HomeMy WebLinkAbout54-City Attorney
CI\, , OF SAN BERNARDI D - REQUEr .... FOR COUNCIL ACT"~N
Dept: Senior Assistant City Attorney
Su~~t: Ordinance amending Municipal Code
with respect to contract purchases &
limits.
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From: Dennis Barlow
Date: November 2, 1988
Synopsis of Previous Council action:
9/22/88 -- Legislative Review Committee recommended approval of
Ordinance.
Recommended motion:
Waive further reading of ordinance & layover for final adoption.
~~)
Dennis Barlow
Phone:
5256
Contact person:
Supporting data attached:
Yes
Ward:
FUNDING REQUIREMENTS:
Amount:
Source: (Acct. No.)
(Acct. DescriPtion)
Finance:
Council Notes:
75-0262
Agenda Item No.
5fj
c,'- 1- OF SAN "RNARDr""O - RI!QUB'" FOR COUNCIL ACT"~
STAFF REPORT
The open market purchase limit was set by Ordinance MC-602. At that time the
emergency items needed by various departments to prevent potential City liability
were within the $750 limit. Inflation however has caused the price of such
essential emergency items to increase beyond the aforementioned limit. The
Purchasing Agent needs to have the discretionary purchasing limit raised to
$2,500 to expedite the acquisition of emergency items which are needed to
minimize liability to the City.
Emergency electrical items, automotive repair items, and street repair items
for the most part exceed $750.
Increasing the open market purchase limit to $2,500 would in addition to mini-
mizing potential liability, increase the operational efficiency of the Purchasing
Department by reducing the number of redundant price check requests.
I also recommend that the formal bid limit be raised from $15,000 to $25,000. An
analysis of the Purchasing Division indicates that approximately 50% of the formal
bid activity is under $25,000. Given the facts that the Mayor and Council pre-
approves purchase of these items through the budget adoption process and the
Purchasing Division in all cases where possible collects competitive quotes on
items before purchase, the process currently used by the City is both untimely
and inefficient.
The formal bid process is very time consuming and has many requirements and there-
fore restricts the Purchasing Division's ability to function to it's maximum
efficiency. If the formal bid activity could be reduced it would allow the Purch-
asing Division to increase the number of orders processed.
The current limits are both out-dated and prohibitive to efficiency and should be
increased.
75-0264
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ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO AMENDING CHAPTER
2.06 AND CHAPTER 3.04 OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE TO
REQUIRE FORMAL CONTRACT PROCEDURES FOR PURCHASES ABOVE THE VALUE
OF TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS; TO AUTHORIZE NEGOTIATED
PURCHASES; TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM OPEN MARKET PURCHASES FOR
WHICH NO BID IS REQUIRED; and, ADDING SECTION 3.04.090 TO THE SAN
BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL AUDIT OF
ACCOUNTS. .
THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The first paragraph of Section 2.06.020 of the
San Bernardino Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
"2.06.020 Powers and Duties
The Purchasing Agent, under the supervision and direction
of the Director of Finance, shall have charge of the purchasing
of supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services
required by any office, department or agency of the city, with
the exception of the Municipal Water Department and Free Public
Library, and shall have the power and the duty to:"
SECTION 2. The first paragraph of Section 3.04.070 of the
San Bernardino Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
"3.04.070 Formal Contract Procedure.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, purchases
and contracts for supplies, materials and equipment of a value
greater than twenty-five thousand dollars shall be by a written
contract with the lowest possible and best bidder, pursuant to
the procedures described in this section:"
SECTION 3.
Section 3.04.070 Subsection I is added to the
San Bernardino Municipal Code to read as follows:
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November 1, 1988
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"I.
Negotiated Purchases.
At the discretion of the City
2 Administrator, the Purchasing Agent may authorize the purchase of
3 technical or specialized supplies or equipment by competitive
4 negotiation when:
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1 .
The supplies or equipment are such that suitable
6 technical or performance specifications are not readily
7 available;
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2 .
The city is not able to develop descriptive
9 specifications;
3.
The quality of the supplies and equipment cannot be
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11 accurately determined by reference to their specifications alone;
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13 the city; and,
4. Such a method of purchase would be more advantageous to
5.
At the completion of the purchase a written report
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15 thereon is made to the City Administrator."
SECTION 4.
Section 3.04.080 of the San Bernardino
17 Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
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"3.04.080 Open Market Procedure.
19 Purchase of supplies, materials, equipment and contractual
20 services of a value in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars
21 or less may be made by the Purchasing Agent in the open market,
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22 in accordance with the fOllowing procedure:
A.
Minimum Number of Bids.
Open market purchases shall
24 wherever possible, be based on at least three bids, and shall be
25 awarded to the lowest and best bidder.
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B. Notice Inviting Bids. The Purchasing Agent shall
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November 1, 1988
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ORD: AMENDING CHAPTER 2.06 AND CHAPTER 3.04 OF THE SBMC AND
ADDING SECTION 3. '. 090 TO THE SBr
1 solicit bids by written requests or by telephone to prospective
2 vendors.
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C.
Wri tten Bids.
Sealed written bids shall be submitted
4 to the Purchasing Agent who shall keep a record of all open
5 market orders and bids for the required period of time after the
6 submission of bids or the placing of orders. This record while
7 so kept shall be open to public inspection.
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D. Open Market Purchases For Which No Bids Are Required.
9 For open market purchases not exceeding twenty-five hundred
10 dollars, the Purchasing Agent shall have the authority to select
11 a specific vendor and place an order without obtaining additional
12 competitive bids.
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SECTION 5. Section 3.04.090 - Annual Audit shall be added
14 to the San Bernardino Municipal Code as follows:
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"Section 3.04.090 Annual Audit
16 An annual audit of the accounts established by the
17' Purchasing Agent pursuant to the authority granted under this
18 chapter shall be performed annually by the Finance Department. A
19 . report of such audit shall be presented to the Mayor."
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November 1, 1988
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1 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was duly
2 adopted by the Mayor and Common Council of the City of San
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Bernardino, at a
meeting held on the
day
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of
19 , by the following vote, to wit:
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AYES:
Council Members
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NAYS:
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ABSENT:
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City Clerk
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The foregoing resolution is hereby approved this
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day of
, 19
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Evlyn Wilcox, Mayor
City of San Bernardino
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form
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November 1, 1988
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