A purchase order must be issued to the vendor prior to receiving any items or services. Purchases executed by users prior to issuance of a purchase order are prohibited, except as otherwise provided in the emergency purchasing procedures of Article
III of this chapter.
Requisitions shall not be initiated and purchase
orders shall not be issued, approved or processed when line items
are overexpended, except as approved by the appropriate County reviewing
department in accordance with state and Doña Ana County regulations
and provisions, and provided there are legally sufficient budget balances
available otherwise. It shall be the primary responsibility of the
purchase user to ensure sufficient funds are available prior to initiating
a purchase.
Purchases shall be made at the best possible
prices and in accordance with the following procedures:
A. Purchases not exceeding $10,000. Requests involving dollar amounts
not exceeding $10,000 may be processed without formal written quotations.
These purchases should be procured at the best obtainable price, considering
time, cost and effort of obtaining the purchase. Quotations are normally
solicited by telephone. The department, for auditor's inspection,
shall maintain records of such purchases. Purchases shall not be artificially
divided for the purpose of qualifying as a purchase under this section.
[Amended 6-24-2014 by Res. No. 2014-70]
B. Purchases exceeding $10,000 but less than $30,000.
[Amended 6-24-2014 by Res. No. 2014-70]
(1) Requests involving dollar amounts exceeding $10,000 but not exceeding
$30,000 may be processed with three formal written quotations. Written
quotations obtained from a vendor must be written on vendor letterhead,
vendor invoice, vendor website, vendor catalogue or vendor e-mail.
Such quotations as "does not carry" or "did not return my phone call"
do not qualify as a valid written quotation. In the case where three
obtainable quotes are not obtainable, the department shall contact
Purchasing to assist in locating another source for a written quote.
Written quotations received will be submitted to the Purchasing Department.
These purchases should be procured at the best obtainable price. Purchases
shall not be artificially divided for the purpose of qualifying as
a purchase under this section.
(2) If a vendor has an agreement or contract with the County to provide
tangible personal property or service, multiple quotations are not
required.
C. Purchases exceeding $30,000.
[Amended 6-24-2014 by Res. No. 2014-70]
(1) All purchases, except professional services, exceeding $30,000 require
competitive sealed bids or requests for proposal. The procedures for
competitive sealed bids or requests for proposal are specified by
the State of New Mexico Procurement Code and shall be processed and
executed by the Purchasing Department.
(2) As provided for in Doña Ana County Board Resolution
No. 2010-59, the County Manager shall have the authority to award
bids/requests for proposal not exceeding $50,000, provided sufficient
funds have been approved in the current fiscal year budget and the
purchase will be completed in the current fiscal year.
[Amended 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 235-2011]
(3) The Board of County Commissioners shall award bids/requests
for proposal exceeding $50,000.
D. Written quotations. Written quotations obtained from
a vendor must be written on vendor letterhead, vendor invoice, vendor
catalog or vendor e-mail. Such quotes as "does not carry" or "did
not return my phone call" do not qualify as a valid written quote.
E. State or federal purchasing contracts and cooperative
bid exceptions.
(1) The bidding process may be waived in cases where a
vendor has a current state purchasing contract, general services agency
(GSA) contract, or contract with another government entity ("piggybacking").
Also, the County may purchase items cooperatively through another
public body's bid process consistent with state statutes.
(2) As provided for in Doña Ana County Board Resolution
No. 2010-59, the County Manager will have signature authority to enter
into short-term contracts (current fiscal year) for purchase of goods
and services $50,000 or less procured through these existing contracts.
Funding for these purchases must have been approved in the current
budget.
[Amended 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 235-2011]
(3) The Board of County Commissioners shall approve purchases
exceeding $50,000 utilizing an existing contract.
F. Bid specifications. The preparation of bid specifications
is the responsibility of the user department with review (and authority
to challenge) by the Purchasing Department. Specifications should
be written primarily to address the need of the County for a specific
item to perform a specific function. Specifications shall not be "closed"
or "exclusive," or otherwise written in such a way as to intentionally
favor or exclude a vendor. Reference to specific types or quality
shall be followed by wording "or equal." It shall be the purchase
user's responsibility to ensure that all specifications are correct
and appropriate. It shall be the Purchasing Department's responsibility
to review and ensure that all other provisions, procedures and considerations
are correct and appropriate, and to point out any questionable, unusual,
or inappropriate specifications to the County Manager prior to processing.
G. The State
Use Act. The application of the State Use Act is carried out by
a combination of a governing body and a nonprofit organization. The
nonprofit organization is charged with day-to-day administration.
[Added 9-14-2010 by Res. No. 2010-70]
(1) The
governing body for implementation of the New Mexico State Use Act
is the New Mexico Council for Purchasing from Persons with Disabilities,
or "Council." Pursuant to statute, the membership is made up of the
State Purchasing Agency and a mixture of Governor- and Council-appointed
persons, to include persons with one or more disabilities. Among other
things, the Council approves the fair market value of the available
services, as well as certifying the potential providers.
(2) The
nonprofit organization is called the "central nonprofit agency" or
"CNA." As of September 2009, the CNA for the State of New Mexico,
selected through a competitive procurement process, is New Mexico
Abilities. Its website can be found at www.nmabilities.org. The CNA
assists in developing and collecting data to support the Council's
verification that the price is fair market.
