City of Chicopee, MA Purchasing

Appointment. The Purchasing Agent shall be appointed by the Mayor.

Term of office. The term of office shall expire January 1, 1975. Subsequent terms of office shall be for a period of six years.

Experience requirements. The Purchasing Agent shall have had, prior to his appointment, at least five years' experience in purchasing in a position of major responsibility such as purchasing agent, assistant purchasing agent, buyer or similar grade with public or business enterprises which operate on justified requisitions based on store control with perpetual inventories of stock on hand. He shall also have had a bachelor's degree from a four-year accredited college or university, preferably with a major in business administration, economics, commerce or some field of business.

In the absence, inability to serve, removal, resignation or death of the Purchasing Agent, the Mayor shall designate the person who shall carry out the duties of the Purchasing Agent until his return or until his successor shall have been appointed, such appointment to be for the unexpired term of the Purchasing Agent.

(5)

Bond. The City Purchasing Agent shall furnish bond for the faithful performance of his duties in a sum to be determined by the Mayor.

(6)

Additional employees.

There shall be established additional employees of the Central Purchasing Agency as follows:

[1]

One senior clerical assistant who shall be appointed by the Mayor and whose term of office shall be for a period of four years.

[2]

There may be two additional clerical assistants.

[3]

One Assistant Purchasing Agent who shall be appointed by the Mayor for a term of five years and shall furnish bond for the faithful performance of his duties in a sum to be determined by the Mayor. The Assistant Purchasing Agent shall be under the direct supervision of the Purchasing Agent. He shall have at least two years' experience in purchasing with either public or private enterprises.

The persons employed in the positions described herein shall be under the direct supervision of the Purchasing Agent.

Powers and duties of Purchasing Agent.

Be responsible for the procurement and disposal of all supplies, materials, equipment and property for all departments and offices of the City, including contracts for construction, reconstruction or alteration of City buildings or property and any services incident thereto and all laws covered under the Uniform Procurement Act, MGL c. 30, § 39M, MGL Chapter 30B, MGL c. 7, §§ 38A 1/2 to 38O and MGL Chapter 149. It shall be the responsibility of the Purchasing Agent to assure that all procurements subject to these statutes are conducted in accordance therewith.

Have authority to order or make inventories of the supplies, materials, equipment and furnishings of any department. Any department possessing excess or surplus personal property of any kind shall not sell, exchange, transfer or dispose thereof without first certifying such personal property as surplus to the Purchasing Agent; and, thereupon, the Purchasing Agent shall circularize all departments as to their needs for such surplus personal property, and if such need is determined, the Purchasing Agent may order transfer of such property from one department to another.

If the value of property to be disposed of is estimated to be more than $5,000, the Purchasing Department shall advertise for bids in a daily paper having a general circulation in the City for at least two consecutive weeks and shall award the sale of such property to the highest responsible bidder. If it is in the best interest of the City, the Purchasing Agent may reject any and all bids. When the value of the property to be sold is less than $5,000, the Purchasing Agent may, without advertising, dispose of the property in the best manner, using sound business practices.

(c)

All disposition of surplus property shall first be subject to a vote of the City Property Committee prior to the Purchasing Agent acting thereupon.

Encouraging competitions. He shall discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases and sales.

Rules and regulations. He shall establish reasonable regulations and policies, not inconsistent with the statutes and this article to carry out the duties of the office.

Purchasing analysis. He shall keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing, prices, market conditions and new products and secure for the City the benefits of research done in the field of purchasing by the Massachusetts Office of the Inspector General.

(5)

Forms. He shall prescribe and maintain such forms as he shall find reasonably necessary to the operation of this chapter, provided that all such forms shall have the approval of the City Auditor prior to their enforcement.

(6)

Standard nomenclature. He shall prepare and adopt a standard purchasing nomenclature for using agencies and suppliers.

(7)

Vendors' catalog file. He shall prepare, adopt and maintain a vendors' catalog file. Said catalog shall be filed according to materials and shall contain descriptions of vendors' commodities, prices and discounts.

(8)

Bulk purchase. He shall explore the possibilities of buying in bulk so as to take full advantage of discounts.

(9)

Federal tax exemptions. He shall act so as to procure for the City all federal tax exemptions to which it is entitled.

