(A) Central purchasing for all offices, departments, divisions, boards, and commissions of the village is placed under the direction of the Village Administrator.
(B) The Village Administrator shall make contracts, purchase supplies or materials, and provide labor for any work of the village consistent with this section.
(C) When any expenditure is anticipated to cost more than $5,000, the Village Administrator shall first obtain Council’s approval.
(D) The Village Administrator shall follow all bidding and contracting practices required by statute.
(E) The following purchasing procedures are adopted.
(1) All purchases will require a purchase order requesting the purchase and designating the account from which funds will be encumbered for this purchase, signed by the department supervisor, which must then be signed by the village’s Fiscal Officer certifying that funds are available for purchase, and finally by the Village Administrator authoring the purchase to be made. All purchases that did not follow proper procedures must be reviewed by the Finance Committee and then approved by Council prior to payment being made. In the absence of the Village Administrator (three business days), the Mayor along with one member of the Finance Committee may approve purchase orders (both signatures are required for approval). All purchase orders must be obtained prior to completing the purchase.
(2) The department supervisor shall not separate or divide a purchase in an effort to circumvent the requirements for a purchase order, or to avoid competitive bids. For any purchase exceeding $500, the Department Supervisor will secure two or more quotations or bids for the items or materials to be purchased. These quotations will be forwarded to the Village Administrator along with the purchase order. Multiple quotations will not be required if there is only one local vendor or supplier of a particular product or service, or for emergency purposes.
(3) Blanket purchase orders will be issued each month for those vendors that do frequent business with the village, establishing a maximum amount which may be purchased from that vendor during the month. This will avoid the problem of multiple, small purchase orders for very small individual purchases. Blanket purchase orders will also be issued for those regular and relatively consistent purchases such as utility accounts, gasoline vendors, and similar monthly services.
(4) This policy does not preclude emergency purchases authorized by a Department Superintendent and required for the continuation of necessary public services or public safety. Those purchases will be reviewed by the Village Administrator at a later time to verify that the purchases were necessary and reasonable. This procedure also does not apply to purchases made with a village credit card by those persons authorized to use the card for travel expenses, conference registrations, and the like. The use of village credit cards for routine operating expenditures will, however, require a purchase order before the purchase can be completed.
(5) (a) The Village Administrator is authorized to approve any purchase up to an amount of $5,000 without approval from Village Council as long as funds have been appropriated within the designated budget fund. If sufficient funds are not available, the purchase shall be either delayed until Council adjusts appropriations or Council authorizes the purchase from another account. Purchases in excess of $5,000 must be discussed with the Finance Committee and will require a motion of a member of the Finance Committee to Council and approval by majority vote of Council.
(b) Failure to follow these procedures will result in disciplinary action being taken.
(Ord. 09-36, passed 8-17-2009)