Ordinance - 576ORDINANCE NO. 576
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
WEST COVINA PROVIDING FOR THE PURCHASE AND SALE
• OF PROPERTY, MATERIALS, SUPPLIES, SERVICES AND
EQUIPMENT.
The City Council of the City of West Covina does ordain as
follows:
SECTION 1. ADOPTION OF PURCHASING SYSTEM. In order to
establish efficient procedures for the purchase of Supplies, services
and equipment to secure for the City supplies, services and equipment
at the lowest possible cost commensurate with quality needed, to
exercise positive financial control over purchases, to clearly define
authority for the purchasing function and to assure the quality of
purchases, a purchasing system is hereby adopted.
SECTION 2. CENTRALIZED PURCHASING DEPARTMENT. There is
hereby created a centralized Purchasing Department in which is'vested
authority for the purchase of supplies, services and equipment.
SECTION 3. PURCHASING OFFICER. There is hereby created
the position of Purchasing Officer. He shall be appointed by the City
Manager. The Purchasing Officer shall be the head, and have general
supervision of the Purchasing Department. The duties of Purchasing
Officer may be combined with those of any other office or position.
Subject to the supervision of the City Manager, the Purchasing Officer
shall have authority to:
(a) Purchase or contract for supplies, services and equip-
ment required by any using agency, within the limits of the current
budget approved by the City Council, or when approved by the Council,
and in accordance with purchasing procedures prescribed by this ordi-
nance, such administrative regulations as the Purchasing Officer shall
adopt for the internal management and operation of the Purchasing Depart-
ment and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the
City Council or City Manager.
(b) Negotiate and recommend execution of contracts for
the purchase of supplies, services and equipment.
(c) Act to procure for the City the needed quality in
supplies, services 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 Manager rules
governing the purchase of supplies, services and equipment for the
City.
(f) Prepare and recommend to the City Manager 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 reasonably neces-
sary to the operation of this ordinance and other rules and regulations.
(i) Supervise the inspection of all supplies, services
and equipment purchased to insure conformance with specifications.
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(j) Recommend the transfer of surplus or unused supplies
and equipment between departments as needed and the sale of all supplies
unsuitable for City use.
(k) Maintain a Bidder's List, Vendors Catabg file and
records needed for the efficient operation of the Purchasing Depart-
ment.
SECTION 4. EXEMPTIONS FROM CENTRALIZED PURCHASING. The
Purchasing Officer, with approval of the City Council, may authorize
in writing any agency to purchase or contract for specified supplies,
services and equipment independently of the Purchasing Department; but
he shall require that such purchases or contracts be made in conformity
with the procedures established by this ordinance, and shall further
require periodic reports from the agency on the purchases and contracts
made under such written authorization.
SECTION 5. ESTIMATES OF REQUIREMENTS. All using agencies
shall file detailed estimates of their requirements in supplies, services
and equipment in such manner, at such time, and for such future periods
as set forth in rules prescribed by the City Manager.
SECTION 6. REQUISITIONS. Using agencies shall submit
requests for supplies, services and equipment to the Purchasing Offi-
cer by standard requisition forms according to rules prescribed by
the City Manager.
SECTION 7. BIDDING. Purchases of supplies, services,
equipment and the sale of personal property shall be by bid procedures
pursuant to Sections 10 and 11. Bidding may be dispensed with when an
emergency requires that an order be placed with the nearest available
source of supply, when the amount involved is less than $250.00 or
when the .commodity can be obtained from only one vendor. The City
Council by majority vote of its entire membership may dispense with
such bidding and other procedures required by this ordinance in any
indwidual instance upon finding that it would be impracticable, useless
or uneconomical in such instance to follow such procedures and that
the public welfare would be promoted by dispensing with the same. As
used in this ordinance, supplies and equipment shall be deemed to
include all personal property and materials.
SECTION 8. PURCHASE ORDERS. Purchases of supplies,
services and equipment shall be.made only by purchase order according
to rules prescribed by the City Manager.
SECTION 9. ENCUMBRANCE OF FUNDS. Except in cases of
emergency, the Purchasing Officer shall not issue any purchase order
for supplies, servicesor equipment unless there exists an unencumbered
appropriation in the fund account against which said purchase is to
be charged.
SECTION 10. FORMAL CONTRACT PROCEDURE. Except as other-
wise provided herein, purchases and contracts for supplies, services
and equipment of a value greater than $2,000.00 shall be by written
contract with or written purchase order to the lowest responsible bidder,
pursuant to the procedure prescribed herein.
• (a) Notice Inviting Bids. Notices inviting bids shall
include a general description of the articles to be purchased, shall
state where bid blanks and specifications may be secured, and the
time and place for opening bids.
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(1) Published Notice. Notice inviting bids shall
be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City
at least ten days before the date of opening of the bids.
