The following methods of purchasing shall be followed by all department heads in purchasing any supplies, services and capital outlay items:
A. 
Purchases less than $1,500. Purchase of supplies, services and capital outlay items with a cost of less than $1,500 and itemized in the rationale of the department's current budget shall be made without request for quotation, competitive bid, or prior Board approval. The actual purchase of items costing over $1,500 shall be made by an authorized purchase order when required by the vendor, as per § 116-7 herein.
B. 
Purchases of $1,500 or more but less than $5,000. Purchases with a cost of $1,500 or more but less than $5,000 and itemized in the rationale of the department's current budget shall be made by informal quotation and without prior Board approval. Request for informal quotation (bid specifications) may be oral and taken by telephone. A minimum of three informal quotations shall be requested. It is understood that the lowest quotation may or may not be the most advantageous to the County.
C. 
Purchases of $5,000 or more but not in excess of $30,000. Purchases with a cost of $5,000 or more but not in excess of $30,000 and itemized in the rationale of the department's current budget shall be made by formal quotation. Request for formal quotation does not require advertisement in a newspaper of general circulation. Request for formal quotation (bid specifications) shall be written, and a minimum of three written formal quotations shall be requested from vendors who, in the opinion of the department head, are likely to provide the best price, quality, and service. It is understood that the lowest quotation may or may not be the most advantageous to the County. Board approval is not required for purchases made in accordance with this Subsection C when funds have been allocated in the rationale of the department's current budget.
D. 
Purchases of more than $30,000. Purchases with a cost in excess of $30,000 and itemized in the rationale of the department's current budget shall be made by formal bid. Pursuant to 55 ILCS 5/5-1022, request for bids (bid specifications) shall be advertised in a newspaper of general circulation and written bid specifications shall be prepared. Board approval is required prior to purchases made in accordance with this Subsection D.
E. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection D, purchase may be made without advertising for bids when individual orders do not exceed $35,000, for the use, purchase, delivery, movement, or installation of data processing equipment, software, or services and telecommunications and interconnect equipment, software and services. Board approval is required prior to purchases made in accordance with this Subsection E.
F. 
At the discretion of the department head or County administration, purchases which cost an amount not in excess of $30,000 may be made by formal, competitive bidding.
G. 
For procurement of goods or services for any program that utilizes federal funding, purchasing departments must complete a Federal Procurement Checklist and submit said checklist with any request for payment. The County Administrator shall make a Federal Procurement Checklist available to all authorized purchasing authorities of the County.
Purchase of materials, supplies, services, and capital outlay items costing in excess of $30,000 and itemized in the rationale of the department's current budget shall be by formal competitive bidding and initiated with the request for proposals process.
A. 
Written specifications. Department heads shall prepare written bid specifications and other required documents prior to initiating procedures for the purchase of any commodity, supply, service or capital outlay item costing in excess of $30,000.
B. 
Proposal/bid documents. The department head and/or the County Administrator shall prepare and send out all competitive bidding documents and shall be responsible for being compliant with all current state and federal regulations. Bid documents shall consist of the following four parts:
(1) 
Public notice advertisement requesting sealed proposals and bids.
(a) 
The County department and/or County Administrator shall prepare such notice and publish it in a newspaper of general circulation in McLean County at least once in 10 days prior to the scheduled date of proposal/bid opening.
(b) 
Said notice shall indicate the County office where specifications are available and the time and place of proposal/bid opening.
(2) 
Written specifications.
(a) 
Specifications shall be prepared by the County department in accordance with this chapter.
(b) 
Written specifications shall be reviewed by the department head and/or County Administrator. The department head and/or County Administrator may refer the review of the specifications to the appropriate Board oversight committee.
(c) 
Specifications may be amended prior to the proposal/bid opening if so authorized by the department head and/or County Administrator, provided all approved changes are transmitted to any person, firm or corporation requesting bidding documents. All other bidding documents shall be revised accordingly. Receipt of addendums/amendments shall be acknowledged in writing by the bidder at or prior to the time of proposal/bid opening.
(d) 
Specifications shall not be exclusionary to one vendor except where the appropriate Board oversight committee, or in the case of public health, the Board of Health, or McLean County Board for Care and Treatment of Persons with a Developmental Disability, based upon the fund affected, upon recommendation of the department head, and/or County Administrator determines that the interest of the County can be best served by a particular specification.
(e) 
Any vendor submitting a proposal/bid with modifications and/or substitutions to the specifications must state the modifications and/or substitutions in writing.
