(a) 
City Manager as Purchasing Agent. The City Manager shall have full authority to purchase or provide for the purchase of all materials, supplies, services, and equipment for the use of all departments, commissions, and boards comprising the Town government, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, except articles required by the state codes to be purchased otherwise. No purchase of an article, service or thing shall be made by any department head independently of the City Manager except in cases of immediate emergency that occur when the office of the City Manager is not open for the conduct of the City's business. In such instances, the department head may make the necessary emergency purchase and shall report the same in writing to the City Manager within 24 hours, accompanied by a definite statement of the occasion and reasons for such emergency purchase.
(b) 
Prohibition on Splitting Procurement. Under no circumstances may any procurement or purchase contemplated in this chapter be split or separated into smaller components to avoid procurement or purchasing procedures and/or determine the awarding authority.
(§ 1, Ord. 252; § 1, Ord. 609, eff. May 20, 2023)
All using agencies of the City shall file with the City Manager detailed estimates of their requirements in supplies, materials, equipment, and contractual services in such manner, at such time, and for such periods as the City Manager prescribes. The requirement for preparing estimates shall in no wise prevent any using agency from filing with the City Manager at any time a requisition for any supplies, materials, equipment, or contractual services the need for which was not foreseen when the detailed estimates were filed.
(§ 1, Ord. 252)
All purchases or procurements of professional and facility services, public projects, supplies, materials, equipment, or other personal property, the cost of which is $60,000 or less, may be made in the open market without newspaper advertisement. When deemed appropriate by the City Manager, open market purchases shall be based on at least three competitive bids or quotes and shall be awarded on the basis of the bid most advantageous to the Town. The City Manager may solicit bids directly from prospective vendors by mail, email, or by telephone. The City Manager shall keep a record of all open market orders and bids submitted thereon which shall be open to public inspection. Public projects of $60,000 or less may be performed by the employees of the Town by force account or may be performed by negotiated contract. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, procurement of public projects as defined in the California Public Contracts Code shall comply with all applicable provisions of the Public Contracts Code.
(§ 1, Ord. 252; § 1, Ord. 505, eff. October 12, 2006; § 1, Ord. 580, eff. March 23, 2019; § 1, Ord. 609, eff. May 20, 2023)
All purchases or procurements of goods, services (including professional, special, and personal), and public projects, the cost of which is in excess of $60,000 shall be made through either informal or formal procedures as provided for in this section. All purchases or procurements of goods, services, and public projects, the cost of which is more than $200,000, shall be based upon specifications or a scope of work approved by the City Council.
(a) 
Purchases of Goods.
(1) 
Informal Bid Procedures for Purchase of Goods. For the purchase of goods $200,000 or less and more than $60,000, the City Manager shall solicit at least three competitive bids and the contract shall be awarded on the basis of the bid most advantageous to the Town.
(2) 
Formal Bid Procedures for Purchase of Goods. Purchases of goods more than $200,000 shall be submitted for formal bidding. The notice inviting bids to purchase shall be advertised upon authority of the City Council, and such advertisement shall be published two times in a newspaper of general circulation published nearest to the Town, and in addition, invitations to bid may be mailed to prospective vendors at the discretion of the City Manager. The bids submitted shall be received by the City Clerk, to be opened by the City Manager at the time designated.
(b) 
Procurement of Public Projects.
(1) 
Informal Bid Procedures for Procurement of Public Projects. In accordance with Public Contract Code Sections 22032 and 22034, for the procurement of public projects $200,000 or less, the Town shall engage in the following procedures:
(i) 
Contractors List. A list of contractors shall be developed and maintained in accordance with the provisions of Section 22034 of the Public Contracts Code and criteria promulgated from time to time by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.
(ii) 
Notice Inviting Informal Bids. Where a public project is to be performed which is subject to the provisions of this section, a notice inviting informal bids shall be mailed, faxed, or emailed to all contractors for the category of work to be bid, as shown on the contractor list, and to all construction trade journals as specified by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission in accordance with Section 22036 of the Public Contracts Code. The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms and how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for the submission of bids. All mailing of notices to contractors pursuant to this subdivision shall be completed not less than 10 calendar days before bids are due. Additional contractors and/or construction trade journals may be notified at the discretion of the department soliciting bids; provided, however:
a. 
If there is not a list of qualified contractors maintained by the Town for the particular category of work to be performed, the notice inviting bids shall be sent only to the construction trade journals specified by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.
b. 
If the product or service is proprietary in nature such that it can be obtained only from a certain contractor or contractors, the notice inviting informal bids may be sent exclusively to such contractor or contractors.
