Township of Manalapan, NJ Chapter 37 Purchasing

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Manalapan 12-6-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-15. Additional amendments noted where applicable.]

GENERAL REFERENCES

Division of Purchasing — See Ch. 12, § 12-9.

Power of Administrator to recommend purchasing procedures — See Ch. 26, § 26-6.

§ 37-1 Statement of findings.

A. The Township Committee as the governing body of the Township realizes that it is responsible to implement a central purchasing function for the Township Treasurer to supervise proper disbursement of funds and for all departments and officials of the municipal government to function in an effective and responsible manner.

B. The Township Committee recognizes that the major portion of budgeted funds are disbursed in the procurement of goods and services and that it is necessary to establish a procedure to regulate purchases in the Township which permits continuous awareness and control of all commitments and expenditures, as well as the assurance of proper economical considerations.

C. The Township Committee further recognizes that it is necessary with regard to capital improvements that all costs for such projects be encumbered against the ordained appropriation.

D. Any and all funds available to the Township are directly or indirectly contributed by the taxpayers, citizens and residents of the Township or the state; all expenditures must be open to public review and are subject to questioning by any of the aforesaid.

§ 37-2 Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

PURCHASING

Refers to the responsibilities and functions described in the detailed procedure established by the Township Administrator, which is included in § 37-10 of this chapter.

PURCHASING AGENT

The Township Administrator or his representative in his statutory function of administrator of purchasing, or a person designated and authorized by him as Assistant or Acting Director of Finance, subject to approval of the governing body, and shall be referred to in the detailed procedure as the "buyer."

REQUESTER

Any department head or any person authorized by a department head to prepare a purchase requisition in accordance with the procedure set forth in this chapter and as implemented in the detailed procedure.

§ 37-3 Procedure established.

A. The act of requesting and obtaining goods and services involves the following three distinctive procedural steps:

(1) The requester and recipient.

(2) Purchasing Agent.

(3) The financial control.

B. Each department shall follow the procedure and use such forms for requisitioning and purchasing as the Purchasing Agent shall prescribe. Upon request of the Purchasing Agent, each department head shall submit a complete statement of the materials, supplies, equipment, work and labor under contract which will be required by the department during the ensuing year, half-year or quarter-year, as the Purchasing Agent may determine according to the best estimate of the department head. The statement shall be in writing and in such form and detail as the Purchasing Agent may require.

§ 37-4 Duties of Treasurer.

The office of the Treasurer has the following responsibilities:

A. Verify the availability of funds for the purchase.

B. Establish the encumbrance.

C. The payment of bills against properly certified and authorized vouchers previously encumbered and adherence to the detailed procedure drawn and prepared by the Director of Finance.

§ 37-5 Receipt of bids.

A. All purchase estimates in excess of the amount set forth, or the amount calculated by the Governor and pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-3 shall be publicly advertised when required by law, and upon receipt of sealed bids by the Township Clerk, the bids shall be opened by the Township Clerk in the presence of the Purchasing Agent or his representative and such other person that may be designated by the Township Clerk from time to time dependent upon the nature of the item for which bids have been taken. Recording of the bid taking, when conducted out of the presence of the governing body, shall be submitted to the governing body with recommendations of award of contract, together with a summary in writing of all bids received setting forth the name and address of the bidder in the amount of the bid.

B. All bids, when required by law, will be received at the Municipal Building in the Township on the date and time set forth in the notice of bid proposal.

§ 37-6 Award of contract.

The governing body, upon consideration and review of the procedure and recommendations referred to in § 37-5, shall award the contract of purchase to the lowest responsible bidder pursuant to law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.

§ 37-7 Execution of contract.

The Mayor shall execute and sign all contracts awarded by the governing body and authorized pursuant to law. The signature of the Mayor shall be attested to by the Township Clerk. In those instances where the dollar amount of contract awarded is less than the amount required by law to be bid, the Purchasing Agent may, in the absence of the Mayor, execute and sign the contract to be attested to by the Township Clerk.

§ 37-8 Purchase control.

A. All purchases, whether they are for supplies, materials, equipment, labor or other contractual services for the Township, shall be made by the Purchasing Agent pursuant to a written requisition from the department head. The appropriation for the department shall be charged subsequent to certification by the office of the Treasurer, setting forth that a sufficient unencumbered balance of detailed appropriation is available to pay therefor.

B. The following guidelines apply to the obligation of the buyer to purchase at reasonable and economical levels:

	Aggregate Cost For Any One Item	Action Required
	Under 15% of statutory bid threshold	At least 2 quotes preferred but not required
	Over 15% of statutory bid threshold	At least 3 verbal or written quotes required where practicable
	Over bid threshold	Follow statutory procedure for threshold public bid, where applicable and required

C. Where no quote is required or where verbal quotes are acceptable, the buyer shall establish a written record of purchasing experience.

D. The Administrator shall set forth uniform standards for requisitions and purchases. The Purchasing Agent shall control the delivery of all supplies, materials, equipment and other items purchased and shall make or cause to be made proper test checks and inspections. The Purchasing Agent shall ascertain whether the supplies, materials, equipment and other items purchased comply with the specifications and shall cause laboratory or other tests to be made whenever, in the opinion of the department head, it is necessary to determine whether the materials or supplies furnished are of the quality and standard required as part of the procedures for requisition and purchase. Each department head may request a transfer of funds within its detailed appropriation of line items in order to fulfill an unforeseen necessity.

§ 37-9 Compliance with procedure required.

