Town of Adams, MA Chapter 35 Contracts and Purchasing

§ 35-1 Contracts by Town officers.

A. Generally. No department or officer having charge of any office, department or undertaking of the Town shall recommend the award of any contract or the purchase of any equipment, supplies or services unless the Chief Procurement Officer has first certified that that person has complied with the provisions of MGL c. 30B, c. 30, § 39M, and/or c. 149.

B. Proposals

(1) Notice. A notice involving formal proposals therefor shall have been posted, in the office of the Chief Procurement Officer, not later than two weeks prior to the time so specified, and such notice shall also have been published at least once, not less than two weeks prior to the time so specified, in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town, as the Chief Procurement Officer may direct. A notice involving informal proposals therefor shall have been posted in the office of the Chief Procurement Officer not later than three days prior to the time so specified.

(2) Form. Formal proposals for any contract subject to this section shall be sealed and in writing. Informal proposals for any contract subject to this section may be either oral or written quotations. In the event of an oral quotation, the Chief Procurement Officer shall record said quotation in writing and shall require written confirmation of quotation from offerers prior to the awarding of the contract.

(3) Opening; inspection. Such formal proposals shall be opened and read in public at a time and place specified in the posted and published notice and, after being so opened, shall be open for public inspection. Such informal proposals shall be received by a time specified in the posted notice and shall be maintained by the Chief Procurement Officer and shall be open for public inspection upon the awarding of the contract. The Chief Procurement Officer shall maintain a list of all persons requesting and/or receiving formal and informal proposal notices.

C. Awards generally. The department or officer shall award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder. No contract shall be awarded for a sum in excess of the appropriation available, unless it is on a unit bid price basis, in which event the quantities may be adjusted in order to make the final total payment not exceed the appropriation.

D. Avoidance of section. No contract or preliminary plans or specifications pertaining thereto shall be split, altered, changed or divided for the purpose of evading the provisions of this section.

E. Rejection of bids. The right shall be reserved to reject any or all bids, if such rejection is in the public interest.

F. Suspension of section where interests of Town would be served. It is further provided that in the event of unusual opportunity for the purchase of materials, supplies and equipment in the best interest of the Town, not in excess of $1,000, which opportunity for the purchase of the particular materials, supplies and equipment would ordinarily be lost or rendered impractical or impossible by the operation of this section, this section may be avoided and dispensed with upon the unanimous vote of the Board of Selectmen, provided that necessary funds are available and have been properly appropriated in advance.

§ 35-2 Capital expenditures.

All Town departments may make capital expenditures whose aggregate total may not exceed $2,000 per fiscal year from their operating expense accounts.