Goods and services which are not required by law to be procured pursuant
to competitive bidding must be procured in a manner so as to assure the prudent
and economical use of public moneys, in the best interests of the taxpayers,
to facilitate the acquisition of goods and services of maximum quality at
the lowest possible cost under the circumstances, and to guard against favoritism,
improvidence, extravagance, fraud and corruption. To further these objectives
the Town Board is adopting internal policies and procedures governing all
procurement of goods and services which are not required to be made pursuant
to the competitive bidding requirements of General Municipal Law § 103
or of any other general or special law.
The procedures for determining whether a procurement of goods and services
is subject to competitive bidding and documenting the basis for any determination
that competitive bidding is not required by law is as follows:
A. The department head shall initially review every purchase
to determine whether it is a purchase contract or a public works contract.
The department head must also review every purchase anticipated for the fiscal
year, group each purchase into items of similar nature routinely purchased
from a vendor or a group of vendors, and determine aggregate dollars anticipated
for each group of similar nature items. From this the department head makes
the determination if, over the course of the fiscal year, the Town will spend
in excess of the competitive bidding thresholds for the same or similar items
or services.
B. The department head shall document each step of the process
in the above subsection and most importantly document if aggregate anticipated
purchase falls below or above the competitive bidding thresholds and any exceptions
to following the competitive bidding process (i.e., items will be purchased
from state or county bid awards).
The methods of procurement to be used are as follows:
A. For aggregate annual purchase contracts for items of
a similar nature:
(1) Under $1,000: Purchase may be made at the discretion
of the department head;
(2) $1,001 to $3,000: documented telephone quotes from at
least three separate vendors (if available), with final approval by the Town
Supervisor;
(3) $3,001 to $10,000: Formal written quotes from at least
three separate vendors (if available), with final approval by the Town Board;
(4) Over $10,000: Requires a public bid per General Municipal
Law § 103 unless purchased under a state or county bid award with
Town Board approval; Town Board awards bid.
B. For aggregate annual public work projects/contracts for
items of a similar nature:
(1) Under $1,000: Purchase may be made at the discretion
of the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways;
(2) $1,001 to $3,000: Documented telephone quotes from at
least three separate vendors (if available), with final approval by the Commissioner
of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways:
(3) $3,001 to $10,000: Formal written quotes from at least
three separate vendors (if available), with final approval by the Town Board;
(4) $10,001 to $20,000: Prices to be obtained by "request
for proposal" (RFP) from at least three separate vendors (if available), with
final approval by the Town Board;
(5) Over $20,000: Requires a public bid per General Municipal
Law § 103 unless purchased under a state or county bid award with
Town Board approval; Town Board awards bid.
C. For purchase of professional services/consultants: Prices
to be obtained by "request for proposal" (RFP) from at least three separate
vendors (if available), with final approval by the Town Board. EXCEPTION:
Should a professional service provider be designated on a retainage position
based upon Town Board evaluation and determination, then the services provided
and the terms of service shall not be subject to further RFP procedure and
the Town Board may contract periodically for supplemental services as needed
and upon negotiated terms of payment primarily because of the determination
of the Board on a previous basis as to desirability to have the ongoing availability
of such services and the comprehensive retainer understanding of the service
provider.
Whenever any contract is awarded to other than the lowest responsible
dollar offerer, the reasons such an award is in the best interest of the Town
of Chili shall be documented and maintained with the documentation of quotes,
approval, purchase offer and voucher.
The Town Board sets forth the following circumstances when, or types
of procurement for which, in the sole discretion of the Town Board, the solicitation
of alternative proposals or quotations will not be in the best interest of
the Town of Chili:
A. Emergencies where time is a crucial factor as set forth
in General Municipal Law § 103(4);
B. Procurement for which there is no possibility of competition,
primarily sole source items;
C. Procurement of professional services which, because of
the confidential nature of the services, do not lend themselves to procurement
through solicitation;
D. Procurement for which solicitations of competition would
not be cost effective, such as purchase contracts below $500 and contracts
for public works below $2,000.
The Town Board shall annually review these policies and procedures.
The Town Supervisor shall be responsible for conducting an annual review of
the procurement policy and for an evaluation of the internal control structure
established to ensure compliance with the procurement policy.
The unintentional failure to fully comply with the provisions of General
Municipal Law § 104-b shall not be grounds to void action taken
or give rise to a cause of action against the Town of Chili or any officer
or employee thereof.
These policies and procedures shall become effective as of the date
of adoption.