Chapter 34:  Purchasing

Section

34.01   Purchases in excess of $30,000
34.02   Purchases greater than $5,000 up to $30,000
34.03   Purchases greater than $500 and up to $5,000
34.04   Purchases less than $500
34.05   Non-Competitive Purchases
34.06   Emergency Purchases
34.07   Director of Purchasing
34.08   Miscellaneous




§ 34.01 Purchases in excess of $30,000

(a) Any purchase of services, materials, equipment, or supplies in excess of $30,000, other than professional services, shall be contracted for by a contract let to the lowest responsible bidder after advertising for bids in a newspaper published within the county.

(b) In determining the lowest responsible bidder, the County Board shall take into consideration the qualities of the articles supplied; their conformity with the specifications; their suitability to the requirements of the county; availability of support services; uniqueness of the service, materials,   equipment,   or   supplies   as   it applies to networked, integrated computer systems;  compatibility  to  existing equipment; and the delivery terms.   The County Board may also take into consideration whether a bidder is a private enterprise  or  a  state-controlled  enterprise and, notwithstanding any other provision of this Section or a lower bid by a state- controlled enterprise, may let a contract to the  lowest  responsible  bidder  that  is  a private enterprise.

(c) Contracts in cooperation with the Federal Government,  State  Government  or purchases of used equipment, purchases at auction  or  similar  transactions  which  by their very nature are not suitable to competitive bids, or purchases pursuant to the Illinois Governmental Joint Purchasing Act   may   be   made   accordingly   without formal  bids  by  the  County,  but  will otherwise meet the requirements of this Ordinance.

(d)  The   County  may  award   a  contract without advertising for bids in the case of purchases and contracts, when individual orders do not exceed $35,000, for the use, purchase,  delivery,  movement,  or installation of data processing equipment, software,  or  services  and telecommunications and inter-connect equipment, software and services. Such contracts shall require the Purchasing Department  to  obtain  reasonable competition by written quotation for the services, material, equipment, or supplies being purchased. Award shall be made to business offering lowest acceptable quotation. Adequate records to document the competition shall be maintained.  No award shall  be  made  without  prior  appropriation and current amounts available in such fund for payment and approval by the appropriate County Board oversight committee and the County Finance & Government Operations Committee.

(e) All purchases in excess of $30,000, or $35,000 for purchases and services outlined in (d), shall require approval of the County Board.  Upon the receipt of bids or quotes in all such cases, the County Board shall have the final approval of the award of the contract.  Such proposals shall be brought to the County Board after review by the appropriate County Board Oversight Committee and the Finance Government Operations Committee.

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§ 34.02 Purchases greater than $5,000 and up to $30,000.

Any purchase greater than $ 5,000 and up to $30,000 may be made by the appropriate Department Head by having the Purchasing Director  obtain  adequate  and  reasonable competition by written quotation for the services, materials, equipment or supplies being purchased. Award shall be made to the business offering the lowest acceptable quotation. Adequate records to document the competition shall be maintained. No award shall  be  made  without  prior  appropriation and current amounts available in such fund for payment and prior approval of the appropriate County Board Oversight Committee and the County Finance & Government Operations Committee.

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§ 34.03 Purchases greater than $500 and up to $5,000

Any purchase greater than $500 and up to $5,000  may  be  made  by  the  appropriate Department Head by having the Purchasing Director obtain adequate and reasonable competition by written or oral quotation for the  services,  materials,  equipment  or supplies being purchased. Award shall be made to the business offering the lowest acceptable quotation. Adequate records to document the competition shall be maintained. No award shall be made without prior appropriation and current amounts available in such fund for payment.

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§ 34.04 Purchases of $500 or less.

Purchases of $500 or less may be made at the discretion of the Purchasing Director and the Department Head.

§ 34.05 Non-Competitive Purchases.

