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ARTICLE 3-8 Contracts and Purchases Sec. 3-8-10. Definitions. As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section. Bid means an offer submitted by a prospective vendor in response to an invitation to bid issued by the City, which becomes a contract upon acceptance. Bid bond means an insurance agreement, accompanied by a monetary commitment, by which a third party (the surety) accepts liability and guarantees that the bidder will not withdraw the bid, the bidder will furnish bonds as required, and if the contract is awarded to the bonded (insured) bidder, the bidder will accept the contract as bid, or else the surety will pay a specific amount. Blanket order means a contract under which a contractor or vendor agrees to provide materials, supplies, equipment and services to a purchaser on a demand basis; the contract generally establishes prices, terms, conditions and the period covered, although no quantities are specified; and shipments are to be made when and as required by the purchaser. Change order means a written alteration to a contract or purchase order, signed by a City-authorized person, in accordance with the terms of the contract, unilaterally directing the contractor to make changes. Competitive sealed bidding, also called formal bid or formal advertised bid, means the preferred process for acquiring materials, supplies, equipment and services, and for construction of public buildings, facilities or works in which an award is made to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, based solely on the response to the criteria set forth in the Invitation to Bid (ITB); competitive sealed bidding does not include discussions or negotiations with bidders. Construction contracts includes contracts for the construction, installation, major maintenance or repair of public buildings, public facilities or public works. Cooperative purchasing means: a) procurement conducted on behalf of two or more public procurement units; b) the combining of requirements of two or more public procurement units in order to obtain the benefits of volume procurements and/or reduction in administrative expenses; or c) a variety of arrangements whereby two or more units purchase from the same supplier using a single Invitation to Bid (ITB) or Request for Proposal (RFP). Cooperative groups include, but are not limited to: Multiple Assembly of Procurement Officials (MAPO), Cooperative Educational Purchasing Council (CEPC), National Association of Counties (NACO), and the State of Colorado. Emergency conditions includes procurement requiring the immediate procurement of materials, supplies, equipment or services, made to protect the public health, welfare or safety under emergency conditions, provided that such emergency procurement shall be made with such competition as is practicable under the circumstances. ---PAGE BREAK--- Formal bid means a competitive bid, which must be submitted in a sealed envelope and in conformance with a prescribed format, to be opened in public at a specified time. A formal bid is required for all procurements of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) or greater with the exception of single-source or sole-source procurements. (10) Informal bid means a competitive bid or price quotation for material, supplies, equipment and/or services that is conveyed by letter, telephone or other acceptable means and does not require a sealed bid, public opening or public reading of bids. Informal bids may be accepted for all procurements of one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or greater, but less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00). (11) Multi-year contracts means procurement contracts extending more than one year. All contracts are subject to annual budget appropriation by City Council. All multi-year contracts are cancelable by the City without penalty. (12) Open market purchase means a purchase for material, supplies, equipment and services for less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), from any available source. (13) Professional service contracts includes specialized design, management, consulting or similar service contracts which traditionally are in their nature unique and not susceptible to formal sealed-bid procedures but are subject to formal request for proposal procedures. (14) Procurement means purchasing, renting, leasing or otherwise acquiring any material, supplies, equipment, services or construction; includes all functions that pertain to the acquisition, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources and the preparation of award of contract and contract administration; the combined functions of purchasing, inventory control, salvage and disposal operations. (15) Proposal means the document submitted by the offeror in response to the Request for Proposal (RFP) to be used as the basis for negotiation for entering into a contract. A proposal is usually requested in cases where the selection of a contractor or firm is to be made on the basis of the performance that is offered rather than on that of price alone and may require an outline of details such as the vendor's or firm's qualifications and experience and the identification of problems and proposed solutions in addition to details of pricing. Request for proposal means all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting competitive proposals. (16) Purchase order means a written document to a vendor formalizing all the terms and conditions of a proposed transaction, such as a description of the requested items, delivery schedule, terms of payment and transportation costs and statement of destination. The issuance of a purchase order is a contractual agreement between the purchaser and the vendor. (17) Purchase request means information or document transmitted by a City department requesting the procurement office to prepare a contract for a particular need. Also called a requisition. Requisition means an internal document by which a department sends details of materials, supplies, equipment and services required to the procurement office. (18) Purchasing means the process of buying; to obtain material, supplies, equipment and services in exchange for money; the act and the function of responsibility for the acquisition of material, supplies, equipment and services. Purchasing includes determining the need, ---PAGE BREAK--- selecting the vendor or contractor, arriving at fair and reasonable price and terms, preparing the contract and purchase order, and following up to ensure timely delivery. (19) Responsible bidder or offeror means a bidder or offeror who has the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements, and the experience, integrity, perseverance, reliability, capacity, facilities, equipment and credit which will assure good faith performance. (20) Responsive bidder means a vendor who has submitted a bid which conforms in all material respects to the requirements