PURCHASING PROCEDURES: District Policies

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1 PURCHASING PROCEDURES: District Policies 720 Selecting Professional Services 721 Purchasing Policies and Bidding 722 Bid Protest Resolution 723 School Construction and Facilities Operations Bid 724 Protest of Construction and Facilities Operations Bids 725 Prequalification of Contractors for Educational Facilities Construction 726 Change Orders Construction Florida Statutes F.S Standards of Conduct for Public Officers & Employees; Doing Business with One s Agency F.S Inspection, Examination and Duplication of Public Records F.S (3) Procedures for Resolution of Bid Protests F.S. 218 Local Government Prompt Payment Act F.S Public Meetings & Records; Public Inspection F.S Preference to Florida Businesses F.S Preference to Business with Drug-Free Workplace Program (Tie Bids) F.S Public Entity Crime F.S Purchasing State Board of Education Rules 6A Purchasing Policies Mission The mission of the Purchasing Department is to obtain the highest quality goods and services for the best price. To achieve this goal, the District utilizes a fair, open and transparent competitive solicitation process. The Purchasing Department will assist all departments with purchasing needs while maximizing the use of public funds. It will further aim to determine the sources and availability of needed products and to procure products which meet the explicit requirements of the departments at the least cost to the District. Purchasing Authority Procurement of supplies, materials, equipment, and services paid for from School District funds, shall be the responsibility of the Purchasing Department under the general supervision of the Superintendent or designee. All purchases of goods or services, including rentals, leases and contracts, must be properly authorized. Purchasing Requirements and Thresholds The District has established two main purchasing thresholds. Purchases of like commodities or contractual services shall not be divided or split in order to circumvent these monetary threshold requirements. 1

2 1. Purchases Greater Than $5, and up to $25, Require a minimum of three (3) written quotes. The quotes are evaluated based on price and specifications. The vendor offering the lowest responsive, responsible price that meets the specifications will be issued a purchase order. 2. Purchases Greater Than $25, Competitive solicitations (bids) shall be utilized for the purchase(s) of like commodities or contractual services which, in aggregate, are greater than $25, per fiscal year. The Purchasing Department is required to obtain Board approval to advertise for the bid and to award the bid. In certain instances, the District may have an existing solicitation or there may be an appropriate state contract or an appropriate state, local or school district piggyback bid which may be used in lieu of three quotes or competitive solicitation. If a purchase is thought to be a single (sole) source, the Purchasing Department will post a description of the desired commodity or service on the District website for at least 7 business days and request that prospective vendors provide information regarding their ability to supply the commodities or contractual services described. If it is determined in writing by the District, after reviewing any information received from prospective vendors that the commodities or contractual services are available only from a sole source, the District will provide notice of its intended decision to enter into a sole source purchase in the manner specified in s (3). After reviewing the required quotes/bids, the purchase shall be awarded to the lowest vendor, unless there is written documentation to support selection of a vendor based on factors other than the lowest cost. Upon request, the Purchasing Department is available to assist with gathering quotes. responses and online website screenshots are an acceptable written quote. Non-responses do not constitute a written quote. All quotes must be scanned into the purchasing system and attached to the purchase order request. Exceptions to the purchasing requirements and thresholds above are for items purchased: On the basis of an established state contract Through an approved online procurement Under emergency situations approved by the Superintendent As contracts or commitments for educational or professional services Which are otherwise exempted from bidding by Florida Statutes or State Board of Education rules Purchase Order Requisitions Purchase order requests are initiated by the individual department. The following information must be entered into the online purchasing system in order to initiate the requisition process: Date of requisition Vendor and description of items to be purchased Quantity Account Strip (fund, function, object, center, and project number) Cost of item Applicable attachments for quotes and bids Approval of Purchase Order Requisitions Purchase order requisitions are routed through three levels of approval: 2

