[The Village Procurement Policy is on file and available
for inspection in the office of the Village Clerk. The policy shall
be reviewed annually and amended by resolution of the Board of Trustees
when necessary.]
[Adopted 12-1-2014 by L.L. No. 14-2014]
This article shall be known as the "Village of Stewart Manor
Best Value Competitive Bidding Law."
A.Â
The State Legislature and Governor amended General Municipal Law
§ 103 to provide local governments greater flexibility in
awarding contracts by authorizing the award of purchase contracts,
including contracts for service work, on the basis of best value.
The State Legislation requires political subdivisions with a population
of less than 1,000,000 to pass a local law authorizing the use of
the best value award process.
B.Â
Enactment of this legislation provides additional procurement options
to localities in ways that may expedite the procurement process and
result in cost savings. The "best value" standard for selecting goods
and services vendors, including janitorial and security contracts,
is critical to efforts to use strategic sourcing principles to modernize
the supply chain and ensure that taxpayers obtain the highest quality
goods and services at the lowest potential cost, while also ensuring
fairness to all competitors.
C.Â
The federal government, approximately half the states and many localities
have added best value selection processes to their procurement options,
in recognition of these advantages. With the increased complexity
of the goods and services that municipalities must obtain in order
to serve taxpayers, it is critical to consider selection and evaluation
criteria that measure factors other than cost in the strictest sense.
D.Â
Taxpayers are not well served when a public procurement results in
low unit costs at the outset but ultimately engenders cost escalations
due to factors such as inferior quality, poor reliability and difficulty
of maintenance. Best value procurement links the procurement process
directly to the municipality's performance requirements, incorporating
selection factors such as useful lifespan, quality and options and
incentives for more timely performance and/or additional services.
E.Â
Even if the initial expenditure is higher, considering the total
value over the life of the procurement may result in a better value
and long-term investment of public funds. Best value procurement also
encourages competition and, in turn, often results in better pricing,
quality and customer service. Fostering healthy competition ensures
that bidders will continue to strive for excellence in identifying
and meeting municipalities' needs, including such important goals
as the participation of small, minority and women-owned businesses,
and the development of environmentally preferable goods and service
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.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The basis for awarding contracts for services to the offeror
which optimizes quality, cost and efficiency among responsive and
responsible offerors. Such basis shall reflect, wherever possible,
objective and quantifiable analysis. Such basis may also identify
a quantitative factor for offerors that are small businesses or certified
minority- or women-owned business enterprises as defined in Subdivisions
1, 7, 15 and 20 of § 310 of the Executive Law to be used
in evaluation of offers for the awarding of contracts for services.
A.Â
Where the basis for award is the best value offer, the Village Clerk-Treasurer
or Deputy Clerk-Treasurer shall document, in the procurement record
and in advance of the initial receipt of offers, the determination
of the evaluation criteria, which, whenever possible, shall be quantifiable,
and the process to be used in the determination of best value and
the manner in which the evaluation process and selection shall be
conducted.
B.Â
The Village Clerk-Treasurer or Deputy Clerk-Treasurer shall select
a formal sealed competitive bidding procurement process in accordance
with General Municipal Law and the Village of Stewart Manor Procurement
Policy and document its determination in the procurement record. The
process shall include, but is not limited to, a clear statement of
need; a description of the required specifications governing performance
and related factors; a reasonable process for ensuring a competitive
field; a fair and equal opportunity for offerors to submit responsive
offers; and a balanced and fair method of award. Where the basis of
the award is best value, documentation in the procurement record shall,
where practicable, include a quantification of the application of
the criteria to the rating of proposals and the evaluation results
or, where not practicable, such other justification which demonstrates
that best value will be achieved.
C.Â
The solicitation shall prescribe the minimum specifications or requirements
that must be met in order to be considered responsive and shall describe
and disclose the general manner in which the evaluation and selection
shall be conducted. Where appropriate, the solicitation shall identify
the relative importance and/or weight of cost and the overall technical
criterion to be considered by the Village of Stewart Manor in its
determination of best value.
D.Â
The Village Clerk-Treasurer or Deputy Clerk-Treasurer shall develop
procedures that will govern the award of contracts on the basis of
best value. These procedures shall be included in the Village of Stewart
Manor Procurement Policy and reviewed annually by the Board of Trustees
in conjunction with its annual review and approval of the Village
of Stewart Manor Procurement Policy.