A purchase may be awarded without competitive bidding when a Department Head, with the approval of the Director of Purchasing, determines in writing, after conducting in good faith effort by reviewing the available sources, that the purchase by its very nature is not suitable to competitive bids  or  proposals. Examples of  purchases that may not be suitable for competitive bids or proposals are as follows:

(a) There is only one source for the required supply, equipment, service or construction item.
(b) A sole supplier’s item that is required for trial use or testing: patented or proprietary items with only one
     manufacturer, contractor or only one dealer in the area.
(c) Used equipment.
(d) Purchases at auction.
(e) Certain maintenance contracts which are limited to only one source for the highest qualified provider.

While non-competitive purchases may not require  formal  or  informal  bidding,  they shall require prior approval and oversight as described  in  Sections  34.01,  34.02,  34.03 and 34.04 of Chapter 34: Purchasing.

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§ 34.06 Emergency Purchases

(Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Ordinance, a Department Head may enter into an emergency contract for the procurement of services, materials, equipment and supplies when there exists a threat to public health, welfare, or safety, or to prevent or minimize serious disruption of government service; provided that such emergency procurements shall be made with such competition as is practicable under the circumstances.  A  written  determination  of the basis of the emergency and for the selection of the particular contractor shall be included in the contract file and shall be presented to the appropriate County Board Oversight Committee and the Finance Government Operations Committee. For all emergency   procurements   of   $30,000   or more, the Appropriate County Board Oversight Committee and the Finance Government Operations Committee shall review the actions taken and shall report to the County Board regarding such purchases. In addition, the department head shall notify the appropriate Oversight Committee chair, the Director of Purchasing & Support Services, or the Director of Administration prior to entering into such contract if practicable under the circumstances; and if no such prior notification is possible, then within 24 hours after the award of such contract.

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§ 34.07 Director of Purchasing

 

A. The Director of Purchasing shall serve as the principal public purchasing official for the County, and shall be responsible for the procurement of services, materials, equipment, supplies, and construction in accordance with this Ordinance. The Purchasing Director shall report to the County Administrator, the Finance Government Operations Committee; and shall coordinate and cooperate with all County Board committees, County departments’ heads and all elected officials. Consistent with this Ordinance and with the approval of the Finance Government Operations Committee, the Purchasing Director may adopt purchasing guidelines and regulations related to the execution of the duties of this position.

B. The Purchasing Agent shall assist the Purchasing Director in the performance of the Director’s duties and the Director may designate the Agent to perform any of the Director’s duties to expedite and fulfill the purposes of this Ordinance.

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§ 34.08 Miscellaneous 

A. Purchases by the County Highway Superintendent shall be in accordance with this Ordinance, except that such purchases shall be reported to and approved by the County Board Highway Committee, and where appropriate forwarded to the County Board for report or approval.

B. This Ordinance requires that all parties involved in the procurement, negotiation, performance,  or  administration  of  any County contracts act in good faith. Contract requirements shall not be artificially divided so  as  to  avoid  the  requirements  of  this Ordinance.

C.  It  is  the  intent  of  this  Ordinance  to comply with all applicable Federal and State purchasing requirements, including the Illinois Counties Code. The County acknowledges that in the letting of a particular contract the procedures may vary depending upon the requirements of the Federal or State Funding source, the nature of the purchase or other requirements. This could  include  but  is  not  limited  to  the Illinois Joint Purchasing Act, the Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications Based Selection Act, and any other applicable law, rule or regulation. Whenever permitted by law, the requirements of this Ordinance shall provide the minimum standards for the letting of contracts by the County. Nothing in this Ordinance shall prevent any County agency from complying with the terms and conditions of any grant, gift, bequest or co- operative purchasing agreement that is otherwise consistent with the law.

D. It is recognized that certain officers/agencies may have independent statutory authority to purchase their own services, materials equipment and supplies. These officers/agencies are encouraged to participate  in  the  County  purchasing program.

E. Any actual or prospective bidder may appeal a decision of the Director of Purchasing by the filing of a timely, written protest to the Director of Purchasing stating the basis of the appeal. Such appeal shall be reviewed by the  Chairman  of  County Finance & Government Operations Committee,  the  County  Administrator  and the Purchasing Director (and, where applicable, the appropriate county official), whose decision shall be final.



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