(10)

Cooperation with Auditing Department. He shall cooperate with the City Auditor so as to secure the maximum efficiency in budgeting and accounting.

(11)

Disqualification of bidders. He shall have the authority, with the concurrence of the Mayor, to declare vendors who default on their quotations irresponsible bidders and to disqualify them from receiving any business from the municipality for a stated period of time.

§ 82-4 Purchasing through Department required.

Except as herein provided or as may be specifically authorized by the Purchasing Agent or as specifically exempt under provisions of the laws of the commonwealth, it shall be unlawful for any City employee or official to purchase any supplies or services other than through the Purchasing Department and in accordance with this chapter.

§ 82-5 Standardization and specification process.

There is hereby established in the administrative service of the City of Chicopee a standardization and specification process.

Process. In cooperation with the relevant department heads or their designees, the Purchasing Agent shall establish standards and specifications for the City of Chicopee.

Duties of Purchasing Agent. It shall be the duty of the Purchasing Agent:

Classification: to classify all the supplies used by the various branches of the City government.

Standardization: to establish as standards the minimum number of quantity, sizes and varieties of supplies consistent with the successful operation of the City government.

Specifications: to assist in the preparation and approve all written specifications.

Circulation: to make available to any interested party copies of such classifications, standardizations and specifications.

Effect of establishment. After its establishment, each standard specification shall, until revised, apply alike in terms and effect to every future purchase and contract for the supply described in such specifications; however, the Agent shall have the authority to exempt any using agency of the City if requested to do so for a valid purpose, in writing, by the head of the using agency.

Consultation with using agencies. The Agent shall consult with heads and other officials of the using agencies to determine their precise requirements and shall endeavor to prescribe those standards which meet the needs of the majority of such agencies.

Nature of specifications. All specifications shall be definite and certain and shall permit competition; provided, however, that the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to noncompetitive types and kinds of supplies.

§ 82-6 Conflict of interest.

The provisions of the Conflict of Interest Statute, MGL c. 268A, and Section 59 of the City Charter of the City of Chicopee shall prevail in matters pertaining to the conduct of City employees.

Gifts and gratuities. The Purchasing Agent and every officer and employee of the City are expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person, firm, corporation or organization to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded any rebate, gift or anything of value whatsoever, except where given for the use or benefit of the City of Chicopee.

§ 82-7 Construction contracts.

This section shall apply to all vertical construction projects awarded by the City of Chicopee.

The general contractor and all subcontractors under the general contractor shall make a good faith effort to employ local workers when qualified local workers are available for work.

The general contractor and all subcontractors under the general contractor must comply with the obligations established under MGL c. 149 to pay the appropriate lawful prevailing wage rates to their employees.

The general contractor and all subcontractors under the general contractor must maintain appropriate industrial accident insurance coverage for all the employees on the project in accordance with MGL c. 152.

The general contractor and all subcontractors under the general contractor must properly classify employees as employees rather than independent contractors and treat them accordingly for purposes of workers' compensation insurance coverage, unemployment taxes, social security taxes, and income tax withholding. (See MGL c. 149, § 148B, on employee classification.)

Bids submitted by all general contractors and subcontractors whose total bid exceeds $2,000,000 and all subcontractors whose total filed sub bid under MGL c. 149, § 44F, exceeds $500,000 shall at the time of bidding maintain or participate in a bona fide apprentice training program as defined by MGL c. 23, §§ 11H and 11I for each apprenticeable trade or occupation represented in their workforce that is approved by the Division of Apprentice Training of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development ("Division") and must register all apprentices with the Division and abide by the apprentice to journeyman ratio for each trade prescribed therein in the performance of any work on the project. All general contractors and subcontractors shall provide a certificate of compliance from the Division as part of their bid submittal and periodically thereafter as determined by the City of Chicopee.

The general contractor and all subcontractors under the general contractor must at the time of bidding certify that all employees to be employed at the worksite will have successfully completed a course in construction safety and health approved by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the time the employee begins work. The general contractor and all subcontractors shall furnish documentation of successful completion at the time the employee begins work.

