Okaloosa County BOCC — May 4, 2013 — reading text

to emergency purchases. (b) The Purchasing Department shall have the authority to deviate from normal purchasing practices to satisfy an emergency requirement, which includes the use of Purchasing Cards. The above deviations must be fully documented as to why they were necessary. b. If after regular work hours, during the weekend or on a holiday, (1) Contact the Purchasing Director or Staff and (a) Inform them of the emergency (b) Request a verbal approval to purchase (c) Give the Purchasing Department as much information as possible concerning the purchase. (1) Item(s) required (2) Estimated cost (3) Any other information about the purchase that is available. NOTE: A representative from the Purchasing Department should be contacted in the event of an emergency. However, if contact cannot be made, and the Department has established that a true emergency exists, the purchase should be obtained and administrative action taken on the following business day. (2) The affected department shall procure the item(s) required to rectify the emergency. The affected department shall use good judgment in 19 Packet Pg. 553  9.10.c.a procuring the required item(s) at the best possible price considering the circumstances of the emergency. (3) On the first business day following the emergency, the affected department shall electronically submit a completed requisition, if required, to the Purchasing Department. The requisition shall indicate: Attachment: Purchasing Manual-6 (post 3-19-13 meeting) CLEAN COPY (1553 : Revisions to the Purchasing Manual) (a) An emergency purchase (b) The price (unit and total cost) (c) Name of the vendor (d) A description of the item(s) (e) Quantities purchased (f) Any other information deemed necessary. (4) Upon receiving the completed Purchase Requisition from the affected department, the Purchasing Department shall complete the Purchase Order and process it through the Finance Department for certification of funds and legality of the purchase. c. Any emergency purchase. (1) The affected Department Director shall file with the Purchasing Department a statement certifying the conditions and circumstances requiring an emergency purchase. This shall be submitted within five (5) business days of the emergency purchase and shall include the purchase order number used in the emergency and complete details surrounding the event(s) that created the emergency. (2) The Purchasing Department will not formally approve any purchase order number under this provision as the burden of proof rests with the certifying Department Director; however, all statements will be reviewed by the Purchasing Department and should there be any reasonable doubt that an emergency existed; an opinion will be filed with the Internal Auditor. I. FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURES 1. The function of the Purchasing Department is to supply materials and/or supplies to fulfill requisitioning department requirements. This function is not complete until satisfactory delivery of such items has been confirmed. With assistance from the Purchasing Department, aggressive follow-up shall be made by the initiating department utilizing the following procedures: a. The Purchasing Department’s copy of the Purchase Order shall be placed in chronological order according to the purchase order number. All correspondence shall be documented on the Purchase Order. 20 Packet Pg. 554  9.10.c.a b. On specified date of delivery, the receiving department shall ascertain if complete delivery has been made. If not, the Supply Coordinator shall write or call the vendor and request specific reasons why delivery was not made as promised. Such communication shall be “logged” on the Department’s copy of the Purchase Order. A new, realistic delivery date shall then be determined if the vendor has a bona fide reason for delay of delivery. If not, the order is subject to cancellation. Attachment: Purchasing Manual-6 (post 3-19-13 meeting) CLEAN COPY (1553 : Revisions to the Purchasing Manual) c. If the initiating Department cannot resolve the problem, the Supply Coordinator shall notify the Purchasing Department (Buyer). The Purchasing Department shall make every effort to assist the initiating Department to fulfill the order. d. Continued broken promises, partial deliveries and/or poor service may result in the Purchasing Director evaluating such performance to determine if action to remove the vendor from the bid and quotation list is warranted. e. All follow-up action shall be documented in detail. J. PURCHASING SPECIFICATIONS 1. Specifications: An accurate description of materials or services to be purchased. a. As quality and service are as important as price, the Purchasing Department must be furnished with specifications that will fulfill, but not exceed, the requirements for which the materials and/or services are intended. b. In considering and developing specifications, be mindful that expenditures derived from public source and administered by public bodies cannot be expected to provide for “deluxe” or luxurious levels of quality. It is, therefore, necessary to follow a general policy toward the purchasing of good, standard grades of merchandise that represents an optimum relationship between quality and price, at all times consistent with providing a satisfactory level of service. c. Bids and quotations must be based upon adequate specifications. A lengthy specification composed or designed solely for the purpose of eliminating competition other than those able to supply a particular brand name commodity shall be prohibited. Actual brand name or common description should be used only when no other of its kind would be equally satisfactory. Specifications should be detailed so as to afford a basis for full and fair competitive bidding upon a common standard, and shall be free from restrictions that would stifle competition. d. Detailed lengthy specifications should be faxed or e-mailed directly to the Buyer handling the order. e. If contract is funded by a grant, the bid documents and contract may be subject to prior approval by the granting agency. 2. Responsibilities: The responsibility for purchase rests with the Purchasing Department and, therefore, a joint responsibility is shared with the requesting department for the specifications. Should modification or alteration to a specification to provide for competitive bidding be required, the Purchasing Director shall communicate such intent to the requesting department. Such communication shall include particularity as to why a change in specifications is desired and the extent and nature of such changes. 21 Packet Pg. 555  9.10.c.a K. BID INVITATION 1. Formal bid invitations are used when the County is capable of specifically defining the scope of work which a contractual service is required or when the County is capable of Attachment: Purchasing Manual-6 (post 3-19-13 meeting) CLEAN COPY (1553 : Revisions to the Purchasing Manual) establishing precise specifications defining the actual commodity or group of commodities required. a. Except in the case of an emergency, as defined in section 1.m. below, orders in excess of $50,000.00 shall be procured through bid invitations. b. The Purchasing Department shall maintain a list of approved vendors. Such list shall include a description of the vendor’s commodities, general price information, vendor contact information, Minority Business Enterprise, Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and Women-owned Business Enterprise status. c. Approved vendors shall be furnished a bid invitation that will indicate all pertinent information necessary to submit an accurate formal bid. It shall indicate the deadline for submitting sealed bids and the time and place for the pre-bid conference and the bid opening. d. The Purchasing Department may hold pre-bid conferences prior to bid openings. The Purchasing Director, representatives from the requesting department and the vendors interested in submitting a bid shall attend these conferences. The purpose of these conferences is to gain a common understanding of the bid specifications and to gain feedback from the private sector (vendors) concerning the specifications. e. At least 14 days prior to the date for opening the sealed bids, a notice shall be published in a local newspaper(s) announcing the bid invitation to provide all interested vendors, not on file in the Purchasing Department, the opportunity to submit a bid. f. On the time and date specified, the sealed bids shall be opened and recorded. The specifications shall be checked for accuracy and, where applicable, samples may be requested for testing. Tabulations shall be made available for review. g. The Tabulating Committee, consisting of the Purchasing Director and the Department Director involved, shall review the bids and recommend to the Board the recommended vendor(s) on a basis of the lowest and best bid meeting specifications. h. Awards and Rejections: (1) The Board, in its absolute discretion, may reject any bid from a bidder that