[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Rhinebeck 4-16-2012[1]; amended in its entirety 1-12-2021. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
[1]
Editor’s Note: This resolution also superseded former
Ch. 15, Procurement Policy, adopted 6-8-1993.
A.
Every purchase to be made must be initially reviewed to determine
whether it is a purchase contract or a public works contract. Once
that determination is made, a good-faith effort will be made to determine
whether it is known or can reasonably be expected that the aggregate
amount to be spent on the item of supply or service is not subject
to competitive bidding, taking into account past purchases and the
aggregate amount to be spent in a year. The following items are not
subject to competitive bidding pursuant to § 103 of the
General Municipal Law: purchase contracts under $20,000 and public
works contracts under $35,000; emergency purchases; certain municipal
hospital purchases; goods purchased from agencies for the blind or
severely handicapped; goods purchased from correctional institutions;
purchases under state and county contracts; and surplus and secondhand
purchases from another governmental entity.
B.
The decision that a purchase is not subject to competitive bidding
will be documented, in writing, by the individual making the purchase.
This documentation may include written or verbal quotes from vendors,
a memo from the purchaser indicating how the decision was arrived
at, a copy of the contract indicating the source which makes the item
or service exempt, a memo from the purchaser detailing the circumstances
which led to an emergency purchase or any other written documentation
that is appropriate.
All goods and services will be secured by use of written requests
for proposals, written quotations, verbal quotations or any other
method that assures that goods will be purchased at the lowest price
that achieves the best value for the product or service sought and
avoids favoritism, except in the following circumstances: purchase
contracts over $20,000 and public works contracts over $35,000; goods
purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped pursuant
to § 175-b of the State Finance Law[1]; goods purchased from correctional institutions pursuant to § 186 of the Correction Law; purchases under state contracts pursuant to § 104 of the General Municipal Law; purchases under county contracts pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 3, of the General Municipal Law; purchases from other governmental entities pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 16, of the General Municipal Law; or purchases pursuant to § 15-5 of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: Section 175-b of the State Finance Law
was repealed by L. 1995, c. 83, § 33.
A.
The following methods of purchase will be used when required by this
policy in order to achieve the highest savings:
|
Estimated Amount of Purchase Contract
|
Method
|
|---|---|
|
$1,000 to $19,999
|
Good faith effort to obtain three written/fax/email quotes
|
|
Estimated Amount of Public Works Contract
|
Method
|
|---|---|
|
$3,000 to $34,999
|
Good faith effort to obtain three written/fax/email quotes
|
B.
A good-faith effort shall be made to obtain the required number of
proposals or quotations. If the purchaser is unable to obtain the
required number of proposals or quotations, the purchaser will document
the attempt made at obtaining the proposals. In no event shall the
failure to obtain the proposals be a bar to the procurement.
A.
Documentation is required of each action taken in connection with
each procurement.
B.
Documentation and an explanation is required whenever a contract
is awarded to other than the lowest responsible offeror. This documentation
will include an explanation of how the award will achieve savings
or how the offeror was not responsible. A determination that the offeror
is not responsible shall be made by the purchasers and may not be
challenged under any circumstances.
C.
At the annual organizational meeting, The Board of Trustees will specify, by title, the individual in each department with authority to authorize purchases under this section, except as altered by union agreement. The Village Clerk and Deputy Clerk shall have purchasing authority. Management of department budgets and scheduling of budget meetings shall be determined at the annual organizational meeting as well. The Village Treasurer will provide additional training on procurement and purchasing for any newly named staff or officials. All purchases over the minimum thresholds in § 15-3 of this chapter shall require approval from the Board liaison for that particular department. All public works contracts will require liaison approval.
The procurement policy may contain circumstances when or types
of procurement for which, in the sole discretion of the governing
body, the solicitation of alternative proposals or quotations will
not be in the best interest of the municipality. In the following
circumstances, it may not be in the best interest of the Village of
Rhinebeck to solicit quotations or document the basis for not accepting
the lowest bid:
A.
Professional services or services requiring special or technical
skill, training or expertise. The individual or company must be chosen
based on accountability, reliability, skill, education and training,
judgment, integrity and moral worth. These qualifications are not
necessarily found in the individual or company that offers the lowest
price, and the nature of these services are such that they do not
readily lend themselves to competitive procurement procedures. In
determining whether a service fits into this category, the Board of
Trustees shall take into consideration the following guidelines: whether
the services are subject to state licensing or testing requirements;
whether substantial formal education or training is a necessary prerequisite
to the performance of the services; and whether the services require
a personal relationship between the individual and municipal officials.
Professional or technical services shall include, but not be limited
to, the following: services of an attorney; services of a physician;
technical services of an engineer engaged to prepare plans, maps and
estimates; securing insurance coverage and/or services of an insurance
broker; services of a certified public accountant; investment management
services; printing services involving extensive writing, editing or
art work; management of municipally owned property; and computer software
or programming services for customized programs or services involved
in substantial modification and customizing of prepackaged software.
B.
Emergency purchases pursuant to § 103, Subdivision 4, of
the General Municipal Law. Due to the nature of this exception, these
goods or services must be purchased immediately and a delay in order
to seek alternate proposals may threaten the life, health, safety
or welfare of the residents. This section does not preclude alternate
proposals if time permits.
C.
Purchases of surplus and secondhand goods from any source. If alternate
proposals are required, the Village is precluded from purchasing surplus
and secondhand goods at auctions or through specific advertised sources
where the best prices are usually obtained. It is also difficult to
try to compare prices of used goods, and a lower price may indicate
an older product.
