The Manager shall designate a Purchasing Agent
who shall have the power, and it shall be his duty to:
A. Procure for the Township the highest quality in supplies,
materials, equipment and contractual services meeting specifications,
at the least expense to the Township.
B. Discourage collusive bidding and endeavor to obtain
as full and open competition by suppliers of goods and services as
possible.
C. Sell, trade or dispose of all obsolete or unusable
public property in accordance with the provisions of the applicable
statutes and of the Lower Merion Code.
D. Establish such regulations, procedures and files as
necessary to provide for an efficiently administered purchasing system.
The Manager shall cause to be published in the
Township Document System or make available to the public at a reasonable
reproduction cost, such bid procedures and purchasing regulations
as are applicable to vendors and suppliers. However, failure to publish
said provisions shall not invalidate any purchase order or contract.
In the case of an actual emergency or other
unforeseen occurrence or condition whereby extreme circumstances affecting
the life, health or safety of inhabitants of the Township require
immediate action which cannot await otherwise required competitive
bidding, the Township Manager or his authorized agents may suspend
the customary purchasing regulations, subject to subsequent ratification
by the Board, to make such purchases as necessary to meet the emergency
condition. All emergency purchases shall be clearly stated on the
purchasing and accounting records so as to be easily identified on
the public records inspected by the Township auditors.
The Purchasing Agent shall have authority to
join with other units of local government in cooperative purchasing,
when authorized by statute and ordinance and when the best interests
of the Township would be served by cooperative purchasing.
The Purchasing Agent or his designee shall have
the authority to require tests of bid and delivery samples to determine
their quality and conformance with specifications. In the performance
of those tests, the Purchasing Agent shall have the authority to make
use of laboratory facilities.
Except for emergency purchases made pursuant to §
5-72 of this chapter, the Purchasing Agent shall not issue any purchase order or contract until he has submitted the proposed expenditure to the Director of Finance to determine the availability of unencumbered funds to defray the amount of the order or contract. The Director of Finance or his authorized agent shall certify the availability of funds to the Purchasing Agent.
Any contract, purchase order or commitment covering
the procurement or use of services, supplies or property for the Township,
or for the providing of such services, supplies or property by the
Township, shall remove or transfer from the Township, insofar as practicable,
all risk of loss, liability and cost of defense. The Township may
purchase, at the contractor's expense, insurance during the course
of construction of public works where superior coverage, lower premium,
consent of the contractor or other factors justify such purchase.
The Manager may authorize the abandonment, destruction
or donation to public bodies or to charitable, civic or nonprofit
organizations of Township property which has previously been offered
for sale pursuant to the provisions of the First Class Township Code
and for which no required bid or offer was deceived.
The Township shall not be bound by any contract,
purchase order or similar purchase commitment unless the same shall
be in writing and executed by duly authorized personnel acting on
behalf of the Township and as otherwise required by law, except for
petty cash or emergency purchases made in conformance with the Lower
Merion Code and with control procedures established by the Township
Manager and as otherwise allowed by law.