Town of Woodbridge, CT Chapter 98 Purchasing

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Woodbridge 12-13-2006. Amendments noted where applicable.]

§ 98-1 Purchase orders.

Purchase orders shall be subject to strict financial controls set up and approved by the Finance Director. The following will be a guide in the execution of such orders.

A. Signed purchase orders are required in all instances.

(1) Expenditures from $200 to $1,000: Requisitions approved by the department head and the Finance Director are required. Quotations, preferably written, from at least two suppliers, if such suppliers can readily be located in our general area, must be obtained prior to placing an order. If it is not possible to obtain quotations, the requisition must indicate the reason. The quotations obtained must be noted on the purchase requisition.

(2) Expenditures from $1,001 to $5,000: Requisitions approved by the department head and Finance Director are required. The department is to obtain and submit to the Finance Department written quotations from at least two suppliers, if possible. If not possible, the department must state the reason on the purchase requisition.

(3) Expenditures from $5,001 to $9,999: Requisitions approved by the department head, Finance Director and First Selectman are required. The department is to obtain and submit to the Finance Department written quotations from at least three sources.

(4) Expenditures $10,000 and over: Formal written bids, based on written specifications, shall be invited by advertising in area newspapers and by mailing to a bid list, if one exists, and shall be received sealed at a specified date, time and place and publicly opened thereat.

(5) Any project involving construction, alteration, remodeling, repair or demolition of any public building by a municipality, estimated to cost more than $500,000 and which is funded in whole or in part with state funds, requires compliance with Connecticut General Statutes, § 4a-100, concerning prequalification.

B. Purchase requisitions shall not be split to avoid these bid requirements.

C. In general, the lowest responsible, qualified bidder will be awarded the purchase order, unless it is decided that it is not in the best interests of the Town to do so. The Town shall have the ability to withhold awarding a contract to any bidders if it is not in the best interest of the Town to do so. Consideration shall be given to price, quality, time delivery, skill, ability, experience, financial responsibility, terms and other conditions required by the purchase order and whether the bidder is a Woodbridge-based business or the business is wholly owned by a Woodbridge resident. For the purpose of this chapter, a "Woodbridge-based business" shall mean a business with its principal place of business located within the Town of Woodbridge. The Town shall have the sole discretion in determining the weight, if any, to be accorded to each of the previously enumerated factors.

[Amended 3-3-2011, effective 4-9-2011]

§ 98-2 State bids.

When state bids are available for services or goods, such may be purchased without additional quotations or bids from suppliers who have been awarded the state bids, provided any expenditure exceeding $10,000 shall require approval of the Board of Selectmen notwithstanding the availability of a state bid.

§ 98-3 Exceptions.

A. The following may be excepted from the above bid procedures if favorable to the Town and approved by the Finance Director, department head, and the First Selectman:

(1) Professional, consulting and specialty services;

(2) Specialty items, including without limitation those where only one reasonable or qualified source can be identified, or situations where only one vendor or provider is manufacturer-authorized or -certified or where parts are available only through a single distributorship, or where there is a special source, including but not limited to a sale, purchasing plan, government discount or trade-in allowance;

(3) Repetitive services;

(4) Emergencies;

(5) Where prices of goods or services are federal or state regulated; and

(6) Other noncompetitive categories.

B. A purchase order is required for all of these exceptions to the bid and quotation requirements. The Finance Director and the First Selectman shall report at least annually to the Board of Selectmen regarding any purchases excepted from the above bid procedures and the basis for each exception.

C. To clarify the meaning of exceptions to these bid requirements, the words below as used herein shall have the meaning stated:

EMERGENCIES

Circumstances existing requiring the purchase of goods or services which, if not purchased or ordered immediately, can result in injury or damage to human life or property, inefficient use of personnel or cause disruption in Town operations. This shall include all goods or services needed on an emergency basis to comply with federal, state or local public health, safety or housing codes and emergency repair of Town-owned property, buildings, infrastructure, equipment and vehicles.

PROFESSIONAL, CONSULTING AND SPECIALTY SERVICES

The furnishing of judgment, expertise, design, advice or effort by persons other than Town employees, not involving the delivery of a specific end product defined by bid specifications. This shall include consulting, professional, legal, financial, personal and technical services. Examples include, but are not limited to, architects, auditors, attorneys, physicians, real estate appraisers, actuaries, engineers, computer programmers, professional construction managers, and systems designers. Special services shall also include repair services for Town-owned property, equipment and vehicles where the nature of the repair cannot be defined in advance by bid specifications and the professional expertise of the service provider is more important than the lowest cost.