[Amended 4-12-1982 by Ord. No. 1332; 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 1622]
Whenever the probable cost of products, material, services and
contracts is expected to exceed $10,000, the Purchasing Officer shall
have specifications prepared for the materials or services required
and shall advertise the requirements of the municipality in accordance
with this chapter, the Charter and the law.
[Amended 4-12-1982 by Ord. No. 1332; 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 1622]
A.
Contracts or purchases made by the municipality involving an expenditure
of more than $10,000, to which this article shall not apply unless
Council shall otherwise direct in a specific instance, shall include
those for maintenance, repairs or replacement for the public works
of the municipality, provided that they do not constitute new additions,
extensions or enlargements of existing facilities and equipment.
B.
Those made for improvements, repairs and maintenance of any kind
made or provided by the municipality through its employees, except
that all materials used for street construction, maintenance or improvement
in excess of $10,000 shall be subject to the provisions of this article;
except that the special equipment used to perform the work may be
leased or rented from a contractor without bids but based upon written
quotations received from the contractor.
C.
Those where particular types, models or pieces of new equipment,
articles, apparatus, vehicles or parts of any of them, which are patented
and manufactured or copyrighted products, are desired by Council.
D.
Those involving any policy of insurance or surety bond; those made
for public utility service under tariffs on file with the Pennsylvania
Public Utility Commission; those made with another political subdivision
or with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the federal government,
any agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or of the federal government,
or any municipal authority, including the sale, leasing or loan of
any supplies or materials by the commonwealth or the federal government
or their agencies. The price charged to the municipality shall not
be in excess of that fixed by the commonwealth, the federal government
or their agencies.
All contracts and purchases subject to the provisions of this article shall be made with or from the lowest responsible bidder and/or total bid price, following the procedures set forth in this article. In determining whether the amount of a contract or purchase falls above the minimum amount set out in § 97-7 of this chapter, the following criteria shall apply:
A.
The amount of the contract shall in all cases, whether of straight
sale price, conditional sale, bailment, lease or otherwise, be the
entire amount that the municipality pays to the successful bidder
or his assigns in order to obtain the services or property, or both,
and shall not be construed to mean only the amount that is paid to
acquire title or to receive any other particular benefit of the whole
bargain.
B.
In awarding bids, Council shall have the right to take into consideration
such other factors as the availability, cost and quality of service.
It shall be prohibited for any officer or employee of the municipality to evade the use of the procedures set out in this chapter by making a series of purchases or contracts, each under the minimum set out in § 97-7 of this chapter, or by making several simultaneous purchases or contracts, each below that minimum amount, when in either case the transaction should have been made as one transaction for one price.
[Amended 12-8-1997 by Ord. No. 1622]
Notice of the desire of the municipality to receive bids from
contractors or suppliers shall be given as follows:
A.
By advertisement at least one time in at least one newspaper of general
circulation in the municipality at least 10 days prior to the date
filed for the opening of bids. This advertisement shall include a
general description of the supplies, materials, equipment and contractual
services to be purchased; a statement as to where bid blanks and specifications
may be secured; and a statement of the time and place for public opening
of bids and of the Council meeting at which Council will accept or
reject submitted bids.
B.
At the discretion of the Purchasing Officer, additional notice may
be given in any publication or journal devoted to the dissemination
of information about construction, materials and supplies.
C.
The Purchasing Officer may also solicit bids from all prospective
vendors and contractors by mailing them copies of the blanks with
the necessary specifications and any other information which will
acquaint them with the proposed purchase or contract.
A.
When bids are sought for the erection, construction or alteration
of any public building, the Purchasing Officer may have separate specifications
prepared for any one or more of the phases, parts, sections or internal
or external systems of the construction work, and when this is done,
separate bids shall be required for each of those parts of the work,
and the contract shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder
for each of those branches or parts.
B.
When it shall be deemed necessary to protect the interest of the
municipality, bid deposits shall be required, and the amount of deposit
required shall be set forth in the bid specifications. All bids not
submitted with the required deposit shall be rejected.
A.
Bids shall be sealed, shall be identified as bids on the envelope,
shall be submitted at the place and no later than the time stated
in the public notice inviting bids, and shall be publicly opened by
the Clerk and the Manager or one other public officer designated by
the Manager on the date, at the time, and at the place stated in the
public notice. The Solicitor shall determine and state whether each
bid and all documents and other submissions with it are in order.
The Clerk shall make a record of each bid received and opened. Bids
received after the stated time shall not be accepted.
B.
If for any reason bids are not acted on at the Council meeting stated
in the public notice for bids, they may be acted on at any later Council
meeting.
