(A) Generally. The following are the purchasing rules for the town.
(B) Purchase of supplies manufactured in the United States. Supplies manufactured in the United States shall be specified for all town purchases and shall be purchased unless the town determines that:
(1) The supplies are not manufactured in the United States in reasonably available quantities;
(2) The price of the supplies manufactured in the United States exceeds by an unreasonable amount the price of available and comparable supplies manufactured elsewhere;
(3) The quality of supplies manufactured in the United States is substantially less than the quality of comparably priced available supplies manufactured elsewhere; or
(4) The purchase of supplies manufactured in the United States is not in the public interest.
(C) Protection of offers; status of documents as public records.
(1) Protection of offers prior to opening. The purchasing agent shall retain all offers received in a secure location prior to the date and time at which offers will be opened in order to prevent disclosure of the contents prior to the opening of the offers.
(2) Unobstructed evaluation of offers. After offers have been opened, the purchasing agent shall be responsible for maintaining the offers in a manner so as to permit evaluation of the offers by the persons responsible for evaluating the offers. The purchasing agents shall maintain the offers in their own offices, as well as a duplicate set of records in the office of the Clerk-Treasurer.
(3) Public record status of bids. Bids submitted in response to an invitation for bids must be available for public inspection and copying after the time of the bid opening. Accepted bids with all necessary accompanying documentation will be kept for inspection in the designated cabinets.
(4) Register of proposals. The purchasing agent shall prepare a register of proposals for each request for proposals issued which shall contain information concerning the proposals available for public inspection and copying. Proposals may not be disclosed. A copy of the register will also be kept in the designated cabinet.
(5) Discussions with offeror responding to a request for proposals. The purchasing agent may conduct discussions with, and best and final offers may be obtained from, responsible offerors who submit proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for a contract award.
(6) Delay of opening of offers. When the Town Council makes a written determination that it is in the town's best interests, offers may be opened after the time stated in the solicitation. The date, time and place of the rescheduled opening must be announced at the time and place of the originally scheduled opening.
(D) (1) Purchases less than $25,000. The purchasing agent may not require evidence of financial responsibility when the estimated cost of a purchase is less than $25,000.
(2) Purchases between $25,000 and $100,000. The solicitation may include a requirement that an offeror provide evidence of financial responsibility. If evidence of financial responsibility is required, the solicitation must indicate the kind of evidence that will be acceptable. If a bond or certified check is required, it may not exceed 10% of the estimated cost of the purchase.
(3) Purchases over $100,000. The solicitation shall include a requirement that an offeror provide evidence of financial responsibility, and must indicate the kind of evidence that will be acceptable. If a bond or certified check is required, it may not exceed 10% of the estimated cost of purchase.
(4) Retention of bonds or checks. Checks and other evidence of financial responsibility shall be retained in a secure place.
(E) Modification and termination of contracts.
(1) Price adjustments. The purchasing agent may include provisions to permit price adjustments in a purchase contract. The following provisions for price adjustments may be included:
(a) Price adjustments must be computed by agreement on a fixed price adjustment before the beginning of the pertinent performance or as soon after the beginning of a performance as possible;
(b) Price adjustments must be computed by unit prices specified in the contract or subsequently agreed upon;
(c) Price adjustments must be computed by costs attributable to the events or situations under the clauses with adjustment of profit or fee, all as specified in the contract or subsequently agreed upon;
(d) Price adjustments must be computed in such other manner as the contracting parties may mutually agree upon; or
(e) In the absence of agreement by the parties, price adjustments must be computed by a unilateral determination by the governmental body of the costs attributable to the events or situations under the clauses with adjustment of profit or fee, all as computed by the governmental body in accordance with applicable rules adopted by the governmental body.
(2) Adjustments in time or performance. The purchasing agent may include provisions in a purchase contract concerning adjustments for time or performance under the contract.
(3) Unilateral rights of town. The purchasing agent may include in a purchase contract provisions dealing with the unilateral right of the town to order changes in the work within the scope of the contract or to order temporary work stoppage or delays in time or performance.