stated in the invitation to bid. (21) Service contracts means and covers agreements, contracts or leases for the routine maintenance and repair of, insurance or rental on buildings, equipment or machinery. (22) Single-source procurement means a contract for the procurement of material, supplies, equipment and services entered into after soliciting and negotiating only with one source, usually because of the technology required or uniqueness of the service provided. (23) Sole-source procurement means only one vendor possesses the unique and singularly available capability to meet the requirement of the solicitation, such as technical qualifications or services from a public utility. (24) Supplies includes all supplies, materials and equipment procured by the City or any of its departments or agencies. (Prior code §2-101; Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-20. Competitive bidding required. All purchasing of materials, supplies, equipment and services and contracting for construction contracts or professional services and all sales of obsolete or unusable property or supplies shall be accomplished by competitive bids or requests for proposals, except as provided, after due notice is given to prospective bidders or professional service providers. In circumstances necessitating sole-source procurement, under emergency conditions, or when only one vendor or contractor is available in the area, procurement and contracts shall be effected with maximum economy to the City, without the necessity of requiring bids thereon; however, a full and complete justification therefor shall be prepared by the requesting department and filed with the documents relating to the transaction. (Prior code §2-102(1); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-30. Powers and duties of Procurement Agent. The City Procurement Agent shall be the head and have the general supervision of the Procurement Division within the Finance Department. He or she shall perform all duties required by state statutes, City Charter and this Code and shall have the powers and duties for centralized control of the procurement function, including the procurement of materials, supplies, equipment and services and preparation and recommendation of award of service contracts as prescribed in this Article. (Prior code §2-102(2); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-40. Procurement and contracting procedures generally. All procurement and contracting shall be accomplished in the best interests of the City. ---PAGE BREAK--- Whenever feasible, procurement shall be done in bulk in order to take full advantage of discounts. Departments shall be responsible for anticipating needs in timely fashion in order to consolidate and expedite procurement of the same type of materials, supplies, equipment, services or construction contracts. City procurement or contracting shall be performed so as to secure for the City the highest quality materials, supplies, equipment and services at the least expense. Payment to vendors or contractors shall be expedited whenever possible in order to realize discounts and enhance the City's reputation as a responsible customer. Full and open competition shall be encouraged in bidding for materials, supplies, equipment, services or construction contracts, and uniform bidding shall be discouraged. Specifications, bidding procedures, forms and contract terms shall be simplified as much as possible in order to encourage participation in bidding. A vendor or contractor who performs unsatisfactorily or defaults on terms of his or her bid may be declared an irresponsible bidder. Cooperative purchasing shall be implemented when feasible and in the best interest of the City and shall be accepted in lieu of City-generated formal bids. (Prior code §2-102(3); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-50. Purchase requisition and adequate balance required. No purchases for materials, supplies, equipment or contract for services shall be undertaken until a purchase requisition has been signed and authorized by the Department Director or his or her designated and authorized representative and submitted to the Procurement Division. Except in emergencies, no order for delivery or performance on a contract or construction agreement shall be accomplished until the Finance Director shall have certified, after pre-audit, that there is to the credit of the using department a sufficient unencumbered balance in excess of all unpaid obligations to defray the amount of the requisition. A purchase requisition is required if the total purchase per vendor amounts to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or more. (Prior code §2-103; Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-60. Councilman's conflict of interest; effect. No member of the Council shall be interested directly or indirectly in any contract, including purchases or sales, with the City, except that such contract may be made by the City if the members of the Council in office at the time the vote is taken, having no such interest, shall unanimously determine that the best interests of the City shall be served by the making of such contract, and if either such contract is made after comparative prices are obtained or if the members of the Council having no interest shall unanimously determine that the obtaining of comparative prices is not feasible in such particular case. For purposes of this Article, ownership by a member of the Council or his or her immediate family of securities or of any beneficial interest in securities of any corporations shall not be deemed to create a prohibited interest under this Article, unless the aggregate amount of such securities or interest in such securities, so owned by such Councilman and the members of ---PAGE BREAK--- his or her immediate family, shall amount to ten percent (10%) or more of any class of the securities of such corporation then outstanding. (Prior code §2-104(l); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-70. Officers and employees seeking or accepting gifts or rebates prohibited. Every officer and employee of the City is expressly prohibited from seeking or accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded, any gift or money rebate. (Prior code §2-104(2); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1589, 1999) Sec. 3-8-80. Officers and employees misrepresenting facts or influencing bids prohibited. Every officer and employee of the City is expressly prohibited from knowingly: Underestimating or exaggerating requirements to certain prospective bidders for the purpose of influencing bids; and/or Misrepresenting competitor's prices, quality or service to obtain concessions. (Prior code §2-104(3); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-90. Bidding procedure required for contracts and procurement of supplies and services. All materials, supplies, equipment, services and construction contracts, except as otherwise provided in this