I. Overview

The purpose of this policy is to secure for the district's taxpayers the advantages and economies of centralized control over the purchase of supplies, materials, equipment, goods and services. This policy shall also provide for purchasing procedures in compliance with Government Code Section 54201 et.seq. The Board of Directors authorizes the Fire Chief, or a person appointed by the Fire Chief, the authority to purchase, negotiate to purchase or contract for goods, services, supplies or equipment as necessary for the function and operation of the District. Anyone involved in purchasing shall comply with the purchasing procedures outlined herein; procure items at the lowest possible cost without compromising the quality of that purchase; and to make all purchases in a professional and ethical manner.

II. DEFINITIONS

A. Bid - Same as proposal, except may be verbal.

B. Bidder - An individual, firm, or corporation, or representative thereof, submitting a bid or proposal to furnish and/or deliver specific items or to perform or execute contemplated work or services.

C. Equipment - means any and all articles or things related to the business function of the district office, the maintenance and operation of district sites and facilities, or for items related to programs or human services offered by the district, usually having a useful life of three or more years. Equipment may also qualify as a "fixed asset", depending upon its useful life and value.

D. Invitation to Bid - An invitation, extended to a vendor by telephone, fax or letter, inviting a quotation for furnishing and/or delivering specific items, or to perform or execute contemplated work or services.

E. Purchasing Agent - The Fire Chief, or person appointed by the Fire Chief, acting within the scope of delegated authority.

F. Proposal - The written offer of a bidder to furnish and/or deliver specific items, or perform and execute work or services.

G. Services - means regular utilities services, such as telephone, gas, water, electricity, or trash services; the rental of equipment or machinery; or servicing of equipment or machinery.

H. Successful Bidder - An individual, firm, corporation, qualified representative thereof, capable of delivering materials or supplies, or performing or executing the contemplated work or service required by the District.

I. Supplies, and/or Materials, and/or Goods - means any and all articles or things which could be furnished to or used by the district, in the operation of the district office, or for the operation and maintenance of district sites and facilities, or for items related to programs or human services offered by the district, which are expendable.

III. Procedure

A. Procurement of Supplies, Materials, Equipment, Goods; or Services (hereinafter "Goods or Services"). Purchase orders shall be used on all purchases as outlined in Use of Purchase Orders.

1. When procuring goods or services costing less than $1,000, price competition is not required, but is encouraged.

2. When procuring goods or services costing between $1,000 and $10,000, price competition shall be secured by obtaining at least three verbal or written quotations. Verbal quotations shall be confirmed in writing prior to any purchase.

3. When procuring goods or services costing over $10,000, price competition will be obtained by formal advertising. Notice inviting bids shall be publicized according to formal bid procedures included herein.

B. Bid Policies For Goods and Services

1. Purchasing agent and the employees of the district are expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person, company, firm or corporation, to which a purchase order or contract is or might be awarded, any rebate, gift, money, or anything of value.

2. Award of Bid - If a bid is awarded, the bid will be made to the lowest and/or best responsible and qualified bidder whose proposal complies with the prescribed requirement or is comparable in quality. In determining the lowest responsible bidder, and in recognition of greater accessibility of a product from a source within the county, 5% of the bid price may be deducted from the bid of those vendors within the county. (This deduction is for qualifying the bid, but not a deduction in the bid amount).

3. Rejection of Bids - Until an award of bid is made, the Purchasing Agent reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to accept one part and reject another, and to waive technical defects, if to do so best serves the interests of the district.

C. Bidding Regulations

1. Deviations From Instructions - All quotations submitted to the district which do not substantially comply with the instructions for bidding, may be rejected, whether the invitation to bid be by telephone, letter, or Notice Inviting Bid, or Request For Proposal. Any unauthorized condition, limitation, provision, or substitute item by the bidder in a quotation may be cause for bid rejection.

2. Price Discrepancies - Other than in obvious cases to the contrary, the bid price shown in words, in a written proposal, shall take precedence over the bid price shown in numbers, should any discrepancy exist. Also, other than obvious cases to the contrary, the bid price shown in the unit price will take precedence over the unit extension.

3. Bid Closing Date and Hour - No bids received after a bid closing date and hour will be considered.

4. Bonds - Bid deposits and performance bonds shall be furnished to the district by all bidders when and as specified by the purchasing agent.

