The purchasing agent shall have the duties and powers prescribed by laws of the state relating to county purchasing agents, the provisions of this chapter and the resolutions of the board of supervisors. He or she shall be the head of the purchasing department of the county and shall appoint such deputies, assistants and other employees therein as shall from time to time be authorized therefor in this title. He or she shall furnish the board of supervisors with such reports and information as the board may from time to time require and shall establish methods and procedures necessary for the proper functioning of the purchasing department in an efficient and economical manner.
(Prior code §2-91)
Subject to the general direction of the chief executive officer, the purchasing agent shall:
A. 
Purchase for the county and its offices all materials, supplies, furnishings, equipment, livestock and other personal property of whatever kind and nature, and except in cases of emergency as provided in this chapter, no purchase of personal property by any person other than the purchasing agent shall be binding upon the county or constitute a lawful charge against any county funds;
B. 
Rent for the county and its offices, furnishings, equipment and livestock, excepting, however, road equipment which the road commissioner is authorized by law to rent;
C. 
Negotiate and execute in the name of the county all equipment service contracts and lease purchase agreements of personal property;
D. 
Negotiate and execute in the name of the county as lease all rentals of real property which the county may require;
E. 
Sell any personal property belonging to the county as provided in Section 2.24.065;
F. 
Engage independent contractors to perform services for the county and the offices thereof with or without the furnishing of material where the aggregate cost does not exceed the limitation prescribed by the laws of the state. Provided, however, this shall not apply to contracts to do work upon the public roads of the county, contracts to print legal briefs or legal notices, contracts for reporters' services or transcripts, contracts for election, supplies, contracts for expert services to be rendered the offices of the district attorney, county counsel or sheriff, contracts for appraisers' services, contracts for consultants and other experts employed directly by the board of supervisors, or contracts for other services which by law some other officer or body is specifically charged with obtaining;
G. 
Engage independent contractors to construct, repair, or furnish any building or structure enumerated in Section 25450 of the Government Code of the state and Section 20121 of the Public Contract Code when the estimated cost does not exceed that limitation prescribed by the laws of the state;
H. 
When specifically authorized by law, purchase for the superintendent of schools or other public officer or agency personal property;
I. 
When specifically authorized by law, sell or dispose of personal property of any special district and pay the proceeds thereof into the treasury of the district, or if an exchange or trade is made, return the proceeds to the special district;
J. 
Perform such other services as the board of supervisors may from time to time by resolution require.
(Prior code §2-92; Ord. NS 1092 §1, 1982; Ord. CS 475 §§1, 2, 1992)
Emergency purchases may be made by any person or official authorized to sign requisitions when the purchasing agent or any of his or her assistants in the purchasing department authorized to make purchases is not immediately available and the item or items so purchased are immediately necessary for the continued operation of the office or department involved, or are immediately necessary for the preservation of life or property. Such emergency purchases shall be subsequently approved and confirmed by the purchasing agent, or if he refuses such confirmation, the board of supervisors may subsequently approve and confirm such purchase by a 4/5 vote of the entire board. Unless such purchases are so approved and confirmed by either the purchasing agent or the board of supervisors, the costs thereof shall not constitute a legal charge against the county.
(Prior code §2-93)
Except as to purchases from the revolving fund of the purchasing agent, established pursuant to Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 2, Article 2 of the Government Code of California, all purchases, rentals and contracts shall be made only upon properly written requisitions, the forms of which shall be supplied by the purchasing agent to the several offices of the county. No purchase order shall be issued until the county auditor shall have certified that sufficient money is available in the proper budgeted fund of the department to pay for the purchase. The head of any county office, department or institution or his or her duly designated assistant is authorized to draw requisitions for purchases for such office, department or institution in accordance with current budget accounts. Such head may delegate such authority to one or more of his or her deputies, assistants or employees within the department by filing a written authorization therefor with the purchasing agent and the auditor.
(Prior code §2-94)
Except as otherwise provided by ordinance or general law, the purchasing agent may without notice, advertisement, or the securing of competitive bids or quotations, make any purchase of personal property, or do any other thing which he or she is authorized to do in this chapter.
(Prior code §2-95; Ord. CS 502 §1, 1992; Ord. CS 1239 §2, 2019; Ord. CS 1398, 7/1/2025)
The purchasing agent is authorized to sell, trade, trade in, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of any personal property belonging to the county which is deemed to be surplus and not required for public use by the county and which has a value of less than five thousand dollars per individual item without prior approval by the board of supervisors. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, such disposition of surplus property may be made without securing bids or advertising. For disposition of personal property exceeding five thousand dollars per individual item, prior approval from the board of supervisors must be obtained. All proceeds from such sales shall be paid into the county treasury for the use of the county.