(3) 
Instructions to vendors shall be prepared according to this chapter.
(4) 
All contracts and purchases under this chapter shall be in conformity with 55 ILCS 5/5-1022.
C. 
Receipt of proposals/bids. Each sealed proposal/bid received shall be stamped with the time and date received.
D. 
Opening of proposals/bids. Proposals/bids shall be opened and read aloud publicly. Such documents may be opened, tabulated and analyzed by any one of the following: the department head, the County Administrator, the County Auditor, the appropriate Board oversight committee, the McLean County Board of Health, or McLean County Board for Care and Treatment of Persons with a Developmental Disability, or any combination thereof at the discretion of such committee.
E. 
Presentation of proposals/bids to Board oversight committee. It shall be the responsibility of a department head to present and discuss with the appropriate Board oversight committee the proposals/bids received. These officials shall then recommend the awarding of a proposal/bid to the appropriate Board oversight committee. The committee shall then reject the bid or recommend to the Board the awarding of the bid.
F. 
Right of the Board to reject or accept bids. The Board may accept or reject the recommended bid. If the recommended bid is not accepted, the Board may accept any other bid or may reject all bids. The Board reserves the right to waive any or all specifications and to reject any or all bids.
G. 
Awarding of bids. A bid shall be awarded by the Board to the vendor whose bid, in the opinion of the Board, is the most advantageous to the County based on price, quality, service and other lawful considerations deemed important by the Board, taking into consideration that the lowest bid may or may not be necessarily the most advantageous to the County.
H. 
Purchase. The purchase, pursuant to the awarding of a bid, shall be made through authorized contract or purchase agreement as set forth in this chapter.
I. 
Bids must be received prior to or at the time specified in the bid. Late bids shall not be considered and may be returned unopened to the vendor upon their request. If no bids are received, the purchase can be made using one of these methods:
(1) 
For purchases in excess of $30,000 where there were no bids received, as part of a competitive bidding process, the department head shall draft a memo outlining the steps taken to solicit bids including date(s) that it was advertised, where it was advertised, and any attempts taken to inform prospective bidders of the opportunity. This memo shall be sent to County Administration and included with all documents related to the project.
(2) 
The department head may proceed with engaging with potential firms to complete the project using the guidelines outlined for formal quotations as outlined in § 116-4.
All formal bids and contracts shall be approved by the appropriate Board oversight committee and the County Board, or in the case of public health, the Board of Health, or McLean County Board for Care and Treatment of Persons with a Developmental Disability, based upon the fund affected.
The following steps shall be followed by all department heads in purchasing any materials/supplies and/or capital outlay items which cost at least $30,000 or as required by the vendor. Purchases of contractual and professional services do not require the use of a purchase order form.
A. 
All items to be purchased shall be listed with prices on a purchase order form as generated by the appropriate financial management system.
B. 
Prior to purchase, the department head shall enter a purchase order request into the financial system for the County Auditor's approval that sufficient funds are available for the purchase and may be encumbered against the appropriate departmental budget line item or items.
C. 
After a purchase order has been executed, specifications for the items to be purchased cannot be changed without approval from the appropriate Board oversight committee in all instances where committee authorization of the purchase was involved.
If, in the opinion of the department head and/or County Administrator, it is advantageous to McLean County to purchase items through joint purchasing programs, as provided in 30 ILCS 525, the department head then shall not be required to request quotations for items with a cost in excess of $1,500 or more or to request competitive bids for items with a cost in excess of $30,000.
A. 
All items obtained through joint purchasing programs must be purchased following the guidelines set forth in § 116-7 herein. All departments utilizing this method shall file all purchasing documentation with the County Administrator and County Auditor.
Exempt goods, supplies, and services are items where competitive solicitation is impractical. The following items can be obtained without conducting a competitive solicitation process:
A. 
Utilities.
B. 
Advertising.
C. 
Courier services such as UPS or FedEx.
D. 
Memberships.
E. 
Professional services.
F. 
Used equipment.
G. 
Certain expenses related to civil or criminal litigation, or confidential employment-related investigations, such as attorney services, legal materials, investigators, and other related experts, with the approval of legal counsel.
H. 
Certain expenses where the cost of the item or service is set by state or federal law.
I. 
Purchases made from other federal, state or local governmental entities, provided such purchases are for rent of the entity's facilities or reimbursement for services directly provided by the entity.
