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 (hereafter
"purchaser") shall estimate the cumulative amount of the items of
supply or equipment needed in a given fiscal year. That estimate shall
include the canvass of other town departments and past history to
determine the likely yearly value of the commodity to be acquired.
The information gathered and conclusions reached shall be documented
and kept with the file or other documentation supporting the purchase
activity.
All purchases of supplies or equipment which
will exceed $10,000 in the fiscal year or public work contracts over
$20,000 shall be formally bid pursuant to General Municipal Law § 103.
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 bid. 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 will 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.
Except when directed by the Town Board, no solicitation
of written proposals or quotation shall be required under the following
circumstances:
A. Acquisition of professional services.
D. Goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely
handicapped.
E. Goods purchased from correctional facilities.
F. Goods purchased from another governmental agency.
G. Good purchased at auction.
H. Goods purchased for less than $250.
I. Public works contracts for less than $500.
This policy shall be reviewed annually by the
Town Board at its organizational meeting or as soon thereafter as
is reasonably practicable.
[Added 10-25-2022 by L.L. No. 5-2022]
A. Energy use.
Priority shall be given to products and services which consume the
least amount of energy in their manufacture, use and disposal. Where
possible, ENERGY STAR® qualification and/or an equivalent elevated
measure of efficiency shall be a minimum requirement in any energy-consuming
equipment, device, vehicle or appliance purchase.
B. Sustainability
of materials. Priority shall be given to products and services which
incorporate products which are made from sustainable materials, and/or
contain a significant level of recycled or reprocessed material and
which are manufactured locally, and/or which are packaged to reduce
transportation costs.
C. Forest conservation.
To the greatest extent practicable, the Town shall not procure wood
products such as lumber and paper that originate from forests harvested
in an environmentally unsustainable manner. When practicable, the
Town shall give preference to wood and wood products that are certified
to be sustainably harvested by a comprehensive, performance-based
certification system.
D. Packaging.
Priority shall be given to products which are minimally packaged using
recycled, recyclable or biodegradable packaging materials.
E. Environmental
impacts. Priority shall be given to products which reduce impacts
on the environment during manufacture, use or disposal.
F. Health impacts.
Priority shall be given to products and services which reduce or eliminate
health risks to employees and/or citizens in their manufacture, use
or disposal. In particular, products that contain chlorine, PVC, and/or
emit unhealthy levels of chemical emissions during use should be avoided.
G. Bid documents
and requests for proposals shall be drafted to encourage environmentally
preferable purchases and service by incorporating bidding specifications
that procure goods and services with a reduced environmental impact
where appropriate.
H. Local sourcing.
Preference shall be given to local vendors, products, and services
which meet the guidelines in this section where feasible. Because
the purchase of a local product typically correlates with lower lifetime
emissions related to that product, locally sourced purchases shall
also be understood to be environmentally preferable.
I. Nothing
in this policy shall be construed as requiring the procurement of
products or services that do not perform adequately for the intended
use or are not available at a reasonable price in a reasonable period
of time.