(Ord. CS 475 §3, 1992; Ord. CS 1398, 7/1/2025)
Notices of sales of surplus personal property shall be posted for not less than five business days preceding the day of sale in the county offices building and in the office of the purchasing agent, and in such other public place within the county as the purchasing agent may be deem advisable.
(Prior code §2-96)
In the disposition of any surplus personal property and upon approval of the board of supervisors, the purchasing agent may purchase advertising space and may advertise the proposed sale or other disposition of the personal property in such newspapers, magazines and other periodicals as in his or her judgment will best publicize the proposed sale or other disposition to those persons most likely to bid for or purchase the personal property. Within the limitation of the order of the board of supervisors approving the advertising, the purchasing agent shall decide upon the amount, nature, makeup and content of the advertising.
(Prior code §2-97)
Whenever any item of personal property is no longer needed by the office, department or institution in possession thereof, such fact shall be reported to the purchasing agent. Such personal property shall be maintained under the supervision of the purchasing agent, and whenever any office, department or institution is in need of an article which has been designated as purchasing agent's salvage, or has requisitioned the purchase of a similar article, the purchasing agent may upon a property drawn request for transfer or requisition, transfer the article to such department.
(Prior code §2-98; Ord. CS 502 §2,1992)
Note: Former § 2.24.100, Stores account, derived from Prior code §2-99; Ord. 928; and Ord. CS 7; was repealed by Ord. CS 1398, 7/1/2025.
The purchasing agent may organize standards committees as needed to establish standards with respect to the type, design, quality or brand of a certain article or group of related articles or services purchased by the county. The membership of the committee shall be the purchasing agent who shall be chairman, the chief executive officer and the heads of each county office, department or institution that is a primary user of the item or group of items for which the committee is appointed. Any member of the committee may act through a representative appointed by him or her.
(Prior code §2-100)
In making purchases of personal property or entering into contracts involving the furnishing of products or materials, the purchasing agent shall comply with Chapter 4, Division 5, Title 1 of the Government Code with respect to American-made and California-made materials. When the price and quality of the products or materials offered are equal, preference shall be given to county products.
(Prior code §2-101)
A. 
Whenever the purchasing agent purchases services, supplies, materials, and/or equipment for the county through the use of competitive process, including quotes, bids and proposals, a five percent preference shall be granted to local vendors for evaluation purposes.
B. 
The local vendor preference does not apply to bids conducted jointly with other public agencies, nor when prohibited by state or federal statutes or regulations that require award to the lowest responsible bidder, or otherwise exempted from local preferences.
C. 
For the purposes of this section, "local vendor" means any business that meets all of the following criteria:
1. 
The vendor has a fixed office or distribution point located within the county of Stanislaus for at least one year prior to the transaction for which preference is claimed by the vendor. Post office boxes do not qualify as a verifiable business address.
2. 
The vendor has a current business license issued by the county or by a city within Stanislaus County.
3. 
The vendor employs at least one full-time employee whose primary residence is located in Stanislaus County, or if the business has no employees, at least fifty percent of the business shall be owned by one or more persons whose primary residence is located in Stanislaus County.
D. 
The purchasing agent will apply the following procedures and guidelines when implementing the local vendor preference program.
1. 
To qualify for the local vendor preference, local vendors may pre-register with the Stanislaus County general services agency, purchasing division, or must submit with each bid for which a preference is claimed documentary proof that the vendor meets the criteria established in subsection C of this section. The purchasing agent shall not be required to verify the accuracy of any such certification and shall have sole discretion to determine if a vendor meets the definition of a local vendor or local business.
2. 
When bid submissions are evaluated, a five percent local preference shall be deducted from the total dollar amount bid by local vendors on competitive quotes and bids, and from the total evaluated aggregate score obtained by local vendors on proposals. The total amount of local preference granted in a single bid shall not exceed five thousand dollars over a non-local vendor. The award shall be made at the full price of the quote, bid or proposal.
3. 
In the case of an absolute tie, an award will be made to the local vendor. In the case of a tie between local vendors, the award will be determined by lot.
(Ord. CS 1021 §1, 2007)
Credit cards may be used to procure goods and services for official county business. County credit card policy and county travel policy govern credit card usage.
(Ord. CS 583 §1, 1995)