8.04.010 Purchase of goods, services, and/or equipment.

A. The purpose of this chapter is to establish cost effective procedures for purchasing materials, services, supplies, and equipment (collectively referred to as “goods, services, and/or equipment”) of the required quality and quantity, at the lowest price, in a transaction that best meets the needs of the City.

B. This chapter does not apply to purchases for a public works project, or to the purchase of real property, or to types of goods, services, and/or equipment whose purchase is regulated by State law.

C. “Services” shall not include those professional services referenced in CMC 8.04.080. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.020 Officials and responsibilities.

A. “Purchasing Officer” is the City Manager, who may designate, in writing, a City employee to act as the Purchasing Officer. The Purchasing Officer shall oversee the City’s purchasing activities to ensure conformity with the provisions of this chapter, coordinate the purchases of goods, services, and/or equipment commonly used by two or more City departments, and promulgate policies and procedures to implement this chapter.

B. “Purchasing Agent” is the Director of each City department, who may designate, in writing, a City employee or employees to act as the Purchasing Agents for the department. A Purchasing Agent is authorized to purchase goods, services, and/or equipment for that Agent’s department in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and the City’s administrative procedures.

C. “Special Purchase Agent” is a City employee designated, in writing, by the City Manager to purchase specified supplies/equipment independently from the Purchasing Agent of a City department. A Special Purchase Agent shall comply with the procedures of this chapter and shall make periodic reports to the City Manager on the status of the purchase. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.030 Purchase order.

A. A purchase order is to be used in both the basic and general purchasing procedures when payment will be made incrementally or over more than one fiscal year. A purchase order shall contain a description of what goods, services, and/or equipment the Purchasing Agent is attempting to obtain, the quality and/or quantity of the items sought, any product specifications, and the price per item.

B. Except where specific authority is first obtained from the City Manager, a Purchasing Agent shall not purchase goods, services, and/or equipment unless there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which the purchase is to be charged.

C. The Purchasing Agent shall ensure that sufficient documentation is submitted with the request for payment to demonstrate compliance with the procedures of this chapter and to justify the acquisition and acceptance of the goods, services, and/or equipment. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.040 Basic purchase procedure – Less than $2,500.

A. If the estimated aggregate price of the purchase of goods, services, and/or equipment is less than $2,500, a Purchasing Agent may, to achieve the purposes of this chapter:

1. Without seeking competitive proposals, select a vendor with an established reputation for selling items of the required quality, at the market price, in a transaction that best meets the needs of the City;

2. Issue a purchase order, if required; or use an authorized credit card; and

3. Complete the purchase transaction.

B. The Purchasing Agent shall submit the invoice to the Director of Administrative Services for placement on the warrant list. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.050 Minor purchase procedure (informal bid) – $2,500 to $30,000.

A. If the estimated aggregate price of the purchase of goods, services, and/or equipment is $2,500 or more, but less than $30,000, the Purchasing Agent shall:

1. Solicit proposals from qualified vendors;

2. Obtain at least three proposals;

3. Selection.

a. If the goods, services, and/or equipment specified in the request are of a generic quality and a vendor with particular attributes is not required to meet the needs of the City and the purposes of this chapter, then the Purchasing Agent shall select the vendor whose proposal offers to sell the supplies/equipment at the lowest price.

b. If vendor reliability, experience, availability, or expertise are a component of meeting the needs of the City and the purposes of this chapter, then the Purchasing Agent need not necessarily purchase from the vendor proposing the lowest price;

4. Issue a purchase order, if required;

5. Complete the purchase transaction; and

6. Submit the invoice to the Director of Administrative Services for placement on the warrant list.

B. The Purchasing Agent shall have the option to purchase goods, services, and/or equipment in an amount of $2,500 or more, but less than $30,000 utilizing the formal bidding procedure set forth in CMC 8.04.060.

C. The Purchasing Agent shall have the right to reject any and all bids for any reason or for no reason at all. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.060 Major purchase procedure (formal bid) – $30,000 or more.

