[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Council of
the Town of Farmington 5-22-1962 by Ord. No. 44. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Amended 11-16-1976; 1-25-1983; 3-24-1987; 3-15-2017]
If any purchase or contract for purchase, including
a continuing order for the purchase of the same commodity over a period
of time, of supplies, materials, equipment and other commodities required
by any department, office, agency, board or commission of the Town,
except the Board of Education, unless said Board shall designate the
Town Manager as its purchasing agent, or if any contract for public
works or improvements or for labor or any service rendered by an independent
contractor involves the expenditure of $25,000 or more, the Town Manager
shall invite bids, giving at least 15 days' public notice thereof
by at least one publication in a newspaper having an extensive circulation
in the Hartford metropolitan area. The public notice shall include
a general description of commodities to be purchased or labor or services
to be rendered, where bid forms and specifications may be obtained
and the time and place for submission of bids. For expenditures between
$5,000 and $9,999 the Town Manager shall request three verbal quotes.
For expenditures between $10,000 and $24,999, the Town Manager shall
request three written quotes.
[Amended 3-15-2017]
The Town Manager may, in addition to the notice required above,
invite bids from prospective suppliers or contractors by mail, telephone,
e-mail, posting on the Town's website or such other methods as
he deems advisable.
The following minimum information shall be sent to all prospective
bidders receiving bid forms:
A.
The
time, date and place of receiving bids.
B.
The
quantity desired.
C.
A
reasonable description of the material, specifications and labor or
services to be performed.
E.
That
no changes of any kind will be allowed unless specifically stated
in the bid.
F.
That
bids shall specify any and all warranties.
G.
That
bids shall state delivery date.
H.
That
bids are to be quoted f.o.b. Farmington, Connecticut.
I.
That
the outside of the envelope containing the bid shall be plainly marked
with the bid number and bid title.
[Amended 3-15-2017]
J.
The
amount and type of bid security to be submitted, if any.
K.
The
amount and type of performance security to be required, if any.
L.
That
the Town of Farmington reserves the right to accept or reject any
or all bids and to waive informalities or irregularities.
[Amended 3-15-2017]
M.
That
the bid must be signed by an authorized person.
[Amended 3-15-2017]
All bids shall be submitted on bid forms prepared and furnished
by the Town Manager or his/her designee.
A.
For all bids and quotes submitted for purchases not excluded by § 55-8 exceeding $2,500 but less than $500,000, any qualified and registered local vendor who has submitted a bid or quote not more than 5% higher than the lowest qualified bid or quote will be awarded the contract or purchase order, subject to § 55-6, so long as such local vendor agrees to provide the supplies, materials, equipment, commodities and/or services which are the subject of such contract or purchase order at the same price as the lowest qualified bid or quote received. In the event that more than one local vendor submits a bid or quote not more than 5% higher than the lowest qualified bid or quote, the award shall be to that local vendor originally submitting the lowest qualified bid or quote.
[Amended 10-12-1999]
B.
For purposes of this section, a qualified and registered
local vendor is defined as one who maintains a principal place of
business located within the Town limits of Farmington by occupying
real property in which to conduct such business or by paying ad valorem
taxes on business property to the Town of Farmington. Evidence of
the maintenance of such principal place of business may include the
ownership or long-term lease of real estate from which the principal
place of business is operated or the payment of property taxes on
the personal property of the business to be used in the performance
of the bid.
C.
The Town Manager shall have prepared a local vendor
registration form and shall have it made available to all local businesses.
When such form has been properly completed and filed by a local vendor
with and approved by the Town Purchasing Coordinator, such local vendor
shall be a qualified and registered local vendor in the Town for the
purposes of this section.
D.
This section shall not apply in any situation where
the preference created by this section would violate federal and state
law or any existing contracts.
[Amended 7-23-1996; 8-27-1996; 3-15-2017]
For contracts under $50,000, the Town Manager is empowered to award the contract to the lowest qualified bidder or quoter, subject to the local vendor preference provision in § 55-5, to reject all bids or to negotiate further with some bidder or bidders as he shall deem appropriate and award the contract on the basis of lowest price obtainable, provided that he shall never negotiate further with a bidder whose original bid price was higher than that of another bidder or bidders without also negotiating further with all such bidders whose original bid prices were lower; and provided, further, that unless the Town Manager has obtained the specific approval of the Town Council or unless he has entered into further negotiations as set forth above, he shall not award the contract to anyone other than the lowest responsible bidder. If the Town Manager negotiates with bidders or quoters as provided above, any qualified and registered local vendor submitting an original bid or quote not more than 5% higher than the lowest qualified bid or quote shall be awarded the contract or purchase order if such local vendor is willing to meet the lowest negotiated price.
[Amended 3-24-1987]
All purchases or contracts which involve the
expenditure of $50,000 or more shall be approved by the Town Council.
[Amended 7-23-1996; 8-27-1996; 3-15-2017]
The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to the purchase
of surety bonds and insurance or to contracts for professional services
with attorneys, physicians, architects, appraisers or other professionals
where the services contracted for are primarily advisory in nature.
[Amended 11-16-1976; 3-24-1987]
No purchase shall be divided into parts for
the purpose of evading the intent of this chapter. Trade-in allowances
shall be disregarded in determining the purchase price.
Upon the recommendation of the Town Manager,
the Town Council may, by majority vote, waive any or all requirements
of this chapter for any particular purchase or contract.
[Amended 3-15-2017]
A tabulation of all bids showing the names of the bidders, amounts
of the bids and indicating in each case the successful bidder or,
in the event of further negotiation, the results of said further negotiation
and the bidder to whom the contract was awarded, together with the
originals of all such bids and other documents pertaining to the award
of contracts shall be preserved in accordance with the records retention
schedule promulgated by the State Records Retention Administrator,
where they and shall be open to public inspection.
[Added 3-15-2017]
Whenever it is to the advantage of the Town, the Town may purchase from bids called for by other governmental agencies or cooperative purchasing organizations, provided that the bid process used by said other governmental agencies or cooperative purchasing organizations conforms substantially to the bidding requirements contained in this chapter. If a supply, material or equipment is available under multiple cooperative bids, then a comparison of all bids shall be made to determine which bid offers the best advantage to the Town. The use of cooperative bids shall be subject to the requirement of § 55-7.
