All capital, operating, maintenance, and professional
service contracts and change orders let by Allegheny County and its
Departments and Agencies shall be subject to notification to County
Council prior to or contemporaneous with the execution of the agreement.
A.
Except as provided below, all contracts or purchases in excess of
$30,000 shall be in writing after being published at least one time,
not less than seven days prior to the date fixed for opening of bids.
The successful bidder shall be the lowest responsible responsive bidder
meeting specifications, with full consideration of cost, quality and
performance. In the event that the County receives two completely
identical responsive responsible bids, the award shall be made in
accordance with the Purchasing Manual.
B.
The Purchasing Officer, in advertising the bids, shall have discretion
to let bids on an item-by-item basis and/or on a total package basis
in order to obtain the most favorable bid proposals for the County.
C.
The Controller shall receive all bids in a timely fashion and deliver
same to the Purchasing Officer. The Purchasing Officer shall announce
all bid figures publicly, and all bids thereafter shall be referred
to the Division of Purchasing and Supplies for tabulation. The Purchasing
Officer shall keep a record of all bids received. Whenever, for any
reason, the bid opening shall not be held, the same business may be
transacted at the identical time on the next business day or at any
time and place announced at the time of the scheduled bid opening.
The County shall reserve the right to reject any and all bids and
to rebid a contract or purchase.
D.
The Purchasing Officer may require, after consultation with the Manager,
that bids shall be accompanied by a cashier's check or money
order, in an amount not exceeding 5% of the bid, by a bond with corporate
surety in an amount not exceeding 5% of the amount bid, or by an irrevocable
letter of credit in such form as previously approved by the Purchasing
Officer issued by a bank or other financial institution duly recognized
and authorized to do business in the Commonwealth in an amount not
exceeding 5% of the bid. The good faith deposits by cashier's
check or money order, bond or letter of credit, shall be held by the
Purchasing Officer to be returned to the unsuccessful bidders when
the contract is awarded or when the County determines that it is necessary
to reject all bids. In the event that any bidder shall, upon award
of the contract, fail to comply with the requirements hereinafter
stated as to a bond guaranteeing the performance of a contract, or
fail or refuse to enter into a contract, or otherwise fail or refuse
to render the services required, the good faith deposit, cashier's
check or money order, bond or letter of credit shall be forfeited
to the County as liquidated damages, and the contract subsequently
may be awarded to the next lowest responsive responsible bidder, who
shall manifest acceptance of such contract by giving a good faith
deposit in the amount and manner set forth in this subsection above
on or before the third business day after the award of the contract
to such bidder and otherwise comply with the provisions of this section.
E.
The successful bidder, when advertising is required herein, may be
required to furnish a bond with suitable reasonable requirements guaranteeing
performance of the contract, with sufficient surety in the amount
of 100% of the amount of the contract, within 30 days after the contract
has been awarded, unless the Purchasing Officer shall prescribe a
shorter period or unless the Purchasing Officer shall waive the bond
requirement in the bid specification. Upon failure to furnish any
required bond within such time, the previous awards shall be void,
and the contract may be awarded to the next lowest responsible responsive
bidder meeting specifications.
F.
The Purchasing Officer shall combine requisitions for similar contracts
and purchases of materials, supplies, furnishings, equipment, insurance,
and other personal property and nonprofessional services without regard
to the potential total cost of the contract or purchase. Contracts
and the purchase shall not be divided into separate contracts and
purchases to avoid the financial threshold for the competitive bidding
process.
G.
The Chief Purchasing Officer, in cooperation with the Division of
Veterans Services, shall create a procedure which incorporates a five-percent
government-wide goal for participation in the formal procurement process
by small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans.
(1)
For the purposes of this subsection, a "veteran" is an individual
who is currently serving or has served on active or reserve duty in
the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard or Merchant
Marine, and who has not been dishonorably discharged from that service.
(2)
For the purposes of this subsection, "owned and controlled by
veterans" means a business:
(a)
Not less than 51% of which is owned by one or more veterans
or, in the case of any publicly owned business, not less than 51%
of the stock of which is owned by one or more veterans; and
(b)
The management and daily business operations of which are controlled
by one or more veterans or, in the case of a veteran with permanent
and severe disability, the spouse or permanent caregiver of a veteran.
(3)
The Chief Purchasing Officer shall define "small business" in
any fashion he or she deems appropriate for effective administration
of this requirement.
(4)
The policy created by the Chief Purchasing Officer shall require
that a copy of United States Department of Defense Form DD214 or current
service identification card(s) for any veteran(s) establishing any
business as owned and controlled by veterans under this subsection
must be submitted with any bid proposal, together with any proof of
business ownership deemed appropriate by the Chief Purchasing Officer.
(5)
In the event that the Chief Purchasing Officer determines that
the five-percent participation goal is unattainable in the context
of a particular procurement transaction, the remaining formal procurement
requirements will still be applicable to that transaction.