If the estimated cost of the purchase is $30,000 or more, the Purchasing Officer shall ensure there exists an unencumbered appropriation in the fund account against which the purchase is to be charged and that the following requirements are met:

A. A request for proposals and a notice is prepared. The notice shall contain:

1. A general description of the goods, services, and/or equipment sought;

2. The location where the request for proposals, specifications, and blank proposals may be obtained;

3. The requirement that the proposal be in writing and that it be sealed;

4. The time and place for opening proposals; and

5. The security required, if any.

B. The notice is:

1. Published in a newspaper of general circulation within the City, at least once, 10 days prior to the deadline for submitting proposals; and, if directed by the City Council to achieve the purposes of this chapter, published in one or more additional publications, prior to the deadline for submitting proposals; and

2. Posted on the City’s website no less than 10 days prior to the deadline for submitting proposals; and

3. Any other notice the Purchasing Agent may deem appropriate to obtain bids for the goods, services, and/or equipment.

C. The Purchasing Officer may require a security deposit to be submitted as a condition for considering the proposal. The amount of the security deposit shall be sufficient to reimburse the City for costs incurred if the vendor is successful but fails to execute the contract. When a security deposit is required, the requirement shall be identified in the public notice(s) soliciting proposals. Vendors shall be entitled to return of such security deposit; provided, however, that the first-selected vendor shall forfeit its security deposit upon refusal or failure to execute a contract within five days after the notice of award of a contract has been mailed, unless the City is responsible for a delay. The City Council may, on refusal or failure of the first-selected vendor to execute the contract, award it to another vendor. If the City Council awards the contract to the second-selected vendor, the amount of the first-selected vendor’s security shall be applied to the City’s costs and then to the difference between the first-selected vendor’s proposed price and the price proposed by the second-selected vendor; and the remainder, if any, shall be returned to the first-selected vendor.

D. The proposals shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the notice.

E. After the proposals are opened, an agenda item will be submitted to the City Council with the Purchasing Officer’s recommendation regarding the award of the purchase contract.

F. Selection.

1. If the goods, services, and/or equipment specified in the formal bid are of a generic quality and a vendor with particular attributes is not required to meet the needs of the City and the purposes of this chapter, the City Council will award the contract to the vendor whose proposal offers to sell the goods, services, and/or equipment at the lowest price.

2. If vendor reliability, experience, availability, and/or expertise are a component of meeting the needs of the City and the purposes of this chapter, then the City Council need not necessarily award the contract to the vendor proposing the lowest price.

3. In either case, the City Council may reject all proposals presented.

G. If two or more proposals equally satisfy the purposes of this chapter, the City Council may direct the Purchasing Officer to further negotiate with the concerned vendors. Thereafter, the City Council may award the contract based on a negotiated proposal, or reject all proposals presented.

H. After the City Council awards the contract, the Purchasing Officer shall complete the purchase transaction.

I. After completion of the transaction, the Purchasing Officer shall submit the invoice to the Director of Administrative Services for placement on the warrant list. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.070 Exemptions.

A. Where otherwise required by this chapter, one or more procedures in this chapter may be waived, at the discretion of the Purchasing Officer, and the purchase carried forward, when:

1. A declared emergency within or outside the City of Coronado requires that the goods, services, and/or equipment be acquired from the nearest available vendor by a Purchasing Agent and/or immediate action is necessary to contain and control the emergency condition;

2. The goods, services, and/or equipment can be obtained from only one vendor;

3. The goods, services, and/or equipment may be acquired from or in cooperation with another governmental agency that is acquiring or has acquired goods, services, and/or equipment through a cooperative purchasing plan or program which accomplishes the purposes of this chapter in accordance with State law;

4. The goods, services, and/or equipment is obtained from an authorized “reverse auction” wherein no less than two bids are received from suppliers pursuant to a request for quotation, and the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder; or

5. Sufficient, satisfactory proposals are not received.

B. When a waiver is granted in accordance with this section, the Purchasing Officer shall make a written record, which contains the facts and findings required to support the waiver. The record shall be filed with the request for warrants. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)

8.04.080 Professional services.

Contracts for special professional services of an accountant, architect, engineer, land surveyor, appraiser, construction manager, land use planner, environmental specialist, or other specialized consultant shall be subject to the provisions of this section. Whenever feasible at least three proposals or qualifications shall be received for the professional service needed. The City Manager may waive the requirements for solicitation of multiple proposals or qualifications if in the Manager’s opinion only one individual or firm can provide the professional service, or if the professional service constitutes an extension of professional services for a project for which a consultant has previously given professional services. The selection of the professional shall be based upon an analysis of demonstrated competence and professional qualifications necessary for the satisfactory performance of the services required as well as the cost of the service consistent with Government Code Section 4526. This section shall not apply to the selection of City Attorney or other similar positions. The City, upon the advice of the City Manager and the City Attorney, may select special counsel without following the procedures specified in this section. (Ord. 2011 § 2, 2010)