In order to establish efficient procedures for the purchase of supplies and equipment, to secure for the city supplies and equipment at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, to exercise positive financial control over purchases, to clearly define authority for the purchasing function and to assure the quality of purchases, a purchasing system is adopted.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
There is created the position of purchasing officer. He or she shall be appointed by the council. The duties of the purchasing officer may be combined with those of any other office or position.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
The purchasing officer shall have authority to:
A. 
Purchase or contract for supplies and equipment required by any using agency in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this chapter, such administrative regulations as the purchasing officer shall adopt and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the council;
B. 
Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the purchase of supplies and equipment;
C. 
Act to procure for the city the needed quality in supplies and equipment at least expense to the city;
D. 
Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases;
E. 
Prepare and recommend to the council rules governing the purchase of supplies and equipment for the city;
F. 
Prepare and recommend to the council revisions and amendments to the purchasing rules;
G. 
Keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing, prices, market conditions and new products;
H. 
Prescribe and maintain such forms as are reasonably necessary to the operation of this chapter and other rules and regulations;
J. 
Supervise the inspection of all supplies and equipment purchased to insure conformance with specifications;
K. 
Recommend the transfer of surplus or unused supplies and equipment between departments as needed and the sale of all supplies and equipment which cannot be used by any agency or which have become unsuitable for city use;
L. 
Maintain a bidders, list, vendors, catalog file and records needed for the efficient operation of the purchasing department.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
The purchasing officer, with approval of the council, may authorize in writing any agency to purchase or contract for specified supplies and equipment independently of the purchasing department, but he or she shall require that such purchases or contracts shall be made in conformity with the procedures established by this chapter and shall further require periodic reports from the agency on the purchases and contracts made under such written authorization.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
Using agencies shall submit requests for supplies and equipment to the purchasing officer by standard requisition forms.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
Except in cases of emergency, the purchasing officer shall not issue any purchase order for supplies or equipment unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which said purchase is to be charged.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
Purchases of supplies and equipment shall be by bid procedures pursuant to Sections 3.08.090 and 3.08.100. Bidding shall be dispensed with only when an emergency requires that an order be placed with the nearest available source of supply, when the amount involved is less than one hundred dollars, when the commodity can be obtained from only one vendor, or in the case or purchases from or through other governmental agencies.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, when the expenditure for supplies and equipment exceeds two thousand dollars, it shall be contracted for by a written contract with the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the procedure prescribed in this section:
A. 
Notice Inviting Bids. Notice inviting bids shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased, shall state where bid blanks and specifications may be secured and the time and place for opening bids.
1. 
Published Notice. The notice inviting bids shall be published at least ten days before the date of opening of the bids. Notice shall be published at least twice, not less than five days apart, in a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the city or if there is none, it shall be posted in at least three public places in the city that have been designated as places for posting public notices.
2. 
Bidders' List. The purchasing officer shall also solicit sealed bids from all responsible prospective suppliers whose names are on the bidders' list or who have requested their names be added thereto.
3. 
Bulletin Board. The purchasing officer shall also advertise pending purchases by a notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall.
B. 
Bidder's Security. When deemed necessary by the purchasing officer, bidder's security may be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to return of bid security; provided, that a successful bidder shall forfeit his or her bid security upon refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten days after the notice of award of contract has been mailed, unless the city is responsible for the delay. The council may, on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract, award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the council awards the contract to the next lowest bidder, the amount of the lowest bidder's security shall be applied by the city to the difference between the low bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.
C. 
Bid Opening Procedure. Sealed bids shall be submitted to the purchasing officer and shall be identified as bids on the envelope. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notices. A tabulation of all bids received shall be open for public inspection during regular business hours for a period of not less than thirty calendar days after the bid opening.
D. 
Rejection of Bids. In its discretion the council may reject any and all bids presented and readvertise for bids.
E. 
Award of Contracts. Contracts shall be awarded by the council to the lowest responsible bidder except as otherwise provided in this chapter.
F. 
Tie Bids. If two or more bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal and if the public interest will not permit the delay of re-advertising for bids, the council may accept the one it chooses or accept the lowest bid made by negotiation with the tie bidders at the time of the bid opening.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970; Ord. 79-6 Art. III §B, 1979; Ord. 2018-02 §1)
Purchases of supplies and equipment of an estimated value in the amount of two thousand dollars or less may be made by the purchasing officer in the open market without observing the procedure described in Section 3.08.090:
A. 
Minimum Number of Bids. Open market purchases shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three bids, and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
B. 
Notice Inviting Bids. The purchasing officer shall solicit bids by written requests to prospective vendors, by telephone, and by public notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall.
C. 