D. Bidder Prequalifications

The purchasing agent may require prequalification of bidders and may require bidders to provide information for the purpose of preparing and maintaining lists of qualified bidders. Prequalification shall be based on any available information, including but not limited to information provided by the bidder. A bidder's name may be removed from the list of qualified bidders for any of the following reasons:

1. Failure to respond to questionnaires issued by the Administrator or to provide a financial statement or other information as may be requested;

2. Failure to respond to three consecutive invitations or requests for bids or quotations on a service or item offered by the bidder;

3. Failure to satisfactorily perform under a previous purchase order or contract;

4. Failure to respond to any inquiry from the Fire Chief or purchasing agent regarding whether the bidder continues to be interested in doing business with the district;

5. Submission to the purchasing agent by the bidder of a written request to be removed from the list of qualified bidders;

6. Change in qualifications of a bidder to the extent that s/he no longer meets the minimum requirements applicable to bidders offering the services or items offered by the bidder.

E. Formal Bid Procedure

Notices inviting formal bids shall include a general description of the article or service desired and shall state where bid documents and specifications may be secured, and the time and place for opening the bids.

The purchasing agent will publish notices inviting formal bids. The notice shall be published at least once, not less than two weeks prior to the bid closing.

Sealed bids shall be submitted to the purchasing agent and shall be identified as bids on the envelope. The purchasing agent shall publicly open all bids at the time and place stated in the public notice, and shall tabulate the results. All bids received will be available for public inspection in the purchasing office for a period of at least 30 days following the bid opening.

F. Exceptions to Competitive Bidding

Competitive bidding may be dispensed with in of the following instances:

1. When the estimated amount involved is less than $1,000.

2. When the commodity or service can be obtained from only one vendor or source.

3. The purchase of fire apparatus. A formal bid procedure is not mandatory but may be used.

4. The Fire Chief may authorize the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment and services where an emergency is deemed to exist and it is determined that service involving the public health, safety and welfare would be interrupted if normal bidding procedures were followed. All emergency purchases which would otherwise require formal bidding procedures shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for ratification at the next Board Meeting after the purchase is authorized by the Fire Chief.

G. Cash Purchase Requiring Reimbursement

Some situations may require that cash or checks be provided at the time the goods or services are secured or provided. These situations are exceptions to the normal purchasing procedures, and may be allowed under the following conditions:

1. With prior approval of the Fire Chief, direct or contract employees may expend personal funds for goods or services. That person must immediately submit any and all receipts to the district office, where said receipts shall be identified as "reimbursement", and entered into the district's accounting department for processing of the reimbursement. All warrant/claim orders shall clearly indicate that the item is a "reimbursement" for goods or services, and to what that reimbursement is related (grounds, office, programs, etc.).

2. Use of purchase orders shall be necessary where the vendor requires the completion of a purchase order as requirement of shipping, billing or invoicing the district for goods or services. A copy of the purchase order should be filed with the invoice and accounting records of the district.

H. Sale of Surplus Property

Whenever any item of property is no longer needed by the district, it may be considered as a surplus item, and be set aside for disposal. Disposal of items shall be governed by the following criteria:

1. If the item is damaged beyond repair, or has no useful life, it may be disposed of as refuse. Recycling of paper goods, or any other material item, is highly encouraged.

2. If the item is in a useful or operable condition, and it is valued at less than $100.00, it may be donated to another public agency, service club or group, or non-profit organization.

3. If the item is in a useful or operable condition, and it is valued at more than $100.00, the item may be offered for sale to another public agency, service club or group, or non-profit organization. The Board of Directors shall approve or ratify the sale of any surplus items in this category.

4. Items not donated or purchased by another public agency, service club or group, or non-profit organization, may be offered for sale to the public. Said items shall be approved for surplus sale by the Board of Directors to the highest bidder, either by sealed bid or by public auction. The public sale of any district owned property shall be publicized at least one time in a newspaper of general circulation, at least five days preceding the sale of said surplus property.

I. Use of Purchase Orders

A. Any purchase more than $25.00 shall receive a verbal approval from a chief officer before filling out a purchase order form.

B. Any purchase less than $25.00 shall receive a verbal approval from a captain or chief officer before filling out a purchase order form.

C. After receiving a verbal approval, obtain a purchase order from the district office and fill out the purchase order log.

D. Fill-out all necessary information (see sample) on the purchase order, then submit for signature to the officer that gave the verbal approval.

E. After the purchase order has been signed the pink copy will be left in the district office. The other two copies will be given to the supplier.

F. After making the purchase the supplier's invoice shall be returned to the district office to be matched with the purchase order. The District will allow certain suppliers to have open purchase orders. Employees shall advise a chief officer if they will be making a purchase for more than $25.00.

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