HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-13 - Amending Code Relating to Purchasing System and Procedures for Public ProjectsORDINANCE NO. 06-13
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
COSTA MESA AMENDING ARTICLE 2, CHAPTER V OF
TITLE 2 OF THE COSTA MESA MUNICIPAL CODE
RELATING TO THE PURCHASING SYSTEM AND ADDING
ARTICLE 3 RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR PUBLIC
PROJECTS.
WHEREAS, because the formal bid limit has not been adjusted since 1991 and, by
not having periodically adjusted the limit to keep up with changes to the Consumer Price
Index due to inflationary cost increases, the threshold has been eroded to $17,153 in
today's dollars; and
WHEREAS, raising the current formal bid limit from the current $25,000 to $50,000
will be in keeping with the intent of the Purchasing Ordinance to adopt periodic adjustments
and will further facilitate the implementation of efficient procedures for the purchase of
supplies, services and equipment without compromising the formal bidding practices; and
WHEREAS, raising the minimum for formal bidding to $50,000 will restore City
staffs flexibility which has been lost during the past fifteen (15) years due to inflationary
cost increases; and
WHEREAS, an indeterminate amount of resources will be saved due to increased
efficiency achieved through raising the threshold limit, thus eliminating costs associated
with formal bidding procedures under the current limitations.
WHEREAS, currently, the Public Services Department follows the procedures set
forth in the California Public Contract Code Sections 20160-20175 which require that the
awarding of contracts for public projects over $5,000 must be let to bid under a formal
bidding process; and
WHEREAS, by electing to become subject to the Uniform Public Construction Cost
Accounting Act (the "Act," Public Contract Code section 22000 et seq.) the City would be
able to use an informal bidding process for public projects contracts up to $125,000, thus
increasing the efficiency of procedures and saving the City a substantial amount of time
and effort in processing public projects bids; and
WHEREAS, electing to become subject to the Act also allows the Cityto have public
projects under $30,000 be performed by City staff, negotiated contract or purchase order;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council has elected to become subject to the Uniform Public
Construction Cost Accounting Act pursuant to Resolution No. 0648, and now desires to
adopt an informal bidding process.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COSTA MESA DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Article 2 of Chapter V of Title 2 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code is
hereby amended partially as follows:
ARTICLE 2
Sec. 2-166. Procedure for purchases exceeding fifty thousand dollars.
Except as provided in this article, purchases of supplies, services, equipment
and the sale of personal property of estimated value greater than fifty thousand dollars
($50,000.00) shall be by written contract pursuant to the following procedures:
(a) Notice inviting bids. Notices inviting bids shall include a general description of
the articles to be purchased or sold, state where bid blanks and specification
may be secured, and the time and place for opening bids.
(3) Bulletin board. The purchasing officer shall also advertise pending purchases
or sales, by a notice posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall and on the
City's web site.
(i) When in the best interest of the City, and when necessary to adhere to time lines
established by other agencies, the purchasing officer may recommend to the City Manager
to bypass the formal bid process for the purchase of surplus property. City Council will be
advised by the purchasing officer, or City Manager, of procurements over fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000.00) which were exempted from the formal bid process.
Sec. 2-167. Open market procedure.
Except as provided in this article, purchases of supplies, equipment, contractual
services and sales of personal property of an estimated value in the amount of fifty
thousand dollars ($50,000.00) or less, and in the case of public works projects in the
amount of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) or less, may be made by the purchasing officer
in the open market as follows without observing the procedure prescribed in section 2-166:
Sec. 2-168. Bid award appeal procedure.
(a) Any bid with the value in excess of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), but under fifty
thousand dollars ($50,000.00), may be appealed in accordance with the following
procedure:
Section 2. Article 3 of Title 2 of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code is hereby added
as follows:
Article 3 Public Projects
Sec. 2-173. Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act adopted.
There is hereby adopted by the City Council of the City of Costa Mesa,
California, for the purpose of prescribing regulations governing contracts awarded by
the City for public projects, the California Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting
Act (California Public Contract Code § 22000 et seq.) Nothing herein contained,
however, shall preclude the City of Costa Mesa from utilizing more restrictive
procedures if, and when required by federal or state law, where federal or state funds
are involved in the contract to be awarded.
Sec. 2-174. Definition of terms.
The following words, terms and phrases when used in this Article shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a
different meaning:
(a) Facility means any plant, building, structure, ground facility, real property,
street, highway or other public work improvement.
(b) Maintenance work includes all of the following:
(1) Routine, recurring and usual work for the preservation or protection of
any publicly owned or publicly operated facility for its intended purposes.
