for proposals
(RFP) which will be issued as one document for those appointments
which are made on an annual basis, such as, but not limited to, the
positions of: Township Attorney, Township Engineer, Township Planner,
Township Auditor, Planning Board Attorney, Planning Board Engineer,
and such similar statutory and/or ordinance public positions.
B. For said positions, no contract shall be awarded unless and until
the positions are:
(1) Publicly advertised in newspapers in sufficient time to give notice
in advance of the solicitation for the contracts;
(2) Awarded under a process that provides for public solicitation of
proposals and qualifications;
(3) Awarded and disclosed under criteria established, in writing, by
the Township of Chesterfield prior to the solicitation of proposals
or qualifications; and
(4) Publicly announced when awarded and noticed by way of publication;
and as to those RFQs and RFPs which prove to be unsuccessful, the
Municipal Clerk shall retain a copy of same on file for a period of
not less than 60 days.
C. For contracts which arise on an occasional basis, such as appraisals
needed for the acquisition of farmland and/or open space, as well
as title searches, surveying, and similar work associated with same,
and similar projects of this type, professional services shall be
awarded only after receipt of publicly advertised RFQs, after which
a limited number of the best qualified vendors would be identified,
and proposals would then be solicited therefrom.
D. Review of RFPs/RFQs by Township Committee. The Township Committee
shall evaluate any RFQ and/or RFP issued pursuant to the professional
services contracting procedures set forth above. The Committee must
prepare, prior to a request for proposals, a written cost estimate
in order to allow for proper evaluation of the fee aspect of proposals.
Moreover, the Committee shall evaluate the respective qualifications
and/or proposals, taking into consideration the designated qualifications
and/or performance criteria, experience, quoted fee and other relevant
factors in making an award of the contract. The Committee may, in
its sole discretion, conduct negotiations with qualified vendors after
receipt of proposals in order to achieve the best possible contract
terms and conditions for the Township and its taxpayers.
E. Emergency exceptions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Township
Committee recognizes that the New Jersey Legislature has provided
for the occurrence of certain emergencies, and further recognizes
that, therefore, the procedure outlined above might not be capable
of being achieved in the event of an emergency or similar time constraints.
Thus, should such a situation arise, and time does not permit resort
to this procedure, and the immediate performance of services is necessary,
then an award for same may be made in accordance with the provisions
of the Local Public Contracts Law relating to emergency contracts,
and such rules and regulations as made be promulgated, from time to
time, by the Township Committee with regard to same. No such emergency
contracts, however, may be awarded without submission to the Township
Clerk of a certification establishing the basis for the deviation
from the procedures outlined herein.