[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Council
of the Township of Mount Holly as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 11-14-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-27]
It is the purpose of this article that, notwithstanding
that professional services contracts and certain other contracts for
goods and services are exempt from the competitive bidding requirements
of the Local Public Contracts Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq., the
Manager and Township Council deem it appropriate, and consistent with
the provisions of recently enacted New Jersey legislation, now codified
at N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.1 et seq., to henceforth award such contracts
through a competitive, quality-based, fair and open process.
The Township of Mount Holly, or any agency or
instrumentality thereof, shall not enter into a contract, including
a professional services contract or such other contract which is exempt
from public bidding requirements having an anticipated value in excess
of $17,500, as determined by the municipality, agency or instrumentality,
with a business entity except through a contract that is awarded pursuant
to a fair and open process, if during the proceeding one-year period
that business entity has made a contribution that is reportable by
the recipient under N.J.S.A. 19:44A-1 et seq., to any municipal committee
of a political party in that municipality if a member of that political
party is serving in an elective public office of that municipality
when the contract is awarded or to any candidate committee of any
person serving in an elected public office of that municipality when
the contract is awarded. The fair and open process shall be quality-based,
and shall be as follows:
A.
Professional services may be awarded by virtue of
a publicly advertised request for qualifications (RFQ) and/or request
for proposals (RFP) which will be issued as one document for those
appointments which are made on an annual basis, such as, but not limited
to, the positions of: Township Attorney, Township Engineer, Township
Planner, Planning Board Attorney, Planning Board Engineer, Zoning
Board Attorney, Zoning Board Engineer and such similar statutory and/or
ordinance public positions.
B.
For said positions, no contract shall be awarded,
unless and until the positions are:
(1)
Publicly advertised in newspapers or on the Internet
Web site maintained by the Township 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 proposals and qualifications including experience and quality of
services;
(3)
Awarded and disclosed under criteria established in
writing by the Township of Mount Holly prior to the solicitation of
proposals or qualifications as set forth in this article; and
(4)
Publicly announced when awarded; and as to those RFQs
and RFPs which prove to be unsuccessful, the Municipal Clerk shall
retain a copy of same on file for a period of not less than 60 days.
C.
For contracts which arise on an occasional basis,
such as appraisals needed for the acquisition of land and/or open
space, as well as title searches, surveying, and similar work associated
with same; and comparable assignments, such planning services needed
for Master Plan updates, appraisals, special counsel, special project
engineer contracts, etc., professional services contracts may be awarded
without following the foregoing provisions so long as: 1) the anticipated
value does not exceed the seventeen-thousand-five-hundred-dollar threshold
set forth above; and 2), the Township Manager makes every effort to
solicit at least two proposals for said work.
A departmental review committee shall be established
by the Township Manager, consisting of not less than two persons (which
may include the Manager) to prepare, process and evaluate any RFQ
and/or RFP issued pursuant to the professional services contracting
procedures set forth above. Each departmental review committee must
prepare, prior to a request for proposals, a written cost estimate
in order to allow for proper evaluation of the fee aspect of proposals.
Moreover, said committee shall evaluate the respective qualifications
and/or proposals, taking into consideration the designated qualifications
and/or performance criteria, experience, reputation of vendor, quality
of services, quoted fee and other relevant factors in making a recommendation
of award to the Township Manager and Township Council, and the Township
Manager may, in his/her sole discretion, conduct negotiations with
qualified vendors after receipt of proposals in order to achieve the
best possible contract terms and conditions for the Township and its
taxpayers. No contract shall be awarded, however, unless same is authorized
by resolution duly adopted in public session by the Township Council.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Township
Council 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.
Thus, should a situation arise, and time does not permit resort to
this procedure, 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 such rules and regulations
as may be promulgated, from time to time, by the Township Council
with regard to same. No such emergency contracts, however, may be
awarded without submission to the Township Clerk of a certification
establishing a basis for the deviation from the procedures outlined
herein.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:11-2.
[Adopted 4-28-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-12]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A business whose contributions are regulated by this article.
An individual, including the individual's spouse and any
child or children;
A firm, corporation, professional corporation, partnership,
limited-liability company, organization, association, and any other
manner and kind of business entity;
All partners or officers of such an entity, in the aggregate;
Any person, subcontractor, subsidiary, corporation, firm, partnership, organization, or association who has received or acquired the right to receive, from a person described in Subsection A above, more than $100,000 in compensation or income from any kind (to include wages, salaries, sums paid to independent contractors, benefits, dividends, profit sharing, pension contributions, deferred compensations, stock, stock options, or gifts), in any twelve-month period prior to the award of, or during the term of, contract subject to this article; and
All persons who are an affiliate of a business entity as described
in the subsections preceding above, as the term is used in 11 U.S.C.
§ 101(2).
Every candidate for the Township of Mount Holly elected municipal
office;
Every candidate committee established by or for the benefit
of the candidate for the Township of Mount Holly elected municipal
office; and
Every joint candidate committee established in whole or in part
for the benefit of a candidate or candidates for the Township of Mount
Holly elected municipal office.
All contracts for "professional services" and "extraordinary
unspecifiable services," as the terms are defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5.
Has the meaning prescribed in N.J.A.C. 19:25-1.7. By way
of illustration, it includes, but is not limited to, pledges, loans,
and in-kind contributions.
A.
