[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Northvale as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 4-11-2007 by Ord. No. 842-2007]
The Borough of Northvale does hereby adopt the fair and open
process pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.1 et seq., as the same may
be amended from time to time. Any professional service entity providing
services to the Borough of Northvale shall be subject to a fair and
open process, the criteria as is set forth in this article.
No contracts for professional services, as that term is defined
in the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-2, shall be awarded
after the date of the adoption of this article, unless the following
competitive, quality-based, fair and open process is followed:
A.
Professional
services shall be awarded by virtue of a publicly advertised request
for qualifications made on an annual basis, such as, but not limited
to, Borough Attorney, Borough Engineer, Special Tax Appeal Attorney,
Joint Planning Board/Board of Adjustment Attorney, Joint Planning
Board/Board of Adjustment Engineer, Environmental Engineer, Borough
Auditor and such similar public positions.
B.
For
said positions, no contract shall be awarded, unless and until the
positions are:
(1)
Advertised in the official newspaper of the Borough in sufficient
time to give notice in advance of the solicitation for the contracts;
(2)
Awarded under a process that provides for public solicitation of
qualifications;
(3)
Awarded and disclosed under criteria established in writing by the
Borough prior to the solicitation of qualifications; and
(4)
Publicly announced when awarded; and as to those RFQs which do not
receive response, the Municipal Clerk shall retain a copy of same
on file for a period of not less than 60 days.
The Borough Clerk is authorized to advertise for RFQs in the
official newspaper of the Borough and to post same on the Borough's
website. The criteria to be established as the basis for the award
need not be set forth in the public notice but shall be set forth
in the document requesting proposals. The public notice shall:
A.
Provide
at least 10 calendar days' notice prior to the designated date
for receipt of responses to the RFQs;
B.
Include
the date, time and place and manner of receipt of responses to the
RFQs;
C.
Include
a description of the goods or services, and contact information for
obtaining the RFQ document; and
D.
A
statement that the proposal or qualifications are being solicited
in a fair and open process in accordance with N.J.S.A. 19:44a-1 et
seq.
The applicant's qualifications shall consist of, but not
be limited to, the following:
A.
In
the event that the applicant is a professional acquiring licensure
in the State of New Jersey, the applicant shall be licensed for a
period not less than five years.
B.
The
applicant shall, at the request of the governing body, submit a certificate
of good standing or other similar document evidencing that the professional's
license is not presently suspended or revoked.
C.
The
applicant shall submit a resume, which shall set forth information
including, but not limited to, the following (as applicable to a business
entity or individual professional):
(1)
Full name and business address;
(2)
A listing of post high school education of the applicant;
(3)
Dates of licensure in the State of New Jersey and/or any other state;
(4)
A listing of any professional affiliations or memberships in any
professional societies or organizations, with an indication as to
any offices held therein;
(5)
The number of licensed professionals employed by/affiliated with
the business entity or the business entity which employs the applicant;
(6)
A listing of special accreditations held by the individual licensed
professional or business entity; and
(7)
A listing of previous public entities served by the business entity
or licensed professional, including the dates of service and positions
held.
D.
The
applicant shall submit in its response to an RFQ such other information
as may be requested by the governing body in the RFQ.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borough recognizes that the
New Jersey Legislature has provided for the occurrence of certain
emergencies, and further recognizes that, therefore, the procedure
outlined above might not be capable of being achieved in the event
of an emergency or similar time constraints. Accordingly, should such
a situation arise, and time does not permit resort to the procedure
set forth above, and the immediate performance of services is necessary,
then an award for same may be made in accordance with the provisions
of the Local Public Contracts Law[1] relating to emergency contracts and any such rules and
regulations as may be promulgated, from time to time, by the Borough,
without submission to the Borough Clerk of a certification establishing
the basis for the deviation from the procedures outlined herein.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.
All contracts awarded pursuant to this article shall be by resolution
which shall include a statement that the contract was awarded pursuant
to the fair and open process.