Written Bids. Sealed written bids shall be submitted to the purchasing officer who shall keep a record of all open market orders and bids for a period of one year after the submission of bids or the placing or orders. This record, while so kept, shall be open to public inspection.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
The purchasing officer shall inspect supplies and equipment delivered to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order or contract. The purchasing officer shall have authority to require chemical and physical tests of samples submitted with bids and samples of deliveries which are necessary to determine their quality and conformance with specifications.
(Ord. 70-7, 1970)
A. 
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, when the expenditure required for a public project, as defined in this section, exceeds five thousand dollars, it shall be contracted for by a written contract with the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the procedure prescribed in this section.
B. 
Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:
"Purchasing officer"
shall mean the purchasing officer of the city as created by Section 3.08.020 of this title.
"Public project"
shall mean any of the following:
a. 
Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation, improvement, demolition, and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility; and
b. 
Painting or repainting any publicly owned, leased, or operated facility.
"Public project"
shall not include maintenance work. Maintenance work shall include all of the following:
a. 
Routine, recurring, and usual work for the preservation or protection of any publicly owned and operated facility for its intended purposes;
b. 
Minor repainting;
c. 
Resurfacing of streets at less than one inch;
d. 
Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning, planting, replacement of plants, and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems; and
e. 
Work performed to keep, operate, and maintain water, power, and waste disposal systems.
"Facility"
shall mean any plant, building, structure, ground facility, utility system, real property, street, or other public work improvement.
C. 
Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Policies and Procedures. The uniform construction cost accounting policies and procedures developed and as may be amended by the state from time to time are hereby adopted and incorporated by reference. Such alternate bidding procedures shall require the use of the policies and procedures incorporated in this chapter, and the city engineer shall require such procedures and policies to be used on public projects where such alternate bidding procedures are used.
D. 
California Public Contract Code Section 22020 empowers the State Controller to make adjustments in the monetary limits set forth in Public Contract Code Sections 22032 and 22034 every five years. The minimum limits are as set forth in the following sections:
1. 
Public Projects less than Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars. Public projects of seventy-five thousand dollars or less may be performed by the employees of the city agency by force account or by negotiated contract as follows:
a. 
Force Account Work by City Employees. The city engineer shall approve a work order for the public project following the guidelines outlined in uniform construction cost accounting policies and procedures, and all charges relative to the project, including all labor, equipment rentals, materials, overhead costs, and the like, shall be charged to the work order.
b. 
Negotiated Contracts. The city engineer shall negotiate with at least two contractors whom he determines are capable of performing public projects of the type and size. Upon the completion of negotiations, the city engineer shall select the best contract proposal. A written contract will be prepared, approved as to form by the city attorney and awarded by council.
2. 
Public Projects Less Than Two Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars. Public projects of two hundred twenty thousand dollars or less may be let to contract by informal procedures as follows:
a. 
The city engineer shall maintain a list of qualified contractors according to the categories of work.
b. 
All contractors on the list for the category of work being bid and/or all construction trade journals serving the area shall be mailed a notice inviting informal bids, unless the project or service is proprietary.
c. 
The mailing of notices to contractors and construction trade journals shall be completed not less than ten calendar days before the bids are due.
d. 
The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms; how to obtain more detailed information about the project; and state the time and place for the submission of bids.
e. 
When deemed necessary by the city engineer, a bid security may be required. The bid security shall be returned to all bidders; however, a successful bidder shall forfeit his security upon the refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten days after notification of the award of the contract.
f. 
The city engineer shall receive sealed bids at the time and place stated in the public notice and tabulate the bids after the bids are opened.
g. 
The council shall award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. The criteria for determining the lowest responsible bidder shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
i. 
The ability, capacity, and skill to perform the contract; and
ii. 
Whether the bidder has the facilities to perform the contract within the time specified; and
iii. 
The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the bidder; and
iv. 
The past performance of similar contracts; and
v. 
Compliance with laws, ordinances, and regulations relating to the contract.
3. 
Public Projects Greater Than Two Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars. For public projects of two hundred twenty thousand dollars or more, the final bidding procedures as prescribed in the Public Contract Code shall be followed.
E. 
Emergencies. In cases of great emergency, as determined by the council, including, but not limited to, states of emergency as defined in Section 8558 of the Government Code of the state, when repairs or replacements are necessary to permit the continued conduct of the operation or services of a public agency or to avoid danger to life or property, the council, by a majority vote, may proceed at once to replace or repair any public facility without adopting plans, specifications, strain sheets, or working details or giving notice for bids to let contracts. The work may be done by day labor under the direction of the council, or by contract, or by a combination of the two.
(Ord. 2018-02 §2; Ord. 2018-07 §1; Ord. 2025-01, 4/3/2025)