(A) Definition. The term CONTRACTUAL SERVICES, for the purpose of this section, means services performed for the town by persons not in the employ of the town, and may include the use of equipment or the furnishing of commodities in connection with such services under express or implied contract. CONTRACTUAL SERVICES includes travel; freight; express; parcel post; postage; telephone; telegraph; utilities; rents; repairs, alterations and maintenance of buildings, equipment, streets and bridges, and other physical facilities of the town; and other services performed for the town by persons not in the employ of the town.
(B) Authority.
(1) All purchases of supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services for the town shall be made by the town’s Board of Trustees or pursuant to authorizations granted by it.
(2) The town purchasing authority shall contract for and purchase all supplies, materials and equipment for the offices, departments and agencies of the town. The purchasing authority may also transfer to or between offices, departments and agencies, or sell surplus or obsolete supplies, materials and equipment.
(C) Purchases requiring Board approval and bidding; procedures.
(1) Before a contract shall be entered into, or any such purchase made involving the expenditure of more than $25,000, or any sale made of property, the value of which is more than $1,000, such contract or sale shall:
(a) Be approved by the town’s Board of Trustees;
(b) Be submitted for competitive bidding, except as provided in this section; and
(c) Have written notice given by the town purchasing authority for sealed bids for the furnishing of such supplies, materials or equipment where competitive bidding is required hereunder.
(2) The notice required in this division (C) shall state the time and place for filing the bids, shall contain an ample description of the supplies, materials and equipment to be purchased or sold, the time and place the bids will be opened, and that all bids may be rejected.
(3) The bids shall be in writing and sealed and filed with the town’s Clerk-Treasurer prior to the time they are to be opened. The bids may be rejected or the town may readvertise for bids, or after due consideration thereof, may award a contract to purchase such supplies, materials or equipment from the lowest and best responsible bidder. However, the town purchasing authority may, at his or her option, purchase any such materials, supplies and equipment through central purchasing of the state.
(D) Bidding not required. The following may be purchased without giving an opportunity for competitive bidding:
(1) Supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services where cost does not exceed $25,000 in a single transaction;
(2) Supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services which can be furnished only by a single dealer or a sole source vendor, or which have a uniform price wherever bought;
(3) Supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services purchased from another unit of government at a price deemed below that obtainable from private dealers, including war surplus, or purchased at auction at a price deemed below that obtainable elsewhere;
(4) Contractual services (gas, electricity, telephone service and the like) purchased from a public utility at a price or rate determined by the state’s Corporation Commission or other government authority;
(5) Supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services when purchased at a price not exceeding a price set therefor by the state purchasing agency or any other state agency authorized to regulate prices for things purchased by the state (whether such price is determined by a contract negotiated with a vendor or otherwise);
(6) Contractual services of a professional nature, such as engineering, architectural, medical and legal services; or
(7) When an emergency is declared to exist. In that situation only, the Mayor and Town Clerk- Treasurer are authorized to approve necessary expenditures of the town for amounts up to $5,000 per purchase.
(Prior Code, § 2-1-8) (Res. 2010-1, passed 3-8-2010)