Article, with an estimated cost in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), but less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), shall be awarded through formal bid procedures or the formal RFP process by the City Manager. All supplies, service and construction contracts, except as otherwise provided in this Article, with an estimated cost of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or more, shall be awarded through the formal bid process or the formal RFP process by the City Council. After due notice inviting bids, purchase orders and contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. (Prior code §2-105(1); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1481 1996; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-100. Bidding procedure required for personal property. All sales of obsolete or unusable personal property with an estimated value in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) shall be sold through the formal bid process to the highest responsible bidder, after due notice inviting bids. The City may engage auction firms to sell all obsolete or unusable property, after soliciting the auction firms through the formal bid process or through cooperative purchasing. (Prior code §2-105(2); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-110. Publication of notice inviting bids. Except for notices inviting bids for construction contracts, notices inviting bids shall be published at least once in an area newspaper selected for maximum impact on prospective bidders, at least five days preceding the last day set for receipt of bids. Notices inviting bids for construction contracts shall be published at least once in an area newspaper selected for maximum impact on prospective bidders at least twenty (20) days preceding the last day set for receipt of bids unless the City Council determines that the required construction is an emergency, ---PAGE BREAK--- in which event the notice required hereunder shall be given at least five days preceding the last day set for receipt of bids. The notice shall include a general description of the supplies or general services to be purchased or sold, or the facilities to be constructed, where bid specifications and forms may be secured, the deadline for submission of bids and the time and place for opening bids. (Prior code §2-105(3); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-120. Waiver permitted for bidding procedure. For good cause shown, the City Manager may waive the formal bid procedure provided for herein for contracts in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) but less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), and the City Council may waive the formal bid procedure for contracts twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or more. However, any such waiver shall be implemented only if there is first a determination that such waiver will be in the best interest of the City. (Prior code §2-105(4); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1481 1996; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-130. Bonds and deposits required. When deemed necessary by the City Manager, bid bonds or deposits may be required. If the bid is not accepted or a bidder is unsuccessful, bid deposits shall be refunded. All notices of bid award shall be receipt acknowledged by the bidder or his or her personal representative. When a bid is awarded but the successful bidder fails to enter into a contract within ten (10) days after the date of receipt of notice of award, the deposit may be forfeited. (Prior code §2-105(5); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-140. Submittal, opening and availability of bids. Bids shall be submitted sealed and shall be identified as bids on the envelope. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place stated in the public notice unless all bidders are notified of a change by written addendum. A tabulation of all bids received shall be available for public inspection. (Prior code 105(6); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998) Sec. 3-8-150. Rejection of bids. The City may reject all bids or parts of bids when it is determined to be in the best interests of the City to do so. (Prior code §2-105(7); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-160. Award of contract; criteria for consideration. Contracts for purchase of supplies or construction work shall be awarded to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder. In determining "lowest responsible and responsive bidder," in addition to price, the City shall consider: The ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract or furnish the supplies required; Whether the bidder can perform the contract or furnish the supplies or within the time specified, without delay or interference; ---PAGE BREAK--- The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency of the bidder; The quality of performance on previous contracts; Previous and existing compliance by the bidder with laws and ordinances relating to the contract or service; Sufficiency of financial resources and ability of the bidder to perform the contract or furnish the supplies; The quality, availability and adaptability of the supplies or contractual services to the particular use required; The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service; and The response to the invitation for bids. (Prior code §2-106(1); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-170. Award to other than lowest bidder; approval required. When it appears appropriate not to make the award to the lowest bidder, a full and complete statement of the reasons for the recommendation shall be prepared by the requesting department and filed with the papers relating to the transaction. Such award must be approved by the City Manager or City Council as appropriate. (Prior code §2-106(2); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1481 1996) Sec. 3-8-175. Change order to contract. All change orders to construction contracts shall be processed through the office of the Finance Director. The Public Works Director and the Parks and Recreation Director shall have authority to approve individual change orders on City construction contracts up to two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) per change order, not to exceed the greater of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) per contract or ten percent (10%) of the original contract amount. The City Manager shall have the authority to approve individual change orders on City construction contracts up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) per change order, not to exceed the greater of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) per contract or twenty-five percent (25%) of the original contract amount. All change orders greater than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or change orders in aggregate greater than twenty-five percent (25%) of the original