[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:
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.