[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Southport as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-2-2001 by Res. No. 36-2001; amended in its entirety 12-29-2010 by Res. No. 204-2010]
Every prospective purchase of goods or services shall be evaluated to determine the applicability of § 103 of the General Municipal Law. Every Town officer, board, department head or other personnel with the requisite purchasing authority ("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 review of 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 $20,000 in the fiscal year, or a public works contract more than $35,000 shall be formally bid in accordance with the procedures set forth in § 103 of the General Municipal Law.
A. 
All estimated purchases of:
(1) 
Less than $20,000 but greater than $16,000 shall require a written request for a proposal (herein after referred to as "RFP") and written/fax quotes from three vendors.
(2) 
Less than $16,000 but greater than $8,000 requires an oral request for goods and oral/fax quotes from two vendors, which oral quotes shall be substantiated in writing by the purchaser.
(3) 
Less than $8,000 but greater than $1,000 are left to the discretion of the purchaser and must be within current fiscal year appropriations.
B. 
All estimated public works contracts of:
(1) 
Less than $35,000 but greater than $21,000 requires a written RFP and fax/proposals from three contractors.
(2) 
Less than $21,000 but greater than $10,500 requires a written RFP and fax/proposals from two contractors.
(3) 
Less than $10,500 but greater than $2,500 are left to the discretion of the purchaser and must be within current fiscal year appropriations.
C. 
Any RFP shall describe the desired goods, quantity and particulars of delivery. The purchaser shall compile a list of all vendors from whom written/fax/oral quotes have been requested and the written/fax/oral quotes offered.
D. 
All information gathered in complying with the procedures of this guideline shall be preserved and filed with the documentation supporting the subsequent purchase or public works contract.
E. 
All purchases must be approved by the supervisor or his designee(s).
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 taxpayers to make an award to other than the low bidder. If a bidder is not being 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 shall 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 quotations shall be required under the following circumstances:
A. 
Emergency;
B. 
Sole source situations;
C. 
Goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely disabled;
D. 
Goods purchased from correctional facilities;
E. 
Goods purchased from another governmental agency or entity;
F. 
Goods purchased at auctions;
G. 
Goods purchased for less than $600; or
H. 
Public works contracts for less than $2,500.
Prior to the purchase of any goods or the entering into of any public works contract, the purchaser will determine whether the vendor is either disbarred or otherwise disqualified from bidding on or entering into a public works contract.
This policy shall be reviewed annually by the Town Board of the Town of Southport.
[Adopted 5-14-2024 by L.L. No. 2-2024 (Res. No. 78-2024)]
The title of this article shall be known and cited as "Town of Southport Best Value Competitive Bidding Law."
New York State General Municipal Law § 103 allows the Town to authorize by a local law for the award of certain purchase contracts, including contracts for service work, subject to competitive bidding under General Municipal Law § 103, on the basis of "best value" as defined in § 163 of the New York State Finance Law or any state law superseding or amending said provision. The best value option may be used, for example, if it is more cost-efficient over time to award the goods or services to other than the lowest responsible bidder or offerer if factors such as lower cost of maintenance, durability, higher quality, and longer product life can be documented. Even if the initial expenditure is higher, consideration is given to the total value over the life of the procurement resulting in a better value and long-term investment of public funds. In addition, this option can foster healthy competition to ensure that bidders will continue to strive for participation of small, minority- and women-owned businesses, and the development of environmentally preferable goods and services delivery methods. Best value procurement will provide much-needed flexibility in obtaining important goods and services at favorable prices and will reduce the time to procure such goods and services.
The Town Board may award purchase contracts after bidding, including contracts for services work, on the basis of "best value" as that term is defined in New York State Finance Law § 163. "Best value," in accordance with the New York State Finance Law, means the basis for awarding contracts for services to the offerer which optimizes quality, cost, and efficiency among responsive and responsible offerers. Such basis shall reflect, wherever possible, objective and quantifiable analysis. Such basis may also identify a quantitative factor for offerers that are small businesses, certified minority- or women-owned business enterprises as defined in Subdivisions 1, 7, 15 and 20 of § 310 of the Executive Law or service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprises as defined in Subdivision 1 of § 40 of the Veterans' Services Law to be used in evaluation of offers for awarding of contracts for services.
This article is adopted pursuant to § 103(1) of the New York State General Municipal Law, which allows the Town to authorize the award of certain purchase contracts, including contracts for services, subject to competitive bidding under General Municipal Law § 103 on the basis of "best value" as defined in § 163 of the New York State Finance Law.
The provisions of this article apply to Town purchase contracts involving an expenditure of more than $20,000 and Town contracts for services involving an expenditure of more than $35,000, but excluding purchase contracts necessary for the completion of a public works contract pursuant to Article 8 of the New York Labor Law and any other contract that may in the future be excluded under state law from the best value option. If the dollar thresholds of New York State General Municipal Law § 103 are increased or decreased in the future by the State Legislature, the dollar thresholds set forth herein shall be deemed simultaneously amended to match the new General Municipal Law thresholds.
Goods and services procured and awarded on the basis of best value are those that the Town Board determines optimize quality, cost, and efficiency among responsive and responsible bidders or offerers. The determination shall be based on an objective analysis of clearly described and documented criteria as they apply to the rating of bids of offers. Where possible, such determination shall also be based upon and include a quantifiable basis of the same. The criteria may include, but shall not be limited to, any or all of the following: cost of maintenance, proximity to the end use, if distance or response time is a significant term; durability, availability of replacement parts or maintenance contractors; longer product life; product performance criteria; and quality of craftsmanship.
A quote or proposal for a purchase or contract covered by this article received pursuant to standard bidding procedures may be awarded on either a best value or lowest responsible bidder standard. All information gathered in the course of the bidding procedures shall be filed with the documentation supporting the subsequent purchase or public works contract. Whenever any contract is awarded on the basis of best value instead of lowest responsible bidder, the basis for determining the best value shall be thoroughly and accurately documented.
Any inconsistent provisions of the Town procurement policy as adopted prior to the effective date of this article, or as amended thereafter, shall be deemed superseded by the provisions of this article.
If a court determines that any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this article or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance is invalid or unconstitutional, the court's order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this article, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this article or in its application to the person, individual, firm or corporation, or circumstance directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or order shall be rendered.
This article shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State.