(iii) 
Informal Bids in Excess of Threshold. If all bids received are in excess of $200,000, the City Council may, by adoption of a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, at $212,500 or less, to the lowest responsible bidder, if it determines the cost estimate of the Town was reasonable.
(2) 
Formal Bid Procedures for Procurement of Public Projects. Procurement of public projects valued at more than $200,000 shall be submitted for formal bidding. The notice inviting bids shall be advertised upon authority of the City Council, and such advertisement shall be published two times in a newspaper of general circulation published nearest to the Town, and in addition, invitations to bid may be mailed to prospective vendors at the discretion of the City Manager. Notice inviting formal bids shall state the time and place for the receiving and opening of sealed bids and distinctly describe the project. The notice shall be published at least 14 calendar days before the date of opening the bids. The notice inviting formal bids shall also be sent electronically, if available, by either facsimile or e-mail and mailed to all construction trade journals specified in Public Contract Code Section 22036. The notice shall be sent at least 15 calendar days before the date of opening the bids. The bids submitted shall be received by the City Clerk, to be opened by the City Manager at the time designated.
(3) 
Rejection of Bids for Public Projects. In its discretion, the Town may reject any bids presented, if the Town, prior to rejecting all bids and declaring that the project can be more economically performed by employees of the Town, furnishes a written notice to an apparent low bidder. The notice shall inform the bidder of the Town's intention to reject the bid and shall be mailed at least two business days prior to the hearing at which the Town intends to reject the bid. If after the first invitation of bids all bids are rejected, after reevaluating its cost estimates of the project, the Town shall have the option of either of the following: (1) abandoning the project or readvertising for bids in the manner described by the Public Contract Code, or (2) by passage of a resolution by a four-fifths vote of the City Council declaring that the project can be performed more economically by the employees of the Town, may have the project done by force account without further complying with Division 2, Part 3, Chapter 2, Article 3 of the Public Contract Code. If a contract is awarded, it shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the Town may accept the one it chooses. If no bids are received through the formal or informal procedure, the project may be performed by the employees of the Town by force account, or negotiated contract without further complying with Division 2, Part 3, Chapter 2, Article 3 of the Public Contract Code.
(c) 
Purchases of Services. When entering into services contract, the skill, ability, and expertise of the entity or person performing the services is a key component of the selection criteria. The services selection should therefore be on the basis of demonstrated competence, overall value to the Town, and on the professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required. Cost is only one factor in determining the selection. When deemed appropriate by the City Manager, the purchase of services may be made by soliciting requests for proposals or requests for quotations to prospective vendors either by mail, by telephone, by e-mail, or by public notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall, or posted on the Town's website.
(d) 
Award of Contracts. The City Manager is authorized to award informal contracts pursuant to this section, valued at $60,000 or less. Contracts exceeding the City Manager's authority shall be awarded by minute order of the City Council.
(e) 
Authority to Reject Bids and Proposals. The City Council reserves the right to reject any and all bids and proposals. If, in the opinion of the City Council, none of the bids or proposals are satisfactory, then the City Council may reject all of the bids or proposals and direct the City Manager to proceed to purchase the goods or services desired in the open market. Procurement of public projects in the open market after rejection of all bids must comply with the provisions of the Public Contract Code as outlined in Section 2-4.04(b)(3) above.
(§ 1, Ord. 252; § 1, Ord. 510, eff. December 13, 2007; § 1, Ord. 583, eff. July 20, 2019; § 1, Ord. 609, eff. May 20, 2023)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 2-4.03 and 2-4.04, the City Council by minute order may dispense with the bidding procedure if it determines that the personal property sought to be purchased can be obtained from only one vendor.
(§ 1, Ord. 252)
The City Manager shall sell worn-out, scrap or obsolete personal property of the City, including property of all departments, by soliciting bids. If the value of the property to be sold is of a value of $500 or less, the sale shall be approved by the City Manager. In the event the value of the property to be sold is more than $500, the sale shall be subject to the approval of the City Council.
(§ 1, Ord. 252)
The details of procedure and forms to be followed in the issuance of requisitions, in the purchase of articles, and in the sale of personal property, shall be prescribed by the City Manager subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(§ 1, Ord. 252)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the City Manager may issue a joint purchase order, together with any other City, County, or other public agency in the State for the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or other personal property, provided that the City Council theretofore has approved specifications for any purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, or other personal property, the cost of which is $5,000 or more, and provided, further, that at least one of the other agencies has solicited or advertised for bids in a manner similar to the procedure set forth in Section 2-4.03 for any purchase in an amount less than $5,000 or in Section 2-4.04 for any purchase in an amount of $5,000, or more.
(§ 1, Ord. 252)