Doña Ana County, NM Standard Purchasing Procedures

Date: the date the requisition is prepared.

Department: name of department or division initiating the requisition.

Quantity: specify the unit and the approximate amount per unit being requested. Units may be "each," "box," "gals," "reams," "pound," etc.

(4)

Description: the description of the items or services to be purchased, which shall be adequate to identify the item and/or services being requested without having to request additional information from the user.

(5)

Amount: Users shall provide the cost or their best estimate of cost on the requisition if exact cost cannot be determined. When quotations are required, the quotations shall be cited on the requisition.

(6)

Account: The appropriate budgeted line item account number must be shown on each requisition in order for the costs of the items purchased to be appropriately charged. Requisitions may include multiple line items.

(7)

Department head or designee requisition approval.

Requisitions that lack the required information will be returned to the user department for completion and compliance.

§ 89-15 Purchase orders.

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.

§ 89-16 Invoices.

An invoice is an itemized statement submitted by the vendor to the County for payment for tangible personal property and/or services provided. It is the responsibility of the vendor to ensure that the invoice matches the items on the purchase order. Vendors shall be instructed to include the purchase order number on the invoice for ready identification.

Vendors shall be notified by the Doña Ana County Finance Accounts Payable Department that repeated improper invoicing may cause a vendor to be excluded from participating in County purchases. Also, the County may refuse payment in any case where there is an unauthorized purchase.

§ 89-17 Overexpenditures.

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.

§ 89-18 Competitive purchases.

Purchases shall be made at the best possible prices and in accordance with the following procedures:

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]

Purchases exceeding $10,000 but less than $30,000.

[Amended 6-24-2014 by Res. No. 2014-70]

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.

If a vendor has an agreement or contract with the County to provide tangible personal property or service, multiple quotations are not required.

Purchases exceeding $30,000.

[Amended 6-24-2014 by Res. No. 2014-70]

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.

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]

The Board of County Commissioners shall award bids/requests for proposal exceeding $50,000.

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.

State or federal purchasing contracts and cooperative bid exceptions.

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.

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]

The Board of County Commissioners shall approve purchases exceeding $50,000 utilizing an existing contract.

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.

The State Use Act.[1] 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]

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.

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.

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.

[1]

Editor's Note: See NMSA § 13-1C-1 et seq.

§ 89-19 Sole-source purchases.

"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.

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.

Procedure for sole-source purchase.

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.

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.

§ 89-20 Professional services.

[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.

Professional services not exceeding $50,000.

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)

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]

Professional services exceeding $50,000.

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.