HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-11-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - PURCHASING POLICY (2)NEW BUSINESS
DATE:
SUBJECT:
AGENDA REPORT
November 14, 1995
City Manager Approva
Item to be presented by:
Steve Stark
REVISION TO SANTA CLARITA MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING
PURCHASING POLICY, CHAPTERS 3.12 AND 3.14,
ORDINANCE NO. 95-10
DEPARTMENT: Administrative Services
The Santa Clarita Municipal Code was adopted in 1987. The code has been reviewed and
updated periodically to incorporate improvements and changes required by legislation and/or
motivated by more efficient practices.. Further, changes in the California Public Contract
Code (CPCC) has necessitated changes to chapter 3.14 of the municipal code. Staff has
therefore taken this opportunity to review the chapters dealing with procurement to
determine if there were other areas that could be improved through revision. Further, staff
met with the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce to seek out their comments and
suggestions on the proposed changes. In addition to minor typographical errors and the use
of obsolete terms, this review identified four significant changes that will clarify and improve
the application of the purchasing policy. The four changes include:
1) Raising the threshold for requiring Purchase Orders and competition from $500 to $1,000.
This change will simplify the purchasing process for staff and provide staff with a more
effective means with which to make small purchases.
2) Extending City Manager's approval threshold of $20,000 for professional services to
material and equipment. The City Manager currently has expenditure authority to $20,000
for professional services but is limited to $10,000 for material, equipment and non-
professional services. This change would standardize the expenditure authority at a level
commensurate with the level of responsibility. The change in signature authority does not
eliminate the requirement for formal bids over $10,000 for material, equipment and non-
professional services.
3) Modify requirement to approve vendors in the vendor files. Vendor files will still be
maintained and available for reference as identified in the Ordinance under 3.12.030. This
change eliminates the risks associated with making subjective determinations of vendor
qualifications. Additionally, this change results in potential savings by easing the
requirement to send solicitations to every vendor on lengthy lists. There are a significant
number of vendors in our files from all over the United States. Continuing this practice could
result in increased solicitation costs without necessarily increasing competition. For example,
on recent vehicle bids, although more than twenty packages were sent out, only one to three
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responses were received. Further, the trend in most government agencies has been away
from expensive mailings and toward more efficient and broader mediums such as newspaper
advertisements and electronic data exchange. This process narrows the distribution of
packages to vendors who have read the notice of solicitation and are interested enough to
request a bid package. In the case of electronic data exchange, the bid package is available
to the vendor in an electronic medium whose transmission requires no action on the City's
part. Resulting side benefits include cost savings in staff time and material. As more and
more cities seek out enabling technology, the greatest returns have been derived from
electronic data exchange.
4) Revising Public Project procurement section to refer to the CPCC instead of paraphrasing
the code. This will eliminate the need to revise the municipal code every time there is a
change to the CPCC.
The proposed revisions are identified in attachment A.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council introduce, waive further reading, and pass to 2nd reading Ordinance No. 95-10,
amending the Municipal Code at Title 3 to amend Chapters 3.12 and 3.14 relating to
procurement.
ATTACHMENTS
Ordinance 95-10
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ORDINANCE NO. 95-10
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA,
AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE AT TITLE 3
AMENDING CHAPTERS 3.12 AND 3.14 RELATING
TO PROCUREMENT
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, DOES
ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That the Santa Clarita Municipal Code is hereby amended at
Title 3, Revenue and Finance, to amend Chapters 3.12 and 3.14 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 3.12
PURCHASES
3.12.025
Purchasing Officer
3.12,030
Purchasing Agent
3.12.110
Bidding
3.12.120
Formal (Sealed) Bid Procedures
3.12.140
Published Notice for Formal Bids
3.12.150
Repealed
3.12.200
Award of Formal Bid Contracts
3.12.230
Open Market or Quote Procedures
3,12.240
Minimum Number of Quotes
3.12.250
Notice Inviting Quotes
3.12.260
Record of Quotes
3.12.270
Exceptions to Competitive Bidding Requirement
3.12.280
Regulations Regarding Selection of Professional Services
3.12.025. Purchasing Officer. There is created the position of Purchasing
Officer, who shall be the City Manager. The Purchasing Officer (or designee) may
authorize and execute all documents relating to procurement actions of $20,000 or less.