contract amount shall be approved by the City Council. (Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-180. Special consideration for award to resident business. In those circumstances where a bid from a business located within the corporate limits of the City is as acceptable to the City as a bid of other vendors, special consideration may be given to awarding the contract to the Brighton business; the consideration shall be in the form of a five- percent reduction in the total bid amount when compared with other bids submitted, or a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per total bid, whichever is less. A business located within the corporate limits of the City must operate a business inside the City limits that is on the City property tax rolls or must lease or rent a property for its business which is on the property tax rolls of the City, and which has a current City business license and is collecting and ---PAGE BREAK--- remitting sales tax for the City, if applicable. (Prior code §2-106(3); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1481 1996; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-190. Authority for award. Awards to low and responsible bidders shall be approved as follows: For contracts which do not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), by the City Manager; and For contracts in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), by the City Council. (Prior code §2-106(4); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1481 1996; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-200. Contractor's bond required; conditions. Any person entering into a contract with the City in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) or greater for the construction of any public building or the prosecution or completion of any public work shall be required before commencing work to execute, in addition to all bonds that may now or hereafter be required of him or her, a performance bond, a material and payment bond and a maintenance bond, all with good and sufficient sureties, to be approved by the City Manager, conditioned that such contractor shall properly perform all work required by the contract on behalf of the City and make payments of all amounts lawfully due to all persons supplying or furnishing labor or materials, used or performed in the prosecution of the work provided for in such contract, and will indemnify the City to the extent of any and all payments in connection with the carrying out of such contracts which the City may be required to make under the law. (Prior code §2-106(5); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1589, 1999; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-210. Waiver of bond. For contracts which do not exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), the City Manager may, for good cause shown, waive a performance bond unless such bond is required by statute. For contracts above twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), the City Council may, for good cause shown, waive a performance bond unless such bond is required by statute. (Prior code §2-106(6); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1481 1996; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-220. Division of contract prohibited. No contract or purchase shall be divided to avoid the requirements of this Article. (Prior code §2-106(7); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1589, 1999) Sec. 3-8-230. Informal bidding permitted. Contracts for supplies and construction work with an estimated cost not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) will be accomplished through the established informal, competitive bid process. (Prior code §2-107(l); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec. 3-8-240. Minimum number of bids for informal bidding. All procurements through the informal bid process shall, wherever possible, be based on at least three competitive bids and shall be awarded in accordance with the criteria set forth in Sections 3-8-170 through 3-8-230 of this Article. When informal bid awards exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) are made to other than the lowest and/or most responsive bidder, a full and complete justification therefor shall be prepared by the requesting department and filed with the documents relating to the transaction. In order to expedite procurement under the informal bid process when making repetitive procurements, current cost history records may be reviewed to satisfy competitive bid requirements. (Prior code §2-107(2); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998; Ord. 1703 2001) Sec. 3-8-250. Informal bid solicitation. Bids may be solicited by direct mail announcement to prospective bidders, by facsimile or by telephone. (Prior code §2-107(3); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975; Ord. 1555 §1(part), 1998) Sec. 3-8-260. Record of informal bids. A record shall be maintained of all open market bids solicited and submitted and such records shall be open to public inspection. (Prior code §2-107(4); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-270. Open purchase order for informal bid. In order to deal with emergencies and reduce down-time of equipment, open purchase orders may be issued to specialized vendors or contractors. (Prior code §2-107(5); Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-280. Emergency purchase or contract procedure; City Manager authority. In case of an apparent emergency, which requires immediate purchase of supplies, services or letting or change of construction contract, regardless of cost, the City Manager is empowered to authorize the using department head to procure such emergency needs by informal, open-market procedure as expeditiously as possible, at the lowest obtainable price. A full report of the circumstances shall be given the City Council at its next meeting. (Prior code §2-108; Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) Sec. 3-8-290. Mandatory requirements in all City contracts. Every contract executed by the City for construction of any public works or facility for the improvement of any public right-of-way or facility shall contain the following: A provision requiring the contractor performing the work for the City to comply with all applicable safety rules and regulations adopted by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment or adopted by the City, whichever is more restrictive; A provision requiring the contractor to provide evidence of workman's compensation coverage and liability insurance naming the City as a named insured in the liability insurance policy. (Prior code §2-109; Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975) ---PAGE BREAK--- Sec. 3-8-300. Rules and regulations. The City Manager shall administratively adopt rules and regulations implementing the provisions of this Article and shall publish the same under separate cover. (Prior code §2-110; Ord. 839 §1(part), 1975)