To the extent that it is not inconsistent with any state or federal law, the Township of Mount Holly and any of its departments, instrumentalities, or purchasing agents shall not enter into any agreement or otherwise contract to procure "professional services" as the term is defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-2(6) and used at N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(i) and/or banking, insurance, or other consulting service (hereinafter "professional services"), nor "extraordinary unspecifiable services" as the term is defined in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-2(7) and used in N.J.S.A. 40A:11-5(1)(a)(ii), and/or media, public relations, lobbying, or other consulting and management service from any business entity if such business entity has solicited or made any contribution to any candidate, candidate committee, or joint candidates committee of any candidate for elected municipal office in the Township of Mount Holly or a holder of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award of contract in excess of the thresholds specified in Subsection C of this section within one calendar year immediately preceding the date of contract for such agreement.
B.
No
business entity who submits a proposal for, or enters into negotiations
for, or agrees to any contract or agreement with, the Township of
Mount Holly, or any of its departments or instrumentalities, for the
rendition of professional services or extraordinary unspecifiable
services shall knowingly solicit or make any contribution to any candidate,
candidate committees, or joint candidate committees of any candidate
for elected municipal office in the Township of Mount Holly, or a
holder of public office having ultimate responsibility for the award
of contract between the time of first communication for that business
entity and the municipality regarding a specific agreement for professional
services or extraordinary unspecifiable services, and the latter of
termination of negotiations or rejection of any proposal, or the completion
of the performance or specified time period of that contract or agreement.
C.
The
monetary thresholds of this article are a maximum of $300 per election
cycle for any purpose to any candidate for an elected municipal office
in the Township of Mount Holly. The monetary threshold of $300 shall
be a threshold as considered a maximum limit per candidate. In the
event of the candidates committee or joint candidates committee, the
maximum threshold limit of $300 shall apply to each individual candidate
to be a holder of public office in the Township of Mount Holly, notwithstanding
the fact that more than one candidate may be a member of the candidate
or joint candidate committee.
D.
For
purposes of this section, the offices that are considered to have
ultimate responsibility for the award of contracts shall be the Township
of Mount Holly Mayor and Township Council, if the contract requires
approval or appropriation from the Mayor or Township Council.
E.
Rules
regarding subcontractors. No person can be awarded a subcontract to
perform under a contract subject to this article, if the subcontractor
would be disqualified by any provision of this article from receiving
the contract at the time that the subcontract is awarded. No person
who would be disqualified by this article from receiving a contract
shall be entitled to perform substantially all of the obligations
described in the contract for professional or extraordinary unspecifiable
services that is subject to this article.
No contribution or solicitation of contributions made prior
to the effective date of this article shall be deemed to give rise
to a violation of this article.
No contract subject to this article may be renewed, extended,
or materially modified unless the resulting renewal, extension, or
modification would be allowable under the provisions of this article
if it were the initial contract.
A.
Prior to the award of any contract or agreement to procure professional services or extraordinary unspecifiable services from any business entity, the Township of Mount Holly or its purchasing agents and departments, as the case may be, shall receive a sworn statement from said business entity which is the intended recipient of said contract that the business entity or any officer, agent, or employee of the same has not made any contribution in violation of § 9-6 of this article. The Township of Mount Holly and its purchasing agents and departments shall be responsible for informing the Township Council for the Township of Mount Holly that the aforementioned sworn statement has been received and that the business entity is not in violation of this article prior to the award of such contract or agreement.
B.
A
business entity shall have the continuing duty to report to the Township
of Mount Holly any contributions that constitute a violation of this
act that are made during the negotiation, proposal, and procurement
process, or during the duration of such contract. The Township of
Mount Holly and its purchasing agents and departments shall be responsible
for informing the governing body within 10 business days after receipt
of said report from the business entity at the next Council meeting
following the receipt of said report from the business entity, or
whichever comes first.
C.
The
certification required under this section shall be made prior to entry
into the contract or agreement with the Township of Mount Holly, or
prior to providing services or goods, as the case may be, and shall
be in addition to any other certifications that may be required by
any other provision of law.
The business entity that is a party to a contract for professional
services or extraordinary unspecifiable services may cure any violation
of this article if, within 30 days after the date on which the applicable
ELEC report is published, said business entity notifies the municipality,
in writing, and seeks and receives reimbursement of the contribution
from the recipient of said contribution.
The contribution limitations prior to entering into a contract
in this article do not apply to contracts which:
A.
Are awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after public advertising
for bids and bidding, therefore, within the meaning of N.J.S.A. 40A:11-4,
or
B.
Are awarded in the case of emergency under N.J.S.A. 40A:11-6. There
are no exemptions for contracts awarded pursuant to a "fair and open
process" under N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20 et seq.
A.
It shall be a material breach of the terms of the Mount Holly Township
contract or agreement for professional services or extraordinary unspecifiable
services when a business entity that is a party to such agreement
or contract has:
(1)
Made or solicited a contribution in violation of this article;
(2)
Knowingly concealed or misrepresented a contribution given or received;
(3)
Made or solicited contributions through intermediaries for the purpose
of concealing or misrepresenting the source of such a contribution;
(4)
Made or solicited any contribution on the condition or with the agreement
that it would be recontributed to a candidate, candidate committee,
or joint candidates committee of any candidate for elected municipal
office in the Township of Mount Holly, or a holder of public office
having ultimate responsibility for the award of a contract;
(5)
Engaged or employed a lobbyist or consultant with the intent or understanding
that such a lobbyist or consultant would make or solicit any contribution,
which if made or solicited by the professional business entity itself,
would subject that entity to the restrictions of this article;
(6)
Engaged in the exchange of contributions to circumvent the intent
of this article; or
(7)
Directly or indirectly, through or by any other person or means,
has done any act which, if done directly, would subject that entity
to the restrictions of this article.
