It is the policy of the Town to award contracts for the purchase
of goods and services to the lowest bidder at the lowest quote unless
there is a determination of "best value" to award a contract to another
responsible bidder. With the exceptions noted herein, all goods and
services shall be procured pursuant to competitive bidding as set
forth in this article and in General Municipal Law (GML) § 103.
Goods and services that are not required by law to be procured by
competitive bidding shall be procured in a manner as to assure the
prudent and economical use of public moneys in the best interest of
taxpayers, and to facilitate the purchase of goods and services of
maximum quality at lowest possible cost.
This policy shall be reviewed annually by the Town Board at
its organizational meeting or as soon thereafter as is reasonably
practicable. The Comptroller shall be responsible for conducting an
annual evaluation of the effectiveness of this policy and its procedures,
an evaluation of control procedures established to ensure compliance
with this policy, and informing the Town Board of any recommended
changes.
Unless otherwise directed by the Town Board, this article is
not applicable to:
A. The purchase of products and services under $3,000, and other special
department purchasing thresholds approved by the Town Board.
B. The procurement of professional and technical services, under General
Municipal Law § 104-b(2)(F), that require special or technical
skill, training or expertise, are subject to state licensing or testing
requirements, and require substantial formal education or training
as a necessary prerequisite to the performance of the service. Professional
and technical services shall include, but not be limited to, attorney,
physician, engineer, insurance broker, certified public accountant,
investment management services, printing services involving extensive
writing, editing or artwork, property management, computer software,
network management, and management consulting services. The Town Board
may require formal bidding for awarding a contract for professional
services and shall approve a professional services agreement.
C. Procurements under General Municipal Law § 103(3) (county
contracts); General Municipal Law § 104 (certain state and
federal contracts); General Municipal Law § 103(16) (piggybacking
on certain government contracts); General Municipal Law § 104-b
(state contracts); State Finance Law § 175-b (agencies for
the blind or severely handicapped); Correction Law §§ 184
and 186 (articles manufactured in correctional institutions).
D. Emergency purchases under General Municipal Law § 103(4)
that due to an accident or other unforeseen occurrence or condition
whereby circumstances affecting public buildings, public property
or the life, health, safety or property of the residents of the Town
require immediate action which cannot await competitive bidding, quotes
or prior approval. When circumstances warrant, the Town Board shall
approve emergency purchases. In the absence of an opportunity for
Town Board approval, the Town Supervisor shall authorize emergency
purchases, with notice to the Town Board.
E. Sole-source procurements. Competitive bidding is not required under
General Municipal Law § 103 where there is only one possible
source from which to procure goods and services required in the public
interest, such as in the case of certain patented goods and services
or public utility services. Required quotes may not be required in
cases where a manufacturer must be used and the product has no reasonable
equivalent. The department head shall document the sole-source procurement
on a justification form provided by the Comptroller.
F. Single source. "Single source" means a procurement in which although
two or more offerers can supply the required commodities or services,
the department head, upon written findings setting forth the material
and substantial reasons therefor, may procure the commodities or services
from one offerer over the other. A single source could be a distributor/wholesaler/retailer
that has a contractual agreement for a specific territory to the exclusion
of others. The department head shall document the single-source procurement
on a justification form provided by the Comptroller.
Town-issued credit cards may be used by authorized persons for
purchases authorized under this policy, as follows:
A. The Comptroller may be authorized to contract with a credit card
company, bank or vendor to obtain credit.
(1) The total aggregate credit line request shall not exceed $30,000.
(2) The Town Supervisor shall authorize all cardholders and approve a
credit limit for each.
B. Persons are authorized to use Town-issued credit cards under the
following conditions:
(1) All cardholders shall sign the acknowledgment of card receipt and
cardholder agreement.
(2) In no event can the purchases on a credit card circumvent the purchase
order process. All transactions require a purchase order to be issued
to the credit card company.
(3) Credit cards are to be used only for authorized Town purchases.
(4) No sales tax is to be charged on any purchases except for gas, restaurants
and out-of-state hotel bills.
(5) Any misuse of the credit card shall result in revocation of the card
and, if necessary, appropriate disciplinary action.
C. Authorized credit card transactions include but are not limited to:
(1) Travel and conference expenditures, including registration fees,
hotel, rental car, food and gas expenditures.
D. Credit cards should not be used for vendors with which the Town has
an established credit account.
E. If it is necessary to make frequent credit card purchases at the
same local vendor, the establishment of a credit account with that
vendor may be warranted.
F. All purchases of goods or services transacted with a credit card
shall comply with all other sections of this policy.
G. All required documentation shall be promptly forwarded to the Town
Comptroller's Office so that any charges incurred are paid within
the applicable grace period to avoid incurring finance charges.
Any Town employee or family member, as stated in the Town's
Code of Ethics, who has, will have, or acquires an interest in any
actual or proposed contract with the Town shall publicly disclose
the nature and extent of such interest, in writing, to the Town Board
as soon as the person has knowledge of an actual or prospective interest.
This written disclosure shall be made part of the official minutes
of the Town Board. If an employee has a reason to believe that the
person may have a conflict of interest, the Town Attorney should be
contacted immediately.