This chapter shall be known and may be referred to as the purchasing
ordinance of the city.
(Ord. 452 § 1, 1991)
For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
will hold:
means those accounts, procedures, or items of documentation
governing or accounting for city purchases. Such mechanisms include,
but are not limited to: purchase requisitions, purchase orders, imprest
funds, requests for warrant, petty cash reimbursements, and the demands
register.
means the vendor which best addresses the desired qualifications
in terms of price and quality. In addition to cost, such factors as
past performance records; maintenance, delivery and service terms;
product quality and durability; and recommendations should be taken
into consideration. Status as a responsible bidder shall also be contingent
upon designation as such by the purchasing agent.
means any public projects, as defined by Division 2, Part
3, Article 4 of the California Public Contract Code.
means any activities or tasks, the performance of which the
city typically procures from a third party.
means any raw materials, inventory, fixed assets, machinery,
vehicles, or other items consistent with a reasonable definition of
supplies or equipment.
means those services, as defined in subsection D, which are regulated according to the provisions of Title 1, Division 5, Chapter 10 of the California Government Code.
(Ord. 452 § 2, 1991)
In the area of purchasing, the responsibilities of the city
council shall be as follows:
A.
Enact
all ordinances and resolutions relating to purchasing;
B.
Approve
all solicitations of formal bids;
C.
Award
final contracts for purchases requiring formal bids;
D.
Grant
final authorization for all disbursements through approval of the
demands register.
(Ord. 452 § 3, 1991)
There is created the position of purchasing agent. The purchasing
agent shall have the following authority:
A.
Authorize,
oversee, and/or carry out the purchase of supplies, equipment, and
public projects requested by any department in accordance with: the
purchasing procedures prescribed by this chapter, such administrative
regulations and guidelines as may be adopted by the purchasing agent
for the management and operation of the purchasing function, and such
other rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the city council;
B.
Maintain
overall control of the system for assigning and delegating purchasing
authority to specific positions;
C.
Discourage
uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition
as possible on all purchases;
D.
Establish
procedures governing internal purchasing mechanisms and the purchase
of items other than supplies, equipment, technical contract services,
or public projects;
E.
Ensure
adherence to all purchasing policies and procedures through oversight
and, when appropriate, disciplinary action.
(Ord. 452 § 4, 1991)
All administrative regulations and guidelines for the purchasing
system adopted by the purchasing agent shall be collected and published
in the form of a purchasing policy to be made available to each department
head and officer of the city.
(Ord. 452 § 5, 1991)
When a purchase is subject to federal, state, or other regulatory
agencies' requirements, the purchase shall be carried out in
compliance with those requirements.
(Ord. 452 § 6, 1991)
The purchase of supplies, equipment, or public projects shall
be made only by means of purchase orders, signed by the purchasing
agent or a duly authorized designee. This requirement shall not be
construed to nullify, alter, or preclude any other requirements as
may be contained in this chapter or be established by the purchasing
agent.
(Ord. 452 § 7, 1991)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all purchases
involving expenditures of one thousand dollars or less shall be purchased
on the open market subject to administrative regulations and guidelines
adopted by the purchasing agent.
(Ord. 452 § 8, 1991)
As an aid in selecting the most appropriate vendor to provide
supplies, equipment, or services to the city, specifications shall
be established for the purchase requested. The degree of detail for
each set of specifications shall be subject to the discretion of the
purchasing agent. Standard specifications may be approved by the purchasing
agent for commonly purchased goods.
A.
When
informal bid procedures are called for, the specifications may take
the form of a product description accompanying the purchase request.
B.
When
formal bid procedures are called for, the purchasing agent should
work closely with the city manager, finance director, consulting professionals,
and potential vendors, in establishing precise, written specifications
for the purchase. All such specifications shall be subject to the
approval of the purchasing agent.
(Ord. 452 § 9, 1991)
The purchasing agent may also solicit bids from responsible
vendors whose names appear on an approved vendors list, who have dealt
responsibly with the city in the past twelve months, or who have made
a written request to be so considered. Approved vendors lists shall
be updated by the purchasing agent on an annual basis.
(Ord. 452 § 10, 1991)
For large expenditures and/or technically complicated purchases,
a pre-bid conference open to all interested vendors shall be held
at the discretion of the purchasing agent in order to discuss and
clarify purchase specifications.
