Town of Lima, NY Chapter 60 Procurement Policy

[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Lima as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]

Article I General Provisions

[Adopted 4-2-1992]

§ 60-1 Evaluation of purchase.

Every prospective purchase of goods or services shall be evaluated to determine the applicability of General Municipal Law § 103. Every Town officer, board, department head or other personnel with the requisite purchasing authority (hereinafter "purchaser") shall estimate the cumulative amount of the items of supply or equipment needed in a given fiscal year. That estimate shall include a canvass of other departments within the Town and boards operating under the authority of the Town and past history to determine the likely yearly value of the commodity to be acquired. The information gathered and conclusions reached shall be documented and kept with the file or other documentation supporting the purchase activity.

§ 60-2 Certain purchases to be approved prior to solicitation of bids.

All purchases of supplies or equipment which will exceed $1,000 or public works contracts over $1,000 shall first be referred to the Town Board for its consideration and approval prior to the solicitation of any bids or quotes of a formal or informal nature. It is the intent of this section to maintain the practice that any major expenditure (that exceeding the sum of $1,000) shall be evaluated by the Town Board before any action to purchase or secure goods or services is undertaken by procuring parties.

§ 60-3 Purchases to be formally bid.

All purchases of supplies or equipment which will exceed $10,000 in the fiscal year or public works contracts over $20,000 shall be formally bid pursuant to General Municipal Law § 103.

§ 60-4 Estimated purchases requiring quotes or proposals.

A. Estimated purchases.

(1) All estimated purchases of less than $10,000 but greater than $3,000 require a written request for a proposal (RFP) and written/fax quotes from three vendors.

(2) All estimated purchases of less than $3,000 but greater than $1,000 require an oral request for the goods and oral/fax quotes from two vendors.

(3) All estimated purchases of less than $1,000 but greater than $250 are left to the discretion of the purchaser as to securing the quotes or bids.

B. Estimated public works contracts.

(1) Estimated public works contracts less than $20,000 but greater than $10,000 require a written RFP and fax/proposals from three contractors.

(2) Estimated public works contracts less than $10,000 but greater than $3,000 require a written RFP and fax/proposals from two contractors.

(3) Estimated public works contracts less than $3,000 but greater than $500, are left to the discretion of the purchaser as to the securing of quotes or bids.

C. Any written RFP shall describe the desired goods, quantity and the particulars of delivery. The purchaser shall compile a list of all vendors from whom written/fax/oral quotes have been requested and the written/fax/oral quotes offered.

D. All information gathered in complying with the procedures of this section shall be preserved and filed with the documentation supporting the subsequent purchase or public works contract.

§ 60-5 Compliance with purchase order policy.

Insofar as applicable, all purchases shall comply with the Town of Lima purchase order procedure policy, duly adopted by the Town Board, as such policy may be amended or modified from time to time. Said purchase order procedure policy effectively supplements the procurement policy and is intended to be incorporated by reference herein.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Said purchase order policy is on file in the Town offices.

§ 60-6 Award of purchase or contract.

The lowest responsible proposal or quote shall be awarded the purchase or public works contract unless the purchaser prepares a written justification providing reasons why it is in the best interest of the Town and its taxpayers to make an award to other than the low bidder. If a bidder is not deemed responsible, facts supporting that judgment shall also be documented and filed with the record supporting the procurement.

§ 60-7 Inability to obtain proposals.

A good faith effort shall be made to obtain the required number of proposals or quotations. If the purchaser is unable to obtain the required number of proposals or quotations, the purchaser shall document the attempts made to obtain the proposals or quotations. In no event shall the inability to obtain the proposals or quotes be a bar to the procurement.

§ 60-8 Exceptions from solicitation of quotes or proposals.

Except when directed by the Town Board, no solicitation of written proposals or quotations shall be required under the following circumstances:

A. Acquisition of professional services;

B. Emergencies;

C. Sole source situations;

D. Goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped;

E. Goods or services procured from correctional facilities;

F. Goods or services procured from, through or jointly with another governmental agency, such as cooperative purchases made in connection with another municipal government or entity or a school district or purchases made through acceptance of a state or county bid for such goods or services provided or obtained by or from another municipal government or entity or a school district;

G. Goods purchased at auction;

H. Goods purchased for less than $250; and

I. Public works contracts for less than $500.

§ 60-9 Annual review.

This policy shall be reviewed annually by the Town Board at its organizational meeting or as soon thereafter as is reasonably practicable.

Article II Best Value Contracts

[Adopted 7-2-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015[1]]

[1] Editor's Note: This local law also superseded former Art. II, Best Value Contracts, adopted 3-6-2014 by L.L. No. 1-2014.

§ 60-10 Title.

This article shall be known as the "Town of Lima Best Value Competitive Bidding Law."

§ 60-11 Findings and intent.

A. The State Legislature and Governor amended General Municipal Law § 103 (A08692/S6117) on January 27, 2012, 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," provided that any political subdivision with a population of less than one million first pass a local law authorizing the use of the best value award process.

B. Enactment of this article 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 principals to modernize the supply chain and ensure that taxpayers obtain the highest quality goods and services at the lowest potential cost, while ensuring fairness to an competitors.

C. Taxpayers are not well served when a public procurement policy 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.

D. Even if the initial expenditure is higher, considering the total value over the life of the procurement may result in 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.

§ 60-12 Definitions.

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

BEST VALUE

The basis for awarding contracts for purchases and/or services to an offeror who optimizes quality, cost and efficiency, among responsive and responsible offerers. Such basis may also identify a quantitative factor for offerors that are small business or certified minority-owned 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 awarding contracts for services.

§ 60-13 Authorization.

Town of Lima is hereby authorized to use best value as a basis for awarding purchase contracts and service contracts, excluding public works projects under NYS Labor Law Article 8, without regard to the amount of the expenditure, in addition to awarding such contracts to the lowest responsible bidder furnishing the required security. The Town Supervisor shall determine when to use best value as a basis for awarding a purchase contract and service contracts, excluding public works projects under NYS Labor Law Article 8.

§ 60-14 Requirements.

A. Where the basis for award is best value, the Town Supervisor 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. The Town Supervisor shall select a formal sealed competitive bidding procurement process in accordance with NYS General Municipal Law and the Town of Lima Purchasing 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 for award is best value, documentation in the procurement record shall where practicable include 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. The bid 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 overall technical criterion to be considered by the Town Supervisor in its determination of best value.

D. The Town Supervisor shall develop procedures that will govern the award of contract on the basis of best value. These procedures shall be included in the Town of Lima Purchasing Policy and reviewed annually by the Lima Town Board in conjunction with its annual review and approval of the purchasing policy.