3.12.030. Purchasine Agent. There is created the position of Purchasing
Agent, who shall report to the General Service Manager. The Purchasing Agent shall
have the authority to:
A. Purchase or contract for supplies and equipment required by any,
using agency in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this chapter, such
administrative regulations as the purchasing agent shall adopt for the internal
management and operation of the purchasing division and such other rules and
regulations as shall be prescribed by the City Council or the City Manager;
B. Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for the purchase of
supplies and equipment;
C. Act to procure for the City the needed quality in supplies and
equipment at least expense to the City;
D. Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open
competition as possible on all purchases;
E. Prepare and recommend to the City Council rules governing the
purchase of supplies and equipment for the City;
F, Prepare and recommend revisions and amendments to the
purchasing rules;
G. Keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing,
prices, market conditions and new products;
H. Prescribe and maintain such forms as are reasonably necessary for
the operation of this chapter and other rules and regulations;
I. Supervise the inspection of all supplies and equipment purchased to
insure conformance with specifications;
J. Recommend the transfer of surplus or unused supplies and
equipment between departments as needed;
K. Maintain a vendors list, vendors' catalog file and records needed for
the efficient operation of the purchasing division.
3.12.110. Bidding. Purchases of supplies, equipment and services (other than
professional) shall be by bid procedures pursuant to Sections 3.12.120 through 3.12.260.
Bidding may be dispensed with only under conditions Stated in Section 3.12.270.
3.12.120. Formal (Sealed) Bid Procedures. Except as otherwise provided
herein, purchases of supplies, equipment and services (other than professional) of an
estimated value greater than Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) shall be awarded to the
lowest responsible bidder pursuant to the formal bid procedure hereinafter prescribed.
Formal bids as used in this context includes any solicitation following the procedures
described below including, but not limited to, invitations to bid and requests for proposal.
3.12.140. Published Notice for Formal Bids. Notices inviting formal bids
shall be published at least ten days prior to the date of opening of the bids. Notices shall
be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City.
3.12.150. Revealed.
3.12.200. Award of Formal Bid Contracts. Except as otherwise provided
herein, formal bid contracts exceeding $20,000) shall be awarded by the City Council to
the lowest responsible bidder. Formal bid contracts of $20,000 or less may be awarded by
the Purchasing Officer (or designee). The determination of "lowest responsible bidder"
shall be at the discretion of the City Council pursuant to findings and recommendations
presented by the Purchasing Officer (or designee) at the time of award of contracts over
$20,000.
3.12.230. Open Market or Quote Procedures. Purchases of supplies,
equipment and services (other than professional) of an estimated value in the amount of
Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) or less may be made by the Purchasing Agent in the
open market pursuant to the procedure prescribed in Sections 3.12.240 through 3.12.260
and without observing the procedure prescribed in Sections 3.12.120 through 3.12.215;
provided, however; all bidding may be dispensed with for purchases of supplies and
equipment having a total estimated value of less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000).
Quotes as used in this context includes any solicitation following the procedures described
below including, but not limited to, requests for quote to bid and requests for proposal (of
$10,000 or less).
3.12.240. Minimum Number of Quotes. Open market purchases shall,
wherever possible, be based on at least three quotes, and shall be awarded to the quoter
offering the most advantageous quote to the City after consideration of price, quality,
durability, servicing, delivery time, standardization, and other factors.
3.12.250. Notice Inviting Quotes. The purchasing agent shall solicit quotes
by written requests to prospective vendors, or by telephone, or by public notice posted on
a public bulletin board at the City offices.
3.12.260. Record of Quotes. The Purchasing Agent shall keep a written
record of all purchases of $1,000 or more, whether accomplished by formal bid (Sections
3.12.120 through 3.12.215), quote (Sections 3.12.230 & 3.12.270), or through no bid at all
(Sections 3.12.230 & 3.12.270). All records so kept shall be available for public inspection
and shall be subject to destruction in accordance with the City's retention schedule.