(3) The
CNA has the first right of refusal to provide any service needed by
the County if that service appears on a list of potential services
approved by the Council on behalf of the CNA. The list of services
is posted on the website listed above. If the CNA, through one or
more of its qualified individual service providers, can provide the
required service, then a contract shall be entered into between the
CNA and the County. In such cases, the cost and effort of the normal
procurement process is negated and shall be exempt from competitive
procurement.
(4) Subject
to the County's concurrence, the CNA will determine whether or not
a potential provider(s) is qualified and capable of performing the
required service. County departments do not contract directly with
the individuals who will be providing the service, but rather contract
with the CNA. For purposes of the State Use Act, the term "services"
encompasses both the categories of "services" and "professional services"
as defined in the New Mexico Procurement Code (NMSA § 13-1-28
et seq.).
(5) As
stated in NMSA § 13-1C-7A, the procurement of services in
accordance with the State Use Act is exempt from the New Mexico Procurement
Code. The New Mexico State Use Act makes no distinction as to the
dollar value of the services being procured. As such, all potential
services needing to be procured, regardless of dollar value and no
matter how small that dollar value may be, are subject to acquisition
from the CNA. In other words, small purchase limits under the New
Mexico Procurement Code have no bearing on services being procured
in accordance with the New Mexico State Use Act.
(6) County
departments desiring to procure a service from an existing statewide
price agreement must first contact the CNA to determine if the needed
services can be obtained through the CNA. If so, the use of the statewide
price agreement is not allowed. If the CNA cannot provide the required
services, and provides documentation of that fact for the County's
file, then the department may proceed to procure the services from
the statewide price agreement.
"Sole-source purchases" are purchases of goods
and services that are available from only one vendor. As examples,
there may be just one vendor because of patents or copyrights, or
simply because the vendor is the only one that supplies the good or
service.
A. Authorization for sole-source purchase. In accordance
with the State Procurement Code, NMSA § 13-1-126, the Purchasing
Department shall make a determination, after conducting a good-faith
review of available sources, that there is only one source for the
required service, construction or item of tangible personal property.
The Purchasing Manager or his/her designee must approve the sole-source
purchase prior to the user department initiating the purchase.
B. Procedure for sole-source purchase.
(1) In order for the Purchasing Department to make a determination
for sole-source procurement, the user department must provide the
following required justification:
(a)
The user department must provide a written explanation
as to why only this particular product/service is acceptable. Any
request by a user department that procurement be restricted to one
potential vendor shall be accompanied by a written explanation as
to why no other vendor will be suitable or acceptable to meet the
need.
(b)
The user department must provide a detailed
letter from the vendor stating that the vendor is the only authorized
source for the product or service. The letter shall also include a
current price quotation.
(2) Note: Sole-source purchase requests submitted without
the above written documentation will be returned to the user department
for completion and compliance without any action taken by the Purchasing
Department.
[Amended 8-14-2007 by Res. No. 2007-83]
"Professional services" means the services of
architects, archeologists, engineers, surveyors, landscape architects,
medical arts practitioners, scientists, management and systems analysts,
certified public accountants, registered public accountants, lawyers,
psychologists, planners, researchers, construction managers and other
persons or businesses providing similar professional services, which
may be designated as such by a determination issued by the state purchasing
agent or a central purchasing office. (NMSA § 13-1-76) In
order for the Purchasing Department to make a determination as to
whether or not a service qualifies as "professional," a potential
provider may be requested to provide credentials such as proof of
an advanced degree, specialized certification and/or training, and
a list of references.
A. Professional services not exceeding $50,000.
(1) User departments are encouraged to contact at least
three businesses for written or verbal offers before selecting a contractor.
The Purchasing Department shall negotiate a contract for the required
services at a fair and reasonable price. (NMAC 1.4.1.52)
(2) As provided for in Doña Ana County Board Resolution
No. 2010-59, the County Manager has contract signature authority for
$50,000 or less.
[Amended 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 235-2011]
B. Professional services exceeding $50,000.
(1) All professional services purchases exceeding $50,000
require a competitive request for proposal. The procedures for competitive
requests for proposal are specified by the State of New Mexico Procurement
Code and shall be processed and executed by the Purchasing Department.
(2) As provided for in Doña Ana County Board Resolution
No. 2010-59, the County Manager shall have the authority to award
bid/request for proposal not exceeding $50,000, provided funds have
been approved in the current fiscal year budget and the purchase will
be completed in the current fiscal year. The Board of County Commissioners
shall award bids/requests for proposal exceeding $50,000.
[Amended 9-27-2011 by Ord. No. 235-2011]
No purchases shall be made for the purpose of
personal or private use. This includes non-business-use purchases.
The County is authorized to purchase used equipment
or items. The purchase shall be formally approved by action of the
County Commission prior to purchase. The Purchasing Department, when
procuring used items of tangible personal property the estimated cost
of which exceeds $5,000, shall request bids as though the items were
new, adding specifications that permit used items under conditions
to be outlined in the bid specifications, including but not limited
to requiring a written warranty for at least 90 days after date of
delivery and an independent "certificate of working order" by a qualified
mechanic or appraiser. (NMSA § 13-1-155)