(4) Quantity variations. The purchasing agent may include in a purchase contract, provisions dealing with variations between the estimated quantities of work in a contract and the actual quantity delivered.
(F) Purchase of services.
(1) The town determines that each elected town official may purchase services in whatever manner the purchaser deems to be reasonable.
(2) The town purchasing agency may not require any town purchasing agent or any town-elected official to purchase services in any particular manner; except that the purchase of services that exceed $500 shall be approved by the town purchasing agency.
(G) Town and state business preference.
(1) Qualification. An offeror is a state business if its principal place of business operations is in the state and the business is owned or operated by a citizen and resident of the state or is incorporated within the state. An offeror is a town business if its principal place of business operations is in the town, or it is owned or operated by a town citizen or resident.
(2) State business preferences. State business preferences shall be applied as follows:
(a) It is the intent of the town to do business locally. If a town business is an offeror, the town recognizes that service is more likely to be quicker and more readily available by a town business and thus prefers doing business in town if the same products, supplies and services can be purchased for the same price, taking into account the time spent in acquiring the services, supplies and products from a business not defined as a town business, including the cost of driving, labor and other like expenses.
(b) The town prefers doing business in the state and the town.
(H) Publication of notices, invitation for bids.
(1) Generally.
(a) All notices of invitation for bids shall be published in accordance with I.C. 5-3-1 in the Culver Citizen.
(b) The purchasing agent shall schedule the publication of notice to provide a reasonable amount of time for preparation and submission of bids. A notice will be published two times, at least one week apart. The second publication must occur at least ten days prior to the date the bids will be open.
(2) Request for specifications. All notices of request for specification shall be published in accordance with I.C. 5-3-1 in the Culver Citizen. The purchasing agent shall schedule the publication of notice to provide a reasonable amount of time for preparation and submission of proposals. The notice will be published two times, at least one week apart. The second publication must occur at least seven days prior to the date the proposal will be opened.
(3) Electronic notices. Whenever a notice or other material, including specifications, and invitation for bids, requests for proposals or requests for specifications is sent by mail, the purchasing agent may also send the notice or other material by electronic means, provided that the transmission of the information is at least as efficient as mailing the information.
(I) Receiving offers.
(1) Opening of offers.
(a) Bids received in response to an invitation for bids must be opened publicly in the presence of at least one or more witnesses at the time and place designated in the invitation for bids.
(b) Proposals received in response to request for proposals must be opened to avoid disclosure of the contents to competing offerors during the process of negotiation.
(c) Proposals received in response to a request for specifications may be opened as specified in division (H)(2).
(2) Electronic receipt of offers.
(a) The purchasing agent may receive electronic offers in response to an invitation to bid, request for proposals or a request for specification.
(b) An electronic offer may only be received if:
1. The solicitation includes a procedure for the electronic transmission of the offer;
2. The purchasing agency receives the offer on a fax machine or other system with a security feature that protects the contents of an electronic offer with the same degree of protection as provided to an offer not transmitted electronically.
(J) Correction and withdrawal of bids.
(1) An offeror may correct inadvertent errors in a bid up to the time at which bids will be opened by supplementing the erroneous bid and submitting a revised bid. A bidder may not supplement an inadvertently erroneous bid after the time at which the bids were opened.
(2) A bidder may withdraw a bid containing inadvertent errors up to the time at which bids will be opened and for a period of not more than 24 hours after the time at which the bids were opened.
(K) Cancellation of solicitation. When the purchasing agent makes a written determination that it is in the town's best interest, the purchasing agent may cancel a solicitation or reject all offers, provided that the solicitation included information concerning the procedure for cancellation.
(L) Small purchases.
(1) The purchasing agent may purchase supplies with an estimated cost of less than $500 per purchase on the open market without inviting or receiving quotes, and without receiving any additional approvals from the purchasing agency.
(2) All purchasing agents shall complete the required forms as required by statute, and a copy of the forms are attached hereto and made a part hereof.
(Ord. 98-007, passed 7-28-1998)