3.12.270. Exceptions to Competitive Bidding Requirement.
Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, the competitive bidding
procedures and requirements may be dispensed with in any of the following instances:
A. When the estimated amount involved is less than One Thousand
Dollars ($1,000);
B. When the commodity can be obtained from only one vendor;
C. The City Manager may authorize the purchase of materials, supplies,
equipment and services where an emergency is deemed to exist and it is determined that
service involving the public health, safety or welfare would be interrupted if the normal
procedure were followed. All emergency purchases, which would otherwise require formal
bidding procedures, made pursuant to this Section shall be submitted to the City Council
for ratification at the next regular Council meeting after the purchase is authorized;
D. Any request to waive competition for a procurement not covered by the
exceptions herein must be approved by the City Council;
E. Any agreement involving acquisition of supplies, equipment or
service entered into with another governmental entity;
F. In the event the City Council finds that it is in the public interest
and necessary to purchase supplies, equipment or services without compliance with the
formal contract procedures set forth in this section, the City Council may waive such
procedures by declaring so in a motion or resolution.
3.12.280. Regulations Regarding Selection of Professional Services.
The City Council shall, by resolution, prescribe procedures, rules and regulations
governing the solicitation, selection and award of proposals or bids for the furnishing of
professional or consulting services, the contracts for which may be awarded without
observing the bidding procedures provided for in this chapter. Such procedures, rules and
regulations shall have as one purpose the obtaining of professional services of the highest
quality together with cost-effectiveness.
CHAPTER 3.14
PUBLIC WORKS BID REQUIREMENTS
3.14.020
Bid Limitations
3.14.030
Informal Bidding
3.14.040
Maintenance of Contractors List
3.14.070
Repealed
3.14.020. Bid Limitations. Bid limitations will be as set forth in the Public
Contract Code Sections applicable to local agencies.
3.14.030. Informal Biddine. Public works projects subject to informal bid
procedures may be let to contract as follows:
A. Minimum Number Of Bids. The award of bid shall be based on at
least three (3) bids.
B. Notices Invitine Bids. After the City Council has budgeted the
project, the Purchasing Officer (or designee) may solicit bids by written request to
contractors licensed and experienced for the type of public work to be performed, from the
list of qualified contractors pursuant to section 3.14.040. The minimum criteria for
development and maintenance of the contractors lists shall be determined by the
California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission (CUCCAC). Qualified
contractors on the list for the category of work to be performed and all construction trade
journals specified by the CUCCAC may be mailed a notice inviting informal bids unless
the product or service is proprietary. All mailing of notices to such qualified contractors
and construction trade journals shall be completed as specified in the Public Contract
Code Sections applicable to local agencies.
C. Notice. The notice inviting informal bids shall be uniform and shall
describe (1) the project in general terms, (2) how to obtain more detailed information
concerning the project, and (3) state the time and place for the submission of bids.
D. Award. The award of project shall be made to the lowest responsible
bidder, and the Purchasing Officer is authorized to award and execute the construction
contract provided the contractor has posted the required bonds and insurance.
3.14.040. Maintenance of Contractors List. Prior to November 31 of each
year, the Purchasing Agent shall mail written notice to all construction trade journals
designated by the CUCCAC, inviting all licensed contractors to submit information on
R rms to be included on the list of qualified bidders, according to category, for the following
calendar year. The notice shall require that the contractor provide the name and address
to which a notice to contractors or proposal may be mailed, a telephone number at which
the contractor may be reached, the type or category of work in which the contractor is
experienced and currently licensed to perform, together with the number and type of
contractor's license or licenses held. The Purchasing Agent shall assemble an updated
contractors list to be effective January 1 of each year, which shall include all contractors
who have properly provided the Purchasing Agent with the information described above.
A contractor may be added to the list at any time during the year by providing the
Purchasing Officer with the information described above.
3.14.070. Repealed.
SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this
Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published as required by law.
1995.
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
PASSED AND APPROVED this day of
MAYOR
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES) SS
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA )
I, Donna Grindey, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Ordinance No. 95-10 was regularly introduced and placed upon its first
reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the day of ,
1995. That thereafter, said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at regular meeting of
City Council on the day of 1995 by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
CITY CLERK