J. 
Goods, supplies, and/or services needed by the County pending a bid award, contract renewal or bid protest action and a contractor agrees to provide such goods, supplies, and/or services at the same contract price as a previous award, or at a revised price that reflects changes in applicable governmental indexes since the beginning of the current contract period, until a new contract has been awarded. Such interim period contracts shall not normally exceed 180 days, or until resolution of a bidder's protest.
A contract may be awarded where it is determined that it is not feasible to secure bids or that there is only one source for the required goods or services. In other situations, it may be determined that it is in the best interests of the County to consider only one supplier who has previous expertise relative to procurement. The issuing department shall prepare supporting documentation for review and approval by the County Administrator. Whenever it is not feasible or is not in the County's best interest to satisfy the minimum bid requirements, the reason for this determination shall be indicated in writing and retained with the contract.
As needed, the County Administrator may review spending patterns and establish standards concerning the type, design, quality or brand of a specific article or group of related items or services purchased by the County. Adopting standardized purchases based on spend analysis allows the County to establish or maintain uniformity in appearance and/or quality and/or achieve cost savings through volume pricing.
It is the policy of the McLean County Board that:
A. 
Emergency purchases shall be classified as those purchases which ensure public health and safety, protect public property, and limit County liability.
B. 
In the event of catastrophic or unanticipated incident, an enemy-caused, man-made or other natural disaster, the County Administrator, County Board Chair, or Director of Emergency Management Agency is authorized on behalf of the County to procure services, supplies, equipment or material as may be necessary for such purposes in view of the exigency to ensure ongoing government operations, without regard to the procedures normally prescribed pertaining to County contracts or obligations. In the event that the McLean County Board is meeting at the time of such disaster, the County Administrator or County Board Chair shall act subject to the direction and restriction imposed by that body.
A. 
Exemption from purchasing rules and regulations. The appropriate Board oversight committee, or in the case of public health, the Board of Health, or McLean County Board for Care and Treatment of Persons with a Developmental Disability, based upon the fund affected, may exempt the purchase of any specific item or service, as well as items that are provided by a sole source, from compliance with this policy when such committee, by two-thirds vote of members present, believes that such exemption is in the best interest of the County. Any such exemption will be reported at the next regular Board meeting by the committee chairman.
B. 
Capital equipment trial basis. Capital equipment cannot be taken on trial except where prior approval has been given by the appropriate Board oversight committee or by the Board.
C. 
Emergency repairs. When a unique expenditure for emergency repairs or replacement must be made in order to ensure the continued operation of a County function, and the appropriate Board oversight committee cannot be immediately contacted to approve such expenditure, the department head shall contact the County Administrator or County Board Chair for interim approval. The department head will inform the appropriate oversight committee at the next scheduled meeting.
D. 
Annual notification of current vendors. The County Auditor annually shall make available to approved vendors the County's purchasing policy. The County Auditor shall also make known to approved vendors that failure to follow these procedures may result in loss of payment or disqualification from the list of approved vendors.
E. 
The Auditor shall make a report monthly to each oversight committee with respect to the recommendation to pay bills. If the Auditor's Office deems that an invoice or bill for service submitted by a department shall not be recommended for payment, the Auditor's Office shall, within three business days of receipt, notify the department head of any such discrepancy and shall request additional documentation or clarification of any discrepancies. If such communication does not result in the resolution between the Auditor's Office and the department, the department shall be responsible to notify the Auditor's Office and the County Administrator's Office seven days in advance of the oversight committee meeting of its intent to dispute such recommendation of nonpayment, and both the department and the Auditor's Office shall provide written documentation to the County Administrator's Office, who will provide such to the oversight committee upon receipt.
A. 
Contractors that develop statements of work and invitations for bids or requests for proposals are excluded from competing for such procurement transactions.
B. 
Any bidder, supplier, contractor, or subcontractor who is delinquent in the payment of property taxes, real or personal, to the County Treasurer shall be considered to be an irresponsible bidder, contractor or supplier and for that reason shall be ineligible to bid upon, to supply to, or contract with McLean County for the delivery of any goods or services.
C. 
County contracts may not be awarded to any vendor who is identified on the current federal or state "suspension or debarment" list at the time of contract award. The County may void contracts with vendors who are added to the federal or state suspension and debarment lists after a contract is awarded.
A. 