A.
Contracts shall be awarded by Council to the lowest responsible bidder
and/or total bid price, except that:
(1)
Council shall have the authority to accept or reject any or all bids, and notice of that authority shall appear in all legal advertisements made under § 97-11A of this chapter.
(2)
If two or more of the lowest bids received are for the same total
amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, an offer to
split the contract evenly between the two bidders may be made or the
contract rebid or, where the decision can be made in no other way,
the contract may be awarded to one of the tie bidders by drawing lots
in public.
B.
Where the award is not given to the lowest bidder, a full and complete
statement of the reasons for awarding the contract otherwise shall
be placed in the minutes of the Council meeting at which the award
was made.
C.
A tabulation of all bids received shall be made available for public
inspection.
To protect the interests of the City, a one-hundred-percent
performance bond shall be required from the successful bidder before
entering into a construction contract. Council shall establish the
percentage of the contract price required in the performance bond
for purchase of materials, supplies and equipment. If the performance
bond is not furnished within 20 days after the award of the contract,
the award shall be void. Deliveries, accomplishments and guarantees
may be required in all cases of expenditure.
Any person entering into a contract with the City under this
chapter for the construction, erection, installation, completion,
alteration or repair of or alteration to any public work or improvement
whatsoever shall, before commencing work under the contract, execute
and deliver to the City, in addition to the performance bond, an additional
bond for the use of any person interested, in a sum not less than
50% and not more than 100%, as Council may prescribe, conditioned
for the prompt payment of all material furnished and labor supplied
or performed in the prosecution of the work, whether or not the material
or labor enter into and become component parts of the work or improvement
contemplated. This additional bond shall be deposited with and held
by the City for the use of any interested party. This bond shall provide
that every person who, whether as subcontractor or otherwise, has
furnished material or supplied or performed labor in the prosecution
of the work, and who has not been paid for it, may sue in assumpsit
on this additional bond for his use and prosecute the suit to final
judgment for whatever sum may be justly due him and have execution
thereof. The City shall not be liable for the payment of any costs
or expenses of any suit.
Every contract entered into under this article which involves
the construction or doing of any working involving the employment
of labor shall contain a provision that the contractor shall accept,
insofar as the work covered by the contract is concerned, the provisions
of the Workmen's Compensation Act of 1915, as amended,[1] and that the contractor will insure his liability under
the Act, or file with the municipality a certificate of exemption
from insurance from the Bureau of Workmen's Compensation of the
Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. Any contract executed
in violation of this section shall be null and void.
[1]
Editor's Note: See now Workers' Compensation Reform Act of
1993, 77 P.S. § 1 et seq.
Any contractor or subcontractor employed by the municipality
under this chapter shall be required to provide such types of insurance
and in such amounts as Council may deem necessary or appropriate.
Any contract entered into by the municipality for the construction,
alteration or repair of any public building or public work may contain
provisions by which the contractor agrees:
A.
That, in the hiring of employees for the performance of work under
the contract or any subcontract under it, no contractor or subcontractor
and no person acting on behalf of the contractor or subcontractor
shall, by reason of race, creed or color, discriminate against any
person who is qualified and available to perform the work to which
the employment relates.
B.
That no contractor or subcontractor, and no person acting on behalf
of the contractor or subcontractor, shall in any manner discriminate
against or intimidate any employee hired for the performance of work
under his contract on account of race, creed or color.
[Added 6-8-1987 by Ord. No. 1459]
A.
Solicitations of offers, whether by competitive sealed bids or competitive
negotiation shall:
(1)
Incorporate a clear and accurate description of the technical requirements
for the material, product or service to be procured. Such description
shall not, in competitive procurement, contain features which unduly
restrict competition. The description may include a statement of the
qualitative nature of the material, product or service to be procured
and, when necessary, shall set forth those minimum essential characteristics
and standards to which it must conform if it is to satisfy its intended
use. Detailed product specifications should be avoided if at all possible.
When it is impractical or uneconomical to make a clear and accurate
description of the technical requirements, a "brand name or equal"
description may be used as a means to define the performance or other
salient requirements of a procurement. The specific features of the
named brand which must be met by offerors shall be clearly stated.
(2)
Clearly set forth all requirements which offerors must fulfill and
all other factors to be used in evaluating bids or proposals.
B.
Awards shall be made only to responsible contractors that possess
the potential ability to perform successfully under the terms and
conditions of a proposed procurement. Consideration shall be given
to such matters as contractor integrity, compliance with public policy,
record of past performance and financial and technical resources.
