[Adopted 10-12-2011 by Ord. No. 11-2011]
[Amended 7-18-2023 by Ord. No. O-2023-04]
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
Borough Council deems it appropriate, and in accordance with the provisions
of the recently enacted Act, 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.
[Amended 7-18-2023 by Ord. No. O-2023-04]
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 19:44A-20.5, the Borough of Riverton, 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
preceding 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 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 Borough Attorney, Borough Engineer, Borough Insurance Consultant
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 website maintained
by the Borough 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
Borough of Riverton 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, as long as:
The Finance Committee shall prepare, process and evaluate any
RFQ and/or RFP issued pursuant to the professional services contracting
procedures set forth above. The Finance 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 Borough Council; and the Borough Council may in its sole discretion
conduct negotiations with qualified vendors after receipt of proposals,
in order to achieve the best possible contract terms and conditions
for the Borough and its taxpayers. No contract shall be awarded, however,
unless same is authorized by resolution duly adopted in public session
by the Borough Council.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Borough 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 relating to emergency contracts, and such rules and
regulations as may be promulgated, from time to time, by the Borough
Council with regard to same. No such emergency contracts, however,
may be awarded without submission to the Borough Clerk of a certification
establishing a basis for the deviations from the procedures outlined
herein.