The general contractor and all subcontractors under the general contractor must at the time of bidding and throughout the duration of the construction contract furnish, at their expense, hospitalization and medical coverage for all their workers at a level not less than that available through the Massachusetts Health Care Connector. For purposes of this hospitalization and medical coverage requirement, a general contractor or subcontractor may satisfy this requirement by providing proof acceptable to the City of Chicopee that any or all of their workers are a covered person under a medical and hospitalization plan provided by a parent, spouse, partner or otherwise with coverage at a level not less than that available through the Massachusetts Health Care Connector.

All general contractor and subcontractors under the general contractor who are awarded or who otherwise obtain construction contracts with the City of Chicopee shall comply with all of the above detailed obligation at the commencement of the contract and throughout full contract period.

Any general contractor or subcontractor under the general contractor who fails to comply with the obligation detailed above shall be subject to any one or more of the following sanctions as determined by the Building Commission and Purchasing Agent with the concurrence of the Mayor:

Cessation of work on the project until compliance is obtained;

Withholding of payment due under any contract or subcontract until compliance is obtained;

Permanent removal from any further work on the project;

Liquidated damages payable to the City of Chicopee in the amount of 5% of the dollar value of the contract.

If any provision of this article, or the application of such provision to any person, entity or circumstances, shall be enjoined or held to be invalid, the remaining provisions of this section, or the application of such section to persons or circumstances, other than that which is enjoined or held invalid shall be not affected thereby.

§ 82-8 Formal contract procedure.

The City of Chicopee shall conform to state standards in all bidding processes to conform to state statute MGL c. 30B, §§ 4, 5, 6 and 7, to allow for procurement contracts up to $25,000 to be made without the requirement for formal, advertised bidding, but do require three written quotations from at least three suppliers.

Every contract shall provide that an item equal to that named or described in said specifications may be furnished. An item shall be considered equal to the item so named or described if it is at least equal in quality, durability, appearance, strength and design; it will perform at least equally the function imposed by the general design for the work being contracted for or material being purchased; and it conforms substantially, even with deviations, to the detailed requirements for the item in said specification.

Bidders' list. The Agent shall also solicit sealed bids from all responsible prospective suppliers who have requested their names to be added to a bidders' list, which the Agent shall maintain, by sending them a copy of such newspaper notice or such notice as will acquaint them with the proposed purchase or sale. In any case, invitation sent to the vendors on the bidders' list shall be limited to commodities that are similar in character and ordinarily handled by the trade group to which the invitations are sent.

Bid deposits. When deemed necessary by the Agent, bid deposits shall be prescribed in the public notices inviting bids. Unsuccessful bidders shall be entitled to return of surety where the Agent has required such. A successful bidder shall forfeit any surety required by the Agent upon failure on his part to enter a contract within 30 days after the award. All such bid deposits or other security shall be deposited with the City Treasurer.

Bid opening procedure.

Sealed. Bids shall be submitted to the Purchasing Agent and shall be identified as bids on the envelope.

Opening. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notices.

Tabulation. A tabulation of all bids received shall be posted for public inspection.

Rejection of bids.

The Agent shall have the authority to reject all bids, parts of all bids or all bids for any one or more supplies or contractual services included in the proposed contract when the public interest will be served thereby.

Bidders in default to City. The Purchasing Agent, with the concurrence of the Mayor, may not accept the bid of a contractor who is in default on the payment of taxes, licenses or other moneys due the City.

Award of contract.

Authority of Purchasing Agent. The Agent shall have the authority to award contracts within the purview of this chapter.

Lowest responsible bidder. Contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. In determining the lowest responsible bidder, in addition to price, the Purchasing Agent shall consider:

The ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service required.

Whether the bidder can perform the service required and provide the service promptly or within the time specified, without delay or interference.

(c)

The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency of the bidder.

(d)

The quality of performance of previous contracts or services.

(e)

The previous and existing compliance by the bidder with laws and ordinances relating to the contract or service.

(f)

The sufficiency of the financial resources and ability of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the service.

(g)

The quality, availability and adaptability of the supplies or contractual services to the particular use required.

(h)

The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service for the use of the subject of the contract.

(i)

The number and scope of conditions attached to the bid.

Award to other than low bidder. When the award is not given to the lowest bidder, a full and complete statement of the reason for placing the order elsewhere shall be prepared by the Purchasing Agent and filed with the other papers relating to the transaction.

Tie bids.

Local vendors. If all bids received are for the same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, the contract shall be awarded to a local bidder.