[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Mannington 10-4-1990
by Ord. No. 90-09. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No article or service shall be contracted for or purchased by any department,
board, agency or office of the Township of Mannington except in accordance
with the procedures set forth herein. The Township of Mannington will not
be bound by any purchase or contract made contrary to this policy, and any
employee or representative of the Township of Mannington who violates the
policy may face disciplinary action, as well as personal liability for any
costs or obligations improperly incurred.
A.
The initial step in the purchasing cycle is the preparation
of a purchase requisition. The department head should only requisition budgeted
items. Nonbudgeted items or services shall require the prior approval of the
department head, with concurrence of appropriate Committee person. Such purchases,
if of an emergent nature, will be processed using the emergency procedures.
Adjustments to department's budgeted items should be considered when
purchasing previously nonbudgeted items.
B.
The purchase order form will also serve as the purchase
requisition. The request for purchase must be approved and signed by the department
head. The requisition should be submitted well in advance of the time the
goods, materials or services are needed to allow sufficient time for review
or for preparation of specifications, advertisements for bids, or for the
solicitation of informal quotations as indicated in this chapter.
C.
The request for purchase shall be forwarded to the purchasing
authority. If the requisition is not properly completed, it will be returned
to the originating department head for correction, additional information,
or clarification. The purchasing authority will also review a unit's
requisition, making necessary consolidations and standardizations with the
requests of other units. Requesting units should be advised and consulted
when standardizations are made. Based on the total and aggregate dollar amount
of the purchase requests, written specifications and sealed bids or informal
solicited quotations may be required. State approved contract vendors or cooperative
pricing systems vendors pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:11-11(5) may also be used
to fulfill the contracting unit's needs. Before any formal commitment
is made to a vendor, and prior to completion of purchase order, the availability
of funds must be determined pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:30-14.5.
D.
If the purchase order cannot be approved, the Treasurer
will provide the purchasing authority with a written explanation.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
Quote comparison sheets will be prepared for items more than $1,000
but under the bid limit. More than one vendor is to be solicited for prices
of the items. Data pertinent to required items or services should be listed,
including price quotes. The lowest price should be taken.
Purchase orders are required for all requests for purchases. The following
information shall be filled out in detail and will be copied through the other
four copies:
A.
Date ordered: date that the vendor accepts purchase order
and voucher.
B.
Dated wanted: date that the department head wants goods
or services delivered.
C.
To address: name of vendor that payment will be made
to and address where check will be mailed.
D.
Ship to: name and address where goods and/or services
shall be delivered on behalf of the Township.
E.
Salesman: person who sells the goods or services to the
Township.
F.
Purchase request by: department head's name purchasing
goods or services.
G.
Purchase request approval: purchasing authority's
approval of purchase request. Account should be encumbered at this time.
H.
Quantity: amount of items purchased.
I.
Description: a full complete description in detail describing
the item or goods being purchased.
J.
Unit price: price of one unit being purchased.
K.
Amount: total amount of all units being purchased.
L.
Authorized signature: the signatures of the Township
officials are required as designated in this chapter.
M.
Account charged: It shall be the responsibility of the
Treasurer to fill in the proper account to be charged for the encumbrance.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
N.
Claimant's certification and declaration: Vendor's
signature and position must be filled in along with the date. This will be
on the white voucher copy returned by the vendor only.
A.
Signatures of approval will be required pertaining to
the following amounts:
(1)
$0 - $300: department head; purchasing authority.
(2)
$300 - $2,500: department head; purchasing authority;
Treasurer.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
(3)
$2,500 - bid limit: department head; purchasing authority;
Treasurer; two Township Committee members.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
(4)
Bidding required: department head; purchasing authority;
Treasurer; two Township Committee members.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
B.
The Township purchasing authority will keep a ledger
and record of all purchase orders and the balances in each line item account.
C.
The Local Public Contracts Law (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et
seq.) shall be adhered to which requires advertising in local newspapers and
accepting sealed bids. The Township Committee has an option to reject or accept
all bids at a public meeting. Once purchase is approved, a purchase order
shall be filled out by department head and for verification purposes pertaining
to purchasing responsibilities, the purchasing authority, Treasurer, department
head and two Township Committee members shall sign a purchase order.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
D.
No order is to be placed or a commitment made except
by an approved purchase order or by the emergency purchase procedure.
A.
Emergency purchases are purchases made under or during
an extreme emergency. An emergency is some condition or event over which the
Township has no control and to which it must respond because of a threat to
life and/or property. Examples of emergencies would be natural disasters,
fires, civil disturbances, enemy attacks or power failures.
B.
If the Township or any of its officials
or employees are required to take any action during an emergency, and purchases
from any vendor are necessary to deal with the emergency while the emergency
exists, such purchases may be made without regard to the policies and procedures
outlined in this chapter.
C.
The head of the department requesting an emergency purchase
shall contact the Committee member supervising the requesting department to
receive approval. In the absence of the Committee member supervising the requesting
department, another Committee member should be requested to declare an emergency.
If at all possible, all three Committee persons shall be filed for approval
and the Treasurer notified for verification of funds.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
D.
On the next working day following the emergency, the
department head shall submit a written report to the Township Committee, the
Treasurer and the Chief Financial Officer describing the emergency and the
steps taken to resolve the matter.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
E.
The department head should execute a purchase requisition
and the proper procedures followed pertaining to that particular purchase.
A.
The initial step in the purchasing process is the preparation of a purchase requisition described in § 105-2 above.
B.
The requisition is forwarded to the purchasing authority.
The purchasing function will fall under the direction of the Treasurer. The
availability of funds is ascertained by the Treasurer through consultation
with the appropriations ledger.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
C.
A five-part purchase order is completed by Purchasing.
Proper approvals are obtained depending on the dollar amount as set forth
in this chapter.
E.
The originating department holds its copy of the purchase
order until the goods are received. The goods received are counted and quality
inspected. The purchase order is then signed off on by the department head
and forwarded to the Treasurer.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
F.
The Treasurer will match the copy from the originating
department, the purchasing function copy, and the vendor copy, which should
be accompanied by a vendor invoice.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
G.
The Treasurer will add the amount due to the vendor to
the monthly bill list for approval by the Township Committee.
[Amended 3-7-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03]
H.
Once approval is obtained, the disbursement is made and
the expenditure is recorded against the encumbered amount.
I.
A reconciliation of open purchase orders is to be made
against the encumbrance amount on a monthly basis.
