[Amended 8-26-2004 by L.L. No. 7-2004; 11-8-2023 by L.L. No. 7-2023]
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 shall be made to determine
whether it is known or can be reasonably expected that the aggregate
amount to be spent on the item of supply or service is not subject
to competitive bidding pursuant to § 103 of the General
Municipal Law or whether such contract is exempt from competitive
bidding.
B.
The decision that a purchase is not subject to competitive bidding
shall be documented in writing by the individual making the purchase.
This documentation may include written quotes from vendors, a memo
from the purchaser indicating how the decision was reached, 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 of which shall be subject to final approval by
the Town Board.
C.
Unless otherwise set forth in this chapter, 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 and that favoritism will
be avoided, except in the following circumstances:
(1)
Purchase contracts over $20,000 and public works contracts over $35,000 unless the best value pricing guidelines set forth in Article III of this chapter are utilized;
(2)
Goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped
pursuant to § 175-b of the State Finance Law;
(3)
Goods purchased from correctional institutions pursuant to § 186
of the Correction Law;
(4)
Purchases under state contracts or Federal General Services Administration
contracts;
(5)
"Piggybacked" contracts and other exceptions set forth in General
Municipal Law §§ 103, 104 and 104-B.
A.
Purchases shall be evaluated with attention given to cumulative dollar
amounts expected in a given fiscal year. When necessary, canvassing
of using departments will be done to determine yearly value of commodity.
Past history can be taken into consideration when evaluating yearly
costs associated with the purchase of a commodity. If the bid limit
is suspected to be exceeded, bidding shall take place. This decision
shall rest with the Town Board.
B.
All quotes shall be documented by numbering and filing with the Town
Accounting Department by product or service as well as by company
name. Quote numbers shall be reflected on the purchasing document.
C.
If there are several comparable separate jobs for the same or various
locations, in a foreseeable time frame, whose expected cumulative
total is $10,000 or more, this must be a written quote. Comparable
jobs are jobs that could be done by one vendor.
A.
Most purchases that fall within the stated dollar categories shall
be quoted by one method or another. Due to past history or general
knowledge, some purchases shall be placed directly. Many times the
dollars saved will not offset the time expended to quote.
B.
If any purchases or projects are under bid limits, but are suspected
to exceed the $20,000 limit, discretion shall be used and the bidding
procedure shall take effect.
C.
Under no circumstances shall a quote that exceeds the bidding limits
be awarded.
A.
All written quotes shall be documented. All purchases resulting from
same shall have quote numbers referenced on purchase orders or vouchers,
thus creating an audit trail.
B.
All awards from quotes shall be made to the lowest responsible and
responsive bidder, if possible. Circumstances which will be documented
may dictate purchases from other than the low bidder (i.e., delivery
requirements; quantity requirements; if a pickup, the location of
the vendor; known past experience of the vendor; etc.).
A.
Emergency. An emergency exists wherein the delay caused by soliciting
quotes would endanger the health, welfare or property of the municipality
or, more importantly, the individual taxpayer; then, the procurement
of goods or services will be at the discretion of the Town Supervisor
or appropriate department head with prior notification to the Town
Supervisor, with documentation as to the nature of the emergency which
shall be sent to the Accounting Department within five working days
of such procurement. Confirming policy shall also be complied with.
Verbal purchase orders are permissible in emergency situations followed
by written confirmation.
B.
Professional services and consultants.
(1)
Contracts which require professional methods, character or standards
fall into the professional service contract category. Many of these
professional services require a state license to practice or may be
creative and specialized in nature. Examples of professional services:
(2)
Whereas the intent of General Municipal Law § 104-b includes
the hiring of consultants and professionals as outlined above, the
following policy shall apply:
(a)
Where applicable, the Town Board, Accounting Department representative
or department head, with Town Board approval, will initiate one of
several processes (written quote or RFP) in order to acquire professional
services that best serve the needs of the Town of Wallkill. A minimum
of three vendors shall be solicited when available. The Town Board
shall approve the purchase of services.
(b)
In instances where the above methods are not practicable, in
consultation with the requesting department, the Town Board will enter
into an agreement for professional services to be negotiated between
the supplier of services and the Town of Wallkill. With respect to
legal services, these shall be determined by the Town Board.
Mandated procurement sources shall be investigated when products
offered are requested by the using department. The Town shall utilize
the New York State Preferred Source Program for New Yorkers who are
Blind (NYSPSP) and New York State Industries for the Disabled (NYSID)
to purchase products and services that appear on the New York State
Office of General Services Preferred Source List.
All agreements for insurance coverage shall be investigated
by the Town Board. If competition is available in the market, RFPs
shall be requested and evaluated and an award made. If no competition
is available, a contract shall be negotiated between the Town and
the respective carrier through an authorized and licensed insurance
agency.
When there is only one possible source from which to procure
goods and/or services, thus indicating that there is no possibility
of competition, the following shall be shown:
Prices for true leases will be obtained through the use of price
quoting when possible. Evaluation of services and price shall determine
the successful vendor. Leases should conform to Governmental Accounting
Standards Board Statement No. 87.