Responsibility. It is the responsibility of all County departments to use, whenever practicable, recycled products and to seek means to maximize waste reduction, reuse of materials and recycling options in their day-to-day operations. It is the responsibility of the Solid Waste Coordinator to provide information and technical assistance to County departments, local governments, schools, and other public and private organizations interested in purchasing recycled products. It is the responsibility of County departments to promote and coordinate the procurement of recycled products with vendors.
B. 
Forms. The County will require a manufacturer's affidavit of recycled products where applicable.
C. 
Procedures. To implement this policy, the County will, to the extent practicable:
(1) 
Use recycled paper for all stationery, newsletters, copy paper, notepads, business cards, and computer paper. Recycled paper must meet EPA Guidelines for Paper and Paper Products containing Recovered Materials. As a demonstration of commitment to recycling, when printing on recycled paper, users are encouraged to display a "printed on recycled paper" logo.
(2) 
Investigate the use of recycled products as they become available.
D. 
Additional considerations. In addition to the aforementioned procedures, the County will, to the extent practicable, consider the following:
(1) 
Minimum content of recycled products. Even though materials and products will have varied recycled material content, based upon individual specifications, every attempt should be made to maximize the post-consumer content of the recycled product. As previously noted, recycled paper must meet EPA guidelines. Additionally, EPA guidelines and sources of recycled products are available in the office of the Solid Waste Coordinator.
(2) 
Policy limitations. Even though quantities, sizes, colors, textures, styles, quality, and weights required for services are limited to manufacturer's minimums, availability, and recycled content per EPA guidelines as well as capabilities and warranties of in-house equipment, every attempt should be made to maximize the post-consumer content of the recycled product.
(3) 
Noncompetitive considerations. Where applicable, approved solicited bids and proposals for recycled products at a cost differential not to exceed 10% above virgin (nonrecycled) material costs, initially, with an ultimate goal of competitive bids, as long as such practice is consistent with other provisions of this chapter, as well as with state and federal rules and regulations, contract agreements and grant programs.
(4) 
Budgetary considerations. Application of this policy is predicated upon funding availability in any given fiscal year. When budgetary allowances for noncompetitive consideration have been eliminated or reduced, pursuant to Subsection D(3), County departments will maintain budgetary responsibility as their first priority and award to the lowest responsible vendor for products covered by this policy.
The foregoing purchasing policy shall apply in each case except in those instances where federal or state statutes, policies and regulations govern.
A. 
A County department may obtain a procurement card for the efficient operation of the department in regard to charging and payment of departmental expenses.
B. 
All requests to obtain a procurement card must be approved by the appropriate County Board oversight committee.
C. 
Procurement cards must be issued in the name of the department, with the department head as the responsible party for billing purposes.
D. 
Charges shall not be made to a department procurement card which are not covered by sufficient appropriation in the appropriate County budget unless authorized by the County Administrator in cases of emergency pursuant to §§ 116-12 and 116-13C.
E. 
The County is responsible for payment of all procurement card charges and will use all means at its disposal to recover charges made by any individual in violation of County policies.
F. 
Every person who is authorized by the County Board to obtain a procurement card or who is authorized to use a procurement card by a department head must sign a cardholder agreement, which will be filed with the County Auditor.
A. 
Procurement records. All determinations and other written records, notes of telephone conversations and notes for oral conversations pertaining to the solicitation, award and performance of a contract shall be maintained for the County in the procurement records.
B. 
Contract audit. The County Auditor shall be entitled to audit the books and records of a contractor or a subcontractor at any tier under any contract or subcontract to the extent that such books, documents, papers, and records are pertinent to the performance of such contract or subcontract. The contractor or subcontractor shall maintain such books and records for a period of three years from the date of final payment. Medicare record retention shall be followed when appropriate.
C. 
Retention of procurement records. All procurement records and contracts shall be retained and disposed of by the County in accordance with records retention guidelines and schedules approved by the State of Illinois Local Records Commission and 55 ILCS 5/3-1005.
Disposal of obsolete, outdated, or otherwise unusable assets shall be done in accordance with § 50-15.
The splitting of any contract or purchase into smaller contracts or purchases with the purpose or effect of evading the procurement and approval thresholds established by this chapter is prohibited. When for any reason collusion or other anticompetitive practices are suspected among any bidders or offerors, or by any County employees or officers, an employee with knowledge of such reason shall report all relevant facts to the McLean County State's Attorney. Any employee making a good faith report under this section shall have all protections afforded to a whistleblower under the Whistleblower Act (740 ILCS 174).