3 Level One Principal/Department Director Level Two Purchasing Department Level Three CFO or Director of Finance Purchase requisitions using federal funds or for textbooks have an additional level of approval. After the requisition has been approved on all levels, it is batched and assigned a purchase order (P.O.) number. The Purchasing Department is responsible for ensuring that the requisition includes: An adequate description of the item(s) being purchased The correct account code The amount of the purchase is correct and is in accordance with contracts, if applicable Adequate documentation for amounts greater than $5,000 and $25,000 Increasing a Purchase Order A total increase in the price of a purchase order, in excess of 10% or $50.00, whichever is greater, must be authorized by the Principal/Director and the Director of Finance/CFO. An increase to a purchase order is handled in much the same way as the issuance of an original purchase order. The department requesting the increase shall submit to the Purchasing Department a Purchase Order Increase Form indicating the original purchase order number and the reason for the increase, i.e.; increase in quantity, addition of items, etc. Closing and Cancelling Purchase Orders Individual departments are responsible for maintaining their purchase orders by reviewing open purchase orders on a frequent basis to close-out purchase orders with residual values or that are no longer needed. An must be sent to the Purchasing Department when requesting a Purchase Order Close-out. Competitive Solicitation Process The Purchasing Department is responsible for the competitive solicitation process, which includes Invitation to Bid (ITB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and Invitation to Negotiate (ITN). Invitation to Bid (ITB) The Invitation to Bid is used for the purchase of commodities or services that the District is able to specifically define. Because the ITB defines the specific commodity or service, the only difference among the bids is cost. Generally, the ITB is awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder(s), unless there is written documentation to support the selection of a bidder other than the lowest cost. The Purchasing Department is responsible for developing the Invitation to Bid document. However, the requesting school/department must provide clear, detailed specifications (scope) that promote maximum and fair competition and result in obtaining best value and ensuring good stewardship of the taxpayer funds. The bid shall contain all applicable terms and conditions prescribed by Federal, State, and School Board Policies and regulations. The ITB is advertised in accordance with District policy and is posted to the District s online purchasing website. An is sent to all vendors listed on the master vendor list for the particular commodity or service. The vendors 3

4 are responsible for downloading the ITB document and submitting the bid in accordance with the ITB by the required date and time to the Purchasing Department. All bidder names shall be read aloud at a public opening immediately following the bid deadline. A District evaluation team will review the bids to determine the lowest, responsive and responsible bidder(s) that meet all specifications, terms and conditions. An agenda item will be submitted to the School Board by the Purchasing Department to recommend award of the ITB. The ITB process takes approximately six (6) to eight (8) weeks. In the event of a tie bid, FS Preference to Business with Drug-Free Workplace Program shall be applied. Request for Proposal (RFP) The Request for Proposal shall be utilized for the purchase of commodities or services that cannot be evaluated based on cost alone because the scope cannot be fully defined or when the District is requesting that a vendor propose a commodity, group of commodities, or contractual service to meet the specifications of the solicitation. An RFP enables the District to award the contract to one or more proposers in accordance with the selection criteria published in the solicitation document. In an RFP, the scope of work, requirements and evaluation criteria are listed along with any other requirements. The evaluation committee evaluates the proposals in accordance with a predetermined point system and invites the top-ranked firms to present or interview with the evaluation committee. After the presentations/interviews, the evaluation committee scores the firms in accordance with the point system and finalizes the list of top-ranked firm(s). An agenda item will be submitted to the School Board by the Purchasing Department to recommend award of the RFP. Where applicable, a negotiation team appointed by the Purchasing Department completes the negotiations and finalizes the contract. An agenda item will be submitted to the School Board by the Purchasing Department to recommend award of the RFP and associated contract(s). The RFP process takes approximately nine (9) to twelve (12) weeks. Request for Qualifications Competitive Consultants Negotiation Act (RFQ - CCNA) A Request for Qualifications (RFQ CCNA) is utilized for services as outlined in Sections , , and , Florida Statutes. The RFQ applies to architectural, engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, mapping, construction management and design/build. In accordance with the CCNA, price is not considered when evaluating firms for RFQ - CCNA. The evaluation committee evaluates the proposals in accordance with a predetermined point system and invites the top-ranked firms to present or interview with the evaluation committee. After the presentations/interviews, the evaluation committee scores the firms in accordance with the point system and finalizes the list of top-ranked firm(s). An agenda item will be submitted to the School Board by the Purchasing Department to recommend award of the RFQ. Where applicable, a negotiation team appointed by the Purchasing Department completes the negotiations and finalizes the contract. An agenda item will be submitted to the School Board by the Purchasing Department to recommend award of the RFQ and associated contract(s).this process takes approximately six (6) to twelve (12) weeks. Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) In cases where an ITB or an RFP are not practicable and will not result in the best value to the District, the Purchasing Department may determine that an Invitation to Negotiate is the proper competitive solicitation process to obtain the required commodities or services. This process may be utilized when specifications cannot be defined, or there are unknown areas, volatile markets, etc. In an ITN, the scope of work, requirements and evaluation criteria 4

5 are listed along with other requirements. These components are evaluated by a selection committee according to a point system as listed in the proposal. The selection committee agrees upon the choice of the top-ranked firms, and then the Purchasing Department submits an agenda item recommendation of the top-ranked firms to the School Board, requesting approval to simultaneously negotiate with the top-ranked firms in order to obtain the best value for the District. After the School Board authorizes staff to negotiate, a negotiation team appointed by the Purchasing Department completes the negotiations and finalizes the contract. The final contract, signed by the topranked firm, is presented to the School Board for approval by the Purchasing Department. The ITN process takes approximately twenty (20) weeks. 5