• (2) Bidder's List. The Purchasing Officer shall
also solicit sealed bids from all responsible prospective
suppliers whose names are on the Bidders' List or who have
requested their names to be added thereto.
(3) Bulletin Board. The Purchasing Officer shall also
advertise pending purchases by a notice posted on a public bulletin
board in the City Hall.
(b) Bidders' Security. When deemed necessary by the Pur-
chasing Officer, bidder's security may be prescribed in the public
notices inviting bids. Bidders shall be entitled to return of bid
security upon refusal or failure to execute the contract within ten
days after the notice of award of contract has been mailed, unless the
City is responsible forthe delay. The Purchasing Officer may, on
refusal or failure of the successful bidder to execute the contract,
award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the Purchasing
Officer awards the contract to the next lowest bidder, the amount of
the lowest bidder's security shall be applied by the City to the differ-
ence between the low bid and the second lowest bid, and the surplus, if
any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder.
(c) Bid Opening Procedure. Sealed bids shall be sub-
mitted to the Purchasing Officer and shall be identified as bids on
the envelope. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place
stated in the public notices. A tabulation of all bids received shall
be open for public inspection during regular business hours for a
period of not less than thirty calendar days after the bid opening.
(d) Rejection of Bids. In his discretion, the Purchasing
Officer may reject any and all bids presented and readvertise for bids,
or he may reject all bids and proceed without further compliance with
the procedures prescribed by this ordinance.
(e) Award of Contracts. Contracts shall be awarded by
the Purchasing Officer to.the lowest responsible bidder except as other-
wise provided herein.
(f) Tie Bids. If two or more bids received are for the
same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal, and
if the public interest would not be promoted by readvertising for bids,
the Purchasing Officer may accept the one he chooses or accept the
lowest bid made by negotiation with the tie bidders at the time of
the bid opening. In case of tie, preference shall be given to local
bidders.
(g) Performance Bonds. The Purchasing Officer shall have
authority to require a performance bond before entering a contract in
such amount as he shall find reasonably necessary to protect the best
interests of the City. If he requires a performance bond, the form
and amount of the bond shall be described in the notice inviting bids.
• SECTION 11. OPEN MARKET PROCEDURE. Purchases of supplies,
equipment and contractual services of an estimated value in the amount
of $2,000.00 or less may be made by the Purchasing Officer in the open
market without observing the procedure prescribed by Section 10.
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(a) Minimum Number of Bids. Open market purchases shall,
wherever possible, be based on at least three bids, and shall be
awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.
• (b) Notice Inviting Bids. The Purchasing Officer shall
solicit bids by written requests to prospective vendors, by telephone,
or by public notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall.
(c) Bids. Bids.shall be submitted to the Purchasing
Officer verbally, by telephone or in writing, and he shall keep a
record of all open market orders and bids for a period of one year
after the submission of bids or the placing of orders. This record,
while so kept, shall be open to public inspection.
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SECTION 12. INSPECTION AND TESTING. The Purchasing Offi-
cer shall inspect supplies, materials and equipment delivered, and
contractual services performed, to determine their conformance with
the specifications set forth in the order or contract. The Purchasing
officer shall have authority to require chemical and physical tests
of samples submitted with bids and samples of deliveries which are
necessary to determine their quality and conformance with specifications.
SECTION 13. SURPLUS SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT. All using
agencies shall submit to the Purchasing Officer, at such times and in
such form as he shall prescribe, reports showing all supplies and
equipment which are no longer used or which have become obsolete or
worn out. The Purchasing Officer shall have authority to sell all
supplies and equipment which cannot be used by any agency or which have
become unsuitable for City use, or to exchange the same for, or trade
in the same on, new supplies and equipment. Such sales shall be made
pursuant to rules prescribed by theCity Manager and only after
authorization from the City Council as to any item of an estimated
value of $250.00 or more.
SECTION 14. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection,
subdivision, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any
reason held to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such decision
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordi-
nance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed
this ordinance, and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence,
clause and phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one of
more sections, subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses or
phrases be declared unconstitutional.
SECTION 15. CERTIFICATE. The City Clerk shall certify to
the passage of this ordinance and shall publish the same as required
by law.
Passed and approved this ZZrd day of June , 1958.
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS.
CITY OF WEST COVINA )
I, ROBERT FLOTTEN, City Clerk of the City of West Covina,
do hereby certify that the above Ordinance No. 576 was regularly
introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting
of the City Council on the 9th day of June , 1958, That,
thereafter, said ordinance was -auly adopTe- -aanc —passed at a regular
meeting by the City Council on the 23rd day of June , 1958,
by the following vote, to -wit:
AYES: Councilmen: Heath, Brown, Barnes, Pittenger, Mayor Mottinger
NOES: Councilmen: None
ABSENT: Councilmen: None
City Clerk
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