A. Each department shall follow such procedures and use such forms for purchasing as the Administrator shall prescribe. Upon request of the Purchasing Agent, each department head shall submit a complete statement of the materials, supplies, equipment, work and labor under contract, which will be required by the department during the ensuing year, half-year or quarter-year, as the Purchasing Agent may determine, according to the best estimate of the department head. The statement shall be in such form and detail as the Purchasing Agent may require.

B. The Administrator shall establish a procedure for the purchase of any item required for the immediate protection of the public health, safety, morals or welfare of the municipality, which will permit emergency purchases to be made for specific purposes.

C. Except as the Administrator, or such other officer as he may designate, may authorize, in case of emergency, no purchase shall be made and no bill, claim or voucher shall be approved unless the procedures prescribed by this chapter pursuant to detailed procedures established by the Administrator and included in § 37-10 of this chapter have been followed.

§ 37-10 Detailed procedure of purchasing.

A. Requisitions.

(1) A requisition shall be prepared any time a department head believes that supplies, materials, repairs or services should be ordered. Once completed, each requisition shall be forwarded to the purchasing agent for further processing.

(2) The Purchasing Agent shall examine each requisition for completeness and shall approve those found to be in compliance with this chapter and where adequate funding is available.

(3) Each requisition shall be compared as to whether an order for a particular item requested by a department has already been placed. If any requisition reaching the Purchasing Agent appears in any way to be a duplicate of a previous requisition which has been processed, the Purchasing Agent shall note such fact on the requisition and return it to the submitting party.

(4) The Purchasing Agent shall compare each requisition against all corresponding budget appropriations to determine the availability of funds. If funds are not available the requisition shall be returned to the department head for the department head to obtain additional funding or to modify the requisition to fit the funding availability.

(5) The Purchasing Agent shall forward the properly prepared purchase order to the Finance Director or his designee for verification of compliance with all relevant laws and for encumbrance.

(6) After approval the Finance Director or his designee shall return the completed purchase order including the payment voucher to the Purchasing Agent for forwarding to the department head for processing with the vendor. A copy of the processed purchase order shall be held in an open file in the Finance Office and purchasing office until the executed payment voucher is returned to the Purchasing Agent by the department head for payment processing.

B. Purchase orders.

(1) All purchase orders shall be prepared by the office of the Purchasing Agent in a form approved by the Administrator or his representative. All purchase orders exceeding the bid threshold must be approved by the governing body by resolution at a regular meeting conducted by it.

(2) The purchasing system described in this section shall be strictly adhered to. All purchasing system documents shall be prepared only in accordance with the detailed instructions found herein.

(3) Distribution of the copies of each purchase order shall be as follows:

(a) The purchase order and the Township voucher shall be sent to the vendor by the requesting department.

(b) One copy shall be retained by the Purchasing Agent.

(c) One copy shall be retained by the Finance Office.

(d) One copy shall be retained by the requesting department.

C. Receipt of goods and voucher preparation.

(1) When items on a purchase order are received, they shall be examined immediately by the requesting department to determine if the goods or services are correct insofar as quantity, specification and condition are concerned.

(2) If the shipment on a purchase order is complete and meets all criteria listed above, the individual or department responsible for verifying the purchase shall attach the vendor's invoice, sign the payment voucher, and forward the voucher and vendor invoice to the Purchasing Agent for payment processing.

(3) When a shipment or order is incomplete or damaged, the individual or department responsible shall mark any shipping papers with the appropriate purchase order number, shall note on any papers that the shipment is not complete, shall indicate on or attach to any shipping papers the remaining balance of items to be received later and shall forward any shipping papers to the office of the Purchasing Agent. If an incomplete or damaged shipment is received without any shipping papers, the individual or department responsible shall forward a separate written memorandum to the office of the Purchasing Agent, setting forth the appropriate purchase order number and describing the damaged or incomplete goods. The Purchasing Agent and the requesting department shall determine if a partial payment is to be made on any incomplete shipment or partially damaged shipment and shall notify the vendor accordingly.

(4) The Purchasing Agent, on receipt of any shipping papers and completed purchase orders, shall update his records and forward the completed voucher to the Finance Office for payment.

(5) When a partial shipment has been received and a vendor requests payment for partial shipment, if agreed to by the requesting department, the Purchasing Agent shall transmit the partial payment voucher under each purchase order to the Treasurer's office for payment, indicating on the voucher a notation that it is for partial payment which is ready for payment.

(6) Treasurer's office. No voucher shall be paid unless approved by the requesting department and the Purchasing Agent, and all of the required invoices are attached.

D. Emergency purchases. When a purchase of supplies or need of repair requires immediate action and there is no time for a requisition, the department head, immediately before or after placing the order, shall notify the Purchasing Agent in order that he may check whether sufficient funds are available and that a purchase order can be prepared.

E. Special purchase orders.

(1) A payroll order shall be set up once yearly following the approval of the Salary Ordinance or Resolution. All checks drawn during the year for payroll shall be charged against this order.

(2) For standard expenses, one purchase order for each type shall be set up annually, based on the amount appropriated for such expense in the detailed budget.

(3) For professional services, an order shall be set up for such predetermined fee and additional orders as authorization or resolutions are passed for special work.

(4) Contracts, whether budgeting or capital, shall be set up by the purchase order immediately following the issuing of the contract.

F. Voided purchase orders.

(1) Before issuance. They shall be kept in a file for the auditor.

(2) After issuance. Notification shall be made to the Treasurer's office to adjust the original appropriation accordingly.