D.
Goods or services under the minimum thresholds in § 15-3 of this chapter. The time and documentation required to purchase through this policy may be more costly than the item itself and would therefore not be in the best interest of the taxpayer. In addition, it is not likely that such de minimis contracts would be awarded based on favoritism.
E.
In sole source situations, where a purchaser, acting in good faith
and without intent to arbitrarily inhibit or restrict competition,
determines that a particular item is required and that such item is
available only from one supplier and there is no other substantial
equivalent source for the required good or service, he/she shall seek
the advice and approval of the Village Mayor when making a sole source
purchase. When there is only one possible source from which to procure
goods and/or services, thus indicating there is no possibility of
competition, the following shall be shown and information may be furnished
by the supplier:
Factors to be considered when choosing a supplier include, but
are not limited to, the following:
In order to ensure ease and utility of comparison of various
products and vendor RFP submissions when assessing "environmentally
preferable," the following standards are adopted:
A.
Energy use. Priority shall be given to products and services which
consume the least amount of energy in their manufacture, use and disposal.
Where possible, ENERGY STAR® qualification
and/or an equivalent elevated measure of efficiency should be a minimum
requirement in any energy-consuming equipment, device, vehicle or
appliance purchase, such as refrigerators, computers, etc. When seeking
competition, Village governments should consider whether energy-efficient
equipment will produce savings in energy costs and, if properly justified,
may include an energy efficiency threshold in their specifications
or consider energy efficiency as part of a best value analysis.
B.
Sustainability of materials and packaging.
(1)
Priority shall be given to products and services which incorporate
products which are made from sustainable materials, and/or contain
a significant level of recycled or reprocessed material and/or which
are manufactured locally. Priority shall be given to products which
are minimally packaged using recycled, recyclable or biodegradable
packaging materials and/or which are packaged to reduce transportation
costs.
(2)
General Municipal Law § 104-a sets forth an exception to
the requirements of General Municipal Law § 103 for the
purchase of recycled products. "Recycled product" is defined to mean
any product manufactured from secondary materials (as defined in Economic
Development Law § 261) and meeting the requirements of Environmental
Conservation Law § 27-0717 (the state recycling emblem program)
and any regulations of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
If a recycled product meets specifications and the price is reasonably
competitive, the political subdivision may award the contract to the
vendor of the recycled product, notwithstanding the provisions of
General Municipal Law § 103. "Reasonably competitive" is
defined to mean a cost premium not to exceed 10% of the comparable
nonrecycled product or 15% if at least 50% of the secondary material
utilized in making the recycled product is generated from the waste
stream in New York State.
(3)
Some specific, common items:
(a)
Light bulbs: NYSERDA's Lighting Clearinghouse and the Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute's Lighting Research Center.
(b)
Paper and paper products, including cardboard: "percent recycled"
or Forest Stewardship Certified (FSC).
(c)
Cleaning products and other chemicals for use in government
buildings or operations: Green Seal™ GS-37 guidance document, "Environmental Standard for General Purpose,
Bathroom, Glass, and Carpet Cleaners for Industrial and Institutional
Purposes."
(d)
Containers, receptacles, binders, and other municipal office
supplies. The following standard shall apply for determining the environmentally
preferable nature for such purchases:
C.
Environmental impacts. Priority shall be given to products which
reduce impacts on the environment during manufacture, use or disposal.
D.
Health impacts. Priority shall be given to products and services
which reduce or eliminate health risks to employees and/or citizens
in their manufacture, use or disposal. In particular, products that
contain chlorine, PVC, and/or emit unhealthy levels of chemical emissions
during use should be avoided.
E.
Bid documents and requests for proposals shall be drafted to encourage
environmentally preferable purchases and service by incorporating
bidding specifications that procure goods and services with a reduced
environmental impact where appropriate. For example, include language
requesting the bidder to account for the recycling of demolition material
or responsible disposal of waste harmful to the environment.
F.
The Village Board may direct the Village Climate Smart Community
Task Force to perform additional research in order to consider whether
certain products meet the above-listed environmentally preferable
standards. Preference shall be given to those products and services
that demonstrate and effectively state the degree to which their product
or service is environmentally preferable given the above standards.
G.
Nothing in this policy shall be construed as requiring the procurement
of products or services that do not perform adequately for the intended
use or not available at a reasonable price in a reasonable period
of time.
The Village of Rhinebeck seeks to save on long-term costs by
investing in vehicles that require less fuel, which also supports
the Village's sustainability goals. In the case of vehicles and
other capital expenditures, a Fleet Efficiency Policy shall serve
to determine the environmentally preferable nature for such purchases.
A.
The requisitioning department head shall be given the receiving copy
of the invoice.
B.
When a delivery is made, the receiving employee must fill in the
information as to the quantity, which can only be obtained by counting
or weighing the goods delivered, or actual verification of the service
rendered.
C.
The completed and receipted copy should immediately be forwarded
to the Village Treasurer who should compare it with the vendor's
claim. Any invoices and/or shipping reports received from the vendor
should also be transmitted to the Treasurer.
D.
Signed and verified receiving slips or invoices are to be attached
to the claim vouchers for further verification by the Village Board
prior to authorization of payment of the claim. For services purchased
that do not require delivery, a post audit must be performed to ensure
that services requested were properly received by the Village Treasurer.