(Ord. 452 § 11, 1991)
Any appeal related to either a formal or informal bid process shall be decided according to the provisions of Loma Linda Municipal Code Section 2.08.030.
(Ord. 452 § 12, 1991)
Multiple purchases of supplies or equipment within a rolling
twelve month period are not to be allocated to different accounts
or separated into smaller orders for the purpose of circumventing
competitive bidding procedures, administrative regulations or guidelines
regarding purchasing, or expenditure thresholds relating to supplies
and equipment.
(Ord. 452 § 13, 1991)
Implicit in the purchasing process shall be the prohibition
of practices which might result in unlawful activity including, but
not limited to, rebates, kickbacks, or other unlawful consideration,
and the practice of any city employees of participating in the vendor
selection process when said employees have a financial or familial
relationship with any person or firm under consideration in such a
process. Procedures to report possible conflicts of interest and to
provide for disciplinary action when necessary shall be adopted by
the purchasing agent.
(Ord. 452 § 14, 1991)
Public projects in excess of five thousand dollars in value
shall be subject to bid procedures as provided in Division 2, Part
3, Article 4 of the California Public Contract Code.
(Ord. 452 § 15, 1991)
A.
Except
as otherwise provided, purchases of supplies, and equipment of an
estimated value in excess of twentyfive thousand dollars shall be
subject to formal bid procedures as provided in this chapter.
B.
All
formal bids must be in sealed envelopes identified as bids on the
envelopes, and submitted to the city clerk at the time and place specified
in the notification.
(Ord. 452 § 16, 1991; Ord. 460 § 1, 1991)
The purchasing agent shall advertise the acceptance of formal,
sealed bids by posting notices in the three public places designated
for such purpose by the city council at least ten days before the
date set for opening bids. A public notice soliciting formal bids
shall also be published in appropriate trade journals and/or a newspaper
of general circulation in the city when so required by state law.
These notices shall provide the following:
A.
Deadline,
including date, hour and location for submission of sealed bids;
B.
A general
description of goods desired;
C.
Information
regarding availability of written specifications;
D.
Qualifications
for acceptable bidders;
E.
Information
regarding any bidder's security or bond requirements;
F.
Date,
time and location of the bid opening;
G.
Evaluation
factors;
H.
Date
and time of bid award.
(Ord. 452 § 17, 1991)
The city clerk shall safeguard all bids until the date and time
scheduled for their opening. Bid opening shall occur in public at
the place and time established by notification. The city clerk shall
read aloud and record the names and total prices of each bidder. A
tabulation of all bids received shall be available for public inspection
in the city clerk's office during regular business hours for
a period of not less than thirty calendar days after the bid opening.
(Ord. 452 § 18, 1991)
In its discretion, the city council may reject any and all bids,
may waive any informalities or irregularities in the bids, and may
call for readvertising for bids pursuant to the procedure prescribed
in this chapter. Following a rejection of all bids, the city council
has the option of abandoning the purchase or, given a finding by the
city council that the project may be performed at lower cost by in-house
staff or through open market purchases, completing the purchase by
such methods through passage of a resolution by four-fifths vote.
When all bids exceed the authorized budgeted amount or when less than
three bids are received, the purchasing agent may authorize rejection
of all bids and authorize rebidding based upon the original specifications
or as they may be modified by the purchasing agent.
(Ord. 452 § 19, 1991)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, formal bid contracts
shall be awarded by the city council to the lowest responsible bidder.
Determination of the lowest responsible bidder shall be made by the
city council upon consideration of all relevant information including
the recommendations of the purchasing agent.
(Ord. 452 § 20, 1991)
If two or more bids are received which would qualify as lowest
responsible bids, and if the public interest would be served by proceeding
with a bid award, the city council may in its discretion, and upon
consideration of all relevant information including the recommendations
of the purchasing agent responsible bid of its choice or accept the
lowest bid made by and after negotiation with the tie bidders at the
time of the bid opening or award of contract. Preference may, at this
point, be given to local vendors on the basis of tax revenue returned
to the city.