(2) Minor repainting.
(3) Resurfacing of streets and highways at less than one inch.
(4) Landscape maintenance, including mowing, watering, trimming, pruning,
planting, replacement of plants and servicing of irrigation and sprinkler systems.
(c) Public project means any of the following:
(1) Construction, reconstruction, erection, alteration, renovation,
improvement, demolition and repair work involving any publicly owned, leased or
operated facility.
(2) Painting or repainting of any publicly owned, leased or operated facility.
(3) Public project does not include maintenance work.
2-175. Award of contract.
(a) Public projects of the amount set forth in Public Contract Code section
22032(a), as amended from time to time, may be performed by the employees of the
City by force account, by negotiated contract, or by purchase order.
(b) Public projects of the amount set forth in Public Contract Code section
22032(b), as amended from time to time, may be let to contract by informal bidding
procedures as set forth in Section 2-177.
(c) Public projects of the amount set forth in Public Contract Code section
22032(c), as amended from time to time, or in a greater amount, shall be let to contract
by formal bidding procedures as set forth in section 2-177.
2-176. Prohibition against splitting or separating projects.
It shall be unlawful to split or separate into smaller work orders or projects any
project for the purpose of evading the provisions of this Article requiring work to be done by
contract after competitive bidding.
2-177. Bidding procedures.
(a) Formal bid procedures. Public works projects which are subject to formal
bidding procedures as set forth in section 2-175(c), above, shall be awarded to the lowest
responsible bidder in accordance with the following procedures:
(1) The notice inviting bids shall state the time and place for the receiving and
opening of sealed bids and distinctly describe the project. The notice shall be published at
least fifteen (15) calendar days before the date of opening the bids in a newspaper of
general circulation which is circulated within the City of Costa Mesa or, if there is none, in
at least three places within the City as have been designated by City ordinance or
regulation as places for the posting of its notices. The notice shall also be mailed at least
thirty (30) calendar days before the date of opening the bids to all construction trade
publications, as determined by the commission pursuant to Public Contract Code section
22036, which are circulated within the County of Orange. In addition to notice required by
this section, the City may give other notice as it deems proper.
(2) All bids shall be presented under sealed cover to the City Clerk.
(3) Projects over $125,000 shall require bidders security. Bidders security shall
be in an amount equal to at least ten (10) percent of the amount bid and shall be in cash,
cashier's check made payable to the City, a certified check made payable to the City or a
bidder's bond executed by an admitted surety insurerwhich meets the rating requirements
established by the City Manager or his designee, made payable to the City.
(4) A bid for which bidder's security is required shall not be considered unless
one of the forms of bidders security is enclosed with it. If the successful bidder fails to
execute the contract, the amount of the bidder's security shall be forfeited to the City as set
forth below.
(5) The City Council may on refusal or failure of the successful bidder to
execute the contract award it to the next lowest responsible bidder. If the City awards the
contract to the second lowest responsible bidder, the amount of the lowest bidders security
shall be applied by the City to the difference between the low bid and the second lowest bid
and the surplus, if any, shall be returned to the lowest bidder if cash or a check is used or
to the surety on the bidder's bond if a bond is used. This procedure shall be followed with
the next lowest bidder in order upon any additional refusal or failure of the next lowest
responsible bidder to execute the contract.
(6) The City may require bidders to meet certain criteria in order to be placed
upon a bidder's list to bid on a public works project. Such criteria shall be established for
each construction trade so as to ensure that only bidders meeting certain minimum
standards may bid on specific public works projects.
(b) Informal bidding procedures. Public works projects which are subject to the
informal bidding procedures as set forth in section 2-175(b), above shall be awarded to the
lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the Uniform Construction Cost Accounting
Act, Section 22000 et seq. of the Public Contract Code, including the following procedures.
(1) The City shall maintain a list of qualified contractors, identified according to
categories of work. The development and maintenance criteria of the contractors list shall
be determined by the California Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Commission.
(2) All contractors on the list for the category of work being bid or all
construction trade journals specified in the California Public Contract Code Section 22036,
or both, shall be mailed a notice inviting informal bids unless the product or service delivery
is proprietary.
(3) All mailing of notices to contractors and construction trade journals pursuant
to the California Public Contract Code Section 22036 shall be completed not fewer than ten
(10) calendar days before bids are due.
(4) The notice inviting informal bids shall describe the project in general terms,
how to obtain more detailed information about the project, and state the time and place for
the submission of bids.
(5) The authority to award informal bids for public projects is delegated to the
City Manager.