(6)
For the purposes of this subsection, "Chief Purchasing Officer"
shall mean only the individual designated to exercise direct supervisory
authority over the Division of Purchasing and Supplies or any successor
County office or division, and shall not include the Director of any
County department or any individual holding elected County office.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also required
the following: "No earlier than one year after the date of final approval
of this ordinance, the Allegheny County Controller shall conduct an
audit of the performance of the Allegheny County Division of Purchasing
and Supplies in complying with the provisions of § 5-903.02A(1).
Such audit shall, at a minimum, include a review of the Division of
Purchasing and Supplies' protocols for requiring and processing signed
statements, qualification of lowest responsible responsive bidders,
and record retention. The Controller shall issue a final report of
the results of this audit and any corrective action recommendations
to the Chief Purchasing Officer, the Allegheny County Council, the
Allegheny County Chief Executive, and the Allegheny County Manager
no later than two years after the date of final approval of this ordinance."
When the Manager determines that electronic
bidding is in the best interest of the County, the Manager may require
bidders to submit their bid prices electronically in an auction-style
manner. When the County uses electronic bidding, the bid opening will
last for a previously disclosed period of time during which the bidders'
prices will be made public. Bidders shall have the opportunity to
modify their bid prices for the duration of the time period established
for bid opening.
A.
Procurements that shall not require advertising or
bidding as herein before provided in § 5-903.02 are as follows:
(1)
Contracts let in cases of emergency as set forth
in § 5-903.05 below;
(2)
Those made for improvements, repairs and maintenance
of any kind made or provided by the County through its own employees;
provided, that this exception shall not apply to construction materials
used in a street and bridge improvement;
(3)
Those where the unique types, models or pieces
of new equipment, articles, apparatus, appliances, vehicles or parts
thereof, are patented and manufactured products or copyrighted products,
insofar as their essential function is concerned;
(4)
Those made for public utility service under
tariffs on file with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission;
(5)
Those made with another political subdivision
or a county, Commonwealth, the United States Government, any agency
of the Commonwealth or the United States Government, or any authority,
including the sale, leasing or loan of supplies or materials by the
Commonwealth or the United States Government or their agencies, but
the price thereof shall not be in excess of that fixed by the Commonwealth,
the United States Government or their agencies;
(6)
Those involving personal or professional services;
(7)
Those involving client services provided by
nonprofit agencies;
(8)
Those involving the purchase of milk; and
(9)
Purchase through intergovernmental or cooperative
purchasing plans.
B.
Procurement of personal or professional services shall
be made in accordance with §§ 5-903.01 and 5-905.03
of this Administrative Code. The Manager shall establish policies
for the procurement of all other items listed above.
A.
In the event that the emergency purchase or rental
of materials, supplies, furnishings, equipment and other personal
property and nonprofessional services where the amount thereof exceeds
the sum of $30,000 is required for the health, safety and welfare
of the people or for the protection of property, and that there is
a present, immediate and existing emergency which could not reasonably
be foreseen, this emergency competitive bid procedure shall be used
in lieu of the formal competitive bid procedure set forth in § 5-903.02
above.
B.
In order to invoke the emergency competitive bid procedure,
the Chief Executive or his designee shall set forth in writing the
nature of the emergency, the reasons why the purchase or rental is
required for the health, safety and welfare of the people and/or the
protection of property, and a statement that there is a present, immediate
and existing emergency which could not reasonably be foreseen. This
writing shall be filed in the office of the Purchasing Officer and
the County Council Clerk.
C.
Upon the required showing of an emergency, the Division
of Purchasing and Supplies, shall solicit bids by telephone or any
other expedient means of communication from as many known suppliers
of the materials, supplies, furnishings, equipment or other personal
property, as is practical under the circumstances of the emergency.
D.
The Division of Purchasing and Supplies may accept
oral bids for the necessary materials, supplies, furnishings, equipment
or other personal property and nonprofessional services and shall
award the contract to the lowest responsible responsive bidder meeting
the specifications with full consideration of cost, quality and performance.
Such award, however, shall not be effective until the successful bidder
submits a signed, written memorandum to the Purchasing Officer, confirming
the oral bid. A written contract between the successful bidder and
the County shall be executed as soon as practical. The written memorandum
shall be filed in the office of the Purchasing Officer and a written
contract shall be filed in the office of the Controller. The County,
however, shall have the right to reject any and all bids and to waive
defects as to form with respect to such contracts.
E.
The Division of Purchasing and Supplies shall cause
a record to be kept of all contracts with suppliers with whom bids
were solicited for emergency purchases setting forth the nature of
the solicitation, person contacted, the date of the contact, the person
submitting bids, the amount of each bid, and the award made thereon.
This record shall be filed in the Division or Purchasing and Supplies.
F.
Upon the required showing of an emergency the Purchasing
Officer after consultation with the Manager may waive any requirements
for applicable bonding and insurance.