(Ord. 452 § 21, 1991)
When no formal bids or no responsive bids are received, the
purchasing agent shall be authorized to negotiate for written proposals,
and his or her recommendation shall be presented to the city council.
Subsequent award, if any, shall be made in accordance with applicable
provisions prescribed in this chapter.
(Ord. 452 § 22, 1991)
A.
Informal
bid procedures must be adhered to for all purchases of more than one
thousand dollar but not in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars.
B.
The
informal bid procedures include solicitation of three vendor price
quotations in accordance with approved purchase specifications.
(Ord. 452 § 23, 1991; Ord. 460 § 2, 1991)
All informal bids shall be solicited by the purchasing agent
by written or verbal requests to prospective vendors. The notice shall
inform the vendors of the specifications and bidding procedures relevant
to the purchase.
(Ord. 452 § 24, 1991)
Except as otherwise provide, informal bid contracts shall be
awarded by the purchasing agent to the lowest responsible bidder.
(Ord. 452 § 25, 1991)
Procedures and requirements for formal and informal competitive
bidding may be dispensed with in any of the following circumstances:
A.
The
commodity can be obtained from only one vendor or source;
B.
The
situation is categorized as an emergency by the purchasing agent:
C.
Supplies,
equipment, or services are to be acquired through an agreement entered
into with another governmental entity;
D.
The
commodity in question is a professional consulting service or a service
on retainer.
|
The purchasing agent shall be empowered to find and determine
that substantial evidence exists to support such exemptions from the
competitive bid procedures. Notwithstanding any such waiver of the
competitive bidding requirements, such purchases shall still be subject
to purchase order requirements and administrative regulation by the
purchasing agent.
|
(Ord. 452 § 26, 1991)
Contracts for technical contract services, as defined in Section 3.32.020, shall be awarded on the basis of demonstrated competence and professional qualifications relevant to the task in question. The three mechanisms by which the city shall govern the awarding of such contracts are as follows: annual lists of qualified firms, requests for qualifications, and requests for proposals. These mechanisms shall operate as described in this chapter.
(Ord. 452 § 27, 1991)
The purchasing agent shall maintain lists of firms qualified
to perform work in those areas in which the city normally solicits
technical contract services. The city shall annually publish a notice
inviting technical contract services firms to submit their qualifications
and inviting those already on the lists to update their stated qualifications.
These notices may be published in a major newspaper of general local
circulation, technical publications, or newsletters of appropriate
professional societies.
(Ord. 452 § 28, 1991)
When the need for technical contract services arises which,
by the determination of the purchasing agent, would not be sufficiently
served by an annual list of consultants, requests for qualifications
(RFQ) shall be sent to three or more firms. The RFQ should provide
a general description of the project and request the consultant to
submit qualifying information as specified at the time of the request.
(Ord. 452 § 29, 1991)
A.
A selection
committee assembled by the purchasing agent should review both the
annual list of firms and the consultant's responses to the RFQ
(the Statement of Qualification or SOQ) and establish a short list
of at least three of the most qualified consultants for further evaluation.
B.
If the
purchasing agent has determined that a request for qualifications
is not necessary, the short list shall be selected from among those
firms on the annual lists of firms.
(Ord. 452 § 30, 1991)
In those instances when more detailed proposals are warranted,
a request for proposal (RFP) shall be sent to the short-listed firms
prior to the start of negotiations. The RFP should solicit specific
information on the consultant's proposed team including subcontractors,
understanding of the project, approach, scope of work, and other relevant
data, but should not request fee information.
(Ord. 452 § 31, 1991)
Following the deadline set for receipt of qualifications and/or
proposals, the selection committee shall evaluate the qualifications
and/or proposals and conduct discussions with those firms on the short
list regarding anticipated concepts and the relative utility of alternative
methods of approach for furnishing the required services and then
shall select therefrom, in order of preference, based upon criteria
established and published by the selection committee, no less than
three of the firms deemed to be the most highly qualified to provide
the services required. From this ranked listing, the selection committee
shall negotiate a contract with the best qualified firm at a compensation
which the city determines to be fair and reasonable. If agreement
on terms cannot be reached with the first choice firm, negotiation
shall be terminated and negotiations will then proceed with the next
firm on the list, and so on to the remaining firms on the list if
necessary.
(Ord. 452 § 32, 1991)