(6) If all bids received are in excess of the amount set forth in Public Contract
Code Section 22034(f), as amended from time to time, the City Council may, by passage of
a resolution by a four-fifths vote, award the contract, at the amount set forth in Public
Contract Code Section 22034(f), as amended from time to time, or less, to the lowest
responsible bidder, if it determines the cost estimate of the City was reasonable.
(7) Projects under $125,000 may require bidders' security. Bidders security
shall be in an amount equal to at least ten (10) percent of the amount bid and shall be in
cash, cashier's check made payable to the City, a certified check made payable to the City
or a bidder's bond executed by an admitted surety insurer which meets the rating
requirements established by the City Manager or his designee, made payable to the City.
Sec. 2-178. Rejection of bids; options; failure to receive bids.
(a) In its discretion, the City may reject any and all bids presented. If after the first
invitation for bids all bids are rejected, after reevaluating its cost estimates of the project,
the City shall have the option of either of the following:
(1) Abandoning the projector readvertising forbids in the manner described in
this division.
(2) By passage of a resolution by a four-fifths vote of the City Council declaring
that the project can be performed more economically by the employees of the City, may
have the project done by force account without further complying with this division.
(3) If a contract is awarded, it shall be awarded to the lowest responsible
bidder. If two or more bids are the same and the lowest, the City may accept the one it
chooses.
(4) If no bids are received through the formal or informal procedure, the
project may be performed by employees of the City by force account, or by informal bidding
procedures set forth above without further complying with this Article.
Sec. 2-179. Adoption of plans, specifications, and working details.
The City shall adopt plans, specifications, and working details for all public projects
exceeding the amount specified in Public Contract Code section 22032(c).
Sec. 2-180. Emergencies procedure.
In cases of emergency, when repair or replacements are necessary to permit the
continued conduct of the operation or services of the City or to avoid danger to life or
property, the City Council, after making a finding that the emergency will not permit a delay
resulting from a competitive solicitation for bids and, that the action is necessary to respond
to the emergency, may by a four-fifths vote, proceed at once to replace or repair any public
facility, take any directly related and immediate action required by that emergency, and
procure the necessary equipment, services and supplies for those purposes, without giving
notice for bids to let contracts. The City Manager shall have the power to declare a public
emergency when it is impractical to convene a meeting of the City Council, subject to
confirmation by the City Council, by a four-fifths vote, at its next meeting and reviewed at
least at every regularly scheduled meeting thereafter until the action is terminated. This
procedure shall be subject to any other requirements of Public Contract Code section
22050, as amended.
Section 3. The following Articles in Chapter V are hereby renumbered:
Art. 3-. 4. Claims Against City, §§ 2-183 — 2-195
Art. 4 5. Special Gas Tax Street Improvement Fund, §§ 2-196 — 2-198
Art. & 6. Excess Proceeds of Taxes Reserve Accounts, §§2-199 - 2-204
Art. 69, 7. Use of General Fund Cash Reserves, §§ 2-205 — 2-209
Section 4. Any provision of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code or appendices
thereto inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, to the extent of such
inconsistencies and no further, is hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to
effect the provisions of this Ordinance.
Section 5. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this
ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any
court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining
portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Costa Mesa hereby declares
that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause,
phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
Section 6. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall certify to the passage
and adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published and posted
pursuant to the provisions of law in that regard and this Ordinance shall take effect 30 days
after its final passage.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 20`" day of June 2006.
ATTEST:
Ju W Folcik, City Clerk
A "/ .
Allan R. Mansoor, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
�^ /
Kimberly HAll Barlow, City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss
CITY OF COSTA MESA )
I, JULIE FOLCIK, City Clerk of the City of Costa Mesa, DO HEREBY
CERTIFY that foregoing is the original of Ordinance No. 06-13 and was duly
introduced for first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the
6th day of June, 2006, and that thereafter, said Ordinance was duly passed and
adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 20th day of June,
2006, by the following roll call vote, to wit:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: MANSOOR, BEVER, DIXON, FOLEY,
MONAHAN
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NONE
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereby set my hand and affixed the seal
of the City of Costa Mesa this 21" day of June, 2006.
C4��
JULILFFOLCIK, CITY CLERK
(SEAL) --
I hereby certify that the foregoing is the original of Ordinance No. 06-13 duly
passed and adopted by the Costa Mesa City Council at the regular meeting held
April 18, 2006, and that Summaries of the Ordinance were published in the Daily
Pilot on June 14 and 28, 2006.
JULE FOLCIK, CITYCLERK
(SEAL)