The Town Board of the Town of Catskill hereby adopts the following
amended procurement policy and procedures.
Every prospective purchase of goods or services shall be evaluated
to determine the applicability of General Municipal Law § 103.
Every Town officer, board, department head or other personnel with
the requisite purchasing authority (hereinafter "purchaser") shall
estimate the cumulative amount of the items of supply or equipment
needed in a given fiscal year. That estimate shall include the canvas
of other Town departments and past history to determine the likely
yearly value of the commodity to be acquired. The information gathered
and the conclusions reached shall be documented and kept with the
file or other documentation supporting the purchase activity.
The lowest responsible proposal or quote shall be awarded the
purchase or public works contract unless the purchaser prepares a
written justification providing reasons why it is in the best interest
of the Town and its taxpayers to make an award to other than the low
bidder. If a bidder is not deemed responsible, facts supporting that
judgment shall also be documented and filed with the record supporting
the procurement.
A good faith effort shall be made to obtain the required number
of proposals or quotations. If the purchaser is unable to obtain the
required number of proposals or quotations, the purchaser shall document
the attempt made at obtaining the proposals. In no event shall the
inability to obtain the proposals or quotes be a bar to the procurement.
When there is a rational basis and it is in the best interest
of the taxpayers of the Town of Catskill for the procurement of an
item from a vendor within the Town of Catskill and the proposed price
or bid by such Catskill vendor shall be no greater than 10% higher
than the lowest bid or proposal from a vendor outside the Town of
Catskill, the item may be purchased from a vendor within the Town
of Catskill.
No vendor or contractor should be selected that owns, uses,
or occupies for business purposes property in the Town of Catskill
that is in violation of any provisions of the Code of the Town of
Catskill pertaining to use and occupancy of the property, after notice
from the Town of Catskill as to a violation and a reasonable opportunity
to bring the property into compliance.
It is a policy to encourage the purchase and use of recycled
materials and products. When any of the guidelines of this procurement
policy require that more than one quote or RFP be obtained, at least
one should be for recycled materials or products. To the extent permitted
under the General Municipal Law, preference should be given to vendors
whose products utilize or contain recycled materials and to contracts
that utilize recycled materials in public works contracts.
Pursuant to § 104 of the New York State General Municipal
Law, effective January 1, 2009, the Town is including the names of
municipal officers responsible for purchasing decisions as follows:
E. Town Highway Superintendent.
J. Town Code Enforcement Officer.
K. Town of Catskill Ambulance Administrator.
L. Town of Catskill Senior Center Director.
M. Town of Catskill Cemetery Custodian.
This policy shall be reviewed annually by the Town Board at
its organizational meeting or as soon thereafter as is reasonably
practical.