Documents › Board of Trustees Organizational Meeting, 2025-12-02

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Also attached to this agenda item: Breach Notification Policy Debt Policy 2025 December 1st Resolution 274-2025 Adoption of Board Policies Fund Balance Policy 2025 Investment Policy 2025 Updated Sexual Harassment Prevention and Unlawful... Workplace Violence Prevention Policy

VILLAGE OF CROTON-ON-HUDSON PROCUREMENT POLICY SECTION I AUTHORITY The authority and responsibility to make appropriate purchases and to obtain necessary services on behalf of the Village rests with the respective Village Department Heads. Department Heads are responsible for ensuring that all purchases are in compliance with the Village’s Procurement Policy; are within the budgetary control authorizations established by the Board of Trustees; and are properly documented. All purchases of goods and services in excess of $2,500, or $5,000 in the case of public works goods and services, require the prior approval of the Village Manager. The Village will not be liable for any purchases made without appropriate authorizations. SECTION II DETERMINATION OF WHICH PROCESS TO USE (BID OR QUOTE) The Village’s purchase order policy applies to the purchase of all goods and services of $1,000 or more. Purchases of less than $1,000 can be processed directly under the Village’s claim process, unless the vendor requests a purchase order. Purchases cannot be split to circumvent the required issuance of a purchase order. Department Heads should consider the annual aggregate purchases of similar types of items and/or services as the guide for ensuring compliance with the requirement to issue a purchase order. When necessary, canvassing of departments will be done to determine yearly value of commodity. Past history can be taken into consideration when evaluating yearly costs associated with the purchase of a commodity. If the bid limit is suspected to be exceeded, bidding shall take place. This decision shall be made in cooperation with the Department Head, Village Treasurer, and Village Manager. SECTION III EXCEPTIONS TO BIDDING The following items are not subject to competitive bidding requirements: a. purchase contracts under $20,000, or as may be further amended pursuant to Section 103 of the General Municipal Law; b. public works contracts under $35,000, or as may be further amended pursuant to Section 103 of the General Municipal Law; c. goods purchased from agencies for the blind or severely handicapped pursuant to Section 175-b of the State Finance Law; d. goods purchased from correctional institutions pursuant to Section 186 of the Correction Law; e. purchases under New York State contracts pursuant to Section 104 of the General Municipal Law; f. purchases under Westchester County contracts pursuant to Section 103-3 of the General Municipal Law. SECTION IV METHODS OF PROCUREMENTS NOT COVERED BY BIDDING Purchasing Most purchases that fall in the Village’s stated dollar categories as shown in Exhibit A will be obtained through quotes by one of the following methods: Telephone/Internet Quotations. The log or other record should record at a minimum: date, item or service desired, price quoted, name of vendor, name of vendor’s representative. Written Quotations. Vendors should provide at a minimum: date, description of item or details of service to be provided, price quoted, name of contact. Public Works Contracts Most public works contracts that fall in the Village’s stated dollar categories as shown in Exhibit A will be obtained through quotes by one of the following methods: Telephone/Internet Quotations. The log or other record should record at a minimum: date, item or service desired, price quoted, name of vendor, name of vendor’s representative. Written Quotations. Vendors should provide at a minimum: date, description of item or details of service to be provided, price quoted, name of contact. Requests for Proposals. An effective way to award Public Works contracts is to award them only after a minimum number of professionals are contacted and asked to submit written proposals. Professional Services Where applicable, the Village Manager, Treasurer, or Department Head will initiate one of several processes in order to acquire professional services at the best price and value for the Village. This includes request for proposals and request for qualifications. A minimum of three vendors will be solicited when possible. Request for Proposals for Professional Services Requests for proposals (RFPs) are traditionally used as a means of obtaining all types of professional services. RFPs are used to obtain the services of: architects, engineers, surveyors, planners, accountants, underwriters, fiscal consultants, and other professionals. RFPs and evaluation of proposals can consider price plus other factors such as experience, staffing and suitability for needs and may include negotiations on a fair and equal basis. The process involves making a request for proposals from various firms or professionals, and then evaluating the proposals received. The overall process should consider the following: 1. A well planned solicitation effort is needed to identify a sufficient number of qualified firms. This may include, but is not limited to, the following: advertisements in trade journals, searching professional associations, and obtaining sources from other local governments. A good solicitation effort helps to ensure that these qualified firms are aware of the Village’s needs and procurement procedures and are thereby able to participate in the proposal process. 2. A well planned solicitation effort helps encourage qualified firms to respond to RFPs. Preparing a response to an RFP can be costly. Qualified firms may be unwilling to go to the trouble and expense of preparing a proposal if critical details of the method used to select (i.e., quality versus price) are not made clear in the RFP. 3. A well planned solicitation effort can result in reduced costs through increased competition. Of course, if not properly managed, competition can produce unsatisfactory results. The Village may obtain a poor quality of service, for example, if only cost factors are considered in the selection of a firm. However, if a sufficient pool of qualified firms is identified through a sound solicitation effort, the Village can enjoy the economic benefits of competition without sacrificing quality. There is no requirement in Section 104-b on the frequency of solicitation, periodic solicitation can be made at reasonable intervals. For example, a professional could be selected with the option of extending the contract in the second and third years before doing another RFP process. Request for Qualifications In certain cases, the Village may solicit qualifications instead of proposals for various professional services. This is usually done when the scope of work has not been narrowly defined. The Village uses the process of its interviews with the selected firms to meet with the representatives of each firm in order to determine the most qualified company. The interviews also help Village staff to get input from the potential consultants on a possible scope of work for the project. RFQs can be used when soliciting the services of consultants, planners, architects, or attorneys. Written Quotes When the project is considered small and not complex, Village staff may just solicit written quotes without going through the formal RFP or RFQ process. This would usually happen in the case of small surveys or limited engineering design plans for a small project. SECTION V DOCUMENTATION All quotes (written or telephone) shall be documented and attached to all requisitions entered through Munis, the Village’s financial software program, thus creating an audit trail. Requisitions will not be processed without this documentation. All awards from quotes shall be made to the lowest responsible bidder if possible or by using the Best Value Procurement Method (see section V). Circumstances which will be documented in writing may indicate purchase from other than low bidder (i.e., delivery requirements, quantity requirements, store pickup, the location of vendor, known past experience of a vendor, etc.) This document must be approved in advance by either the Village Manager or his designee or the Village Treasurer. SECTION VI BEST VALUE PROCUREMENT In accordance with section 27 of the Municipal Home Rule Law and pursuant to NYS General Municipal Law §103, in April 2014, the Village Board of Trustees enacted Chapter 79 “Best Value Procurement” law to be incorporated into the Village’s Procurement Policy. Best value is defined in New York State Finance Law § 163. When awarding contracts under the best value standard, the Village must consider the overall combination of quality, price, and other elements of the required commodity or service that in total are optimal relative to the needs of the Village. Use of the best value standard must rely, wherever possible, on objective and quantifiable analysis. The best value standard may identify as a quantitative factor whether offerers are small businesses or certified minority- or women-owned business enterprises as defined in New York Executive Law § 310. The best value standard may only be used for purchase contracts, which includes contracts for service work, but excludes any purchase contracts necessary for the completion of a public works contract pursuant to Article Eight of the Labor Law. SECTION VII OTHER Verbal Orders. A verbal order, subject to confirmation by a written purchase order, may be given directly to a vendor in cases where necessity for immediate action exists. Such deviation from the normal process should be limited in use. The Department Head placing such order shall explain the need for his/her action; lack of proper planning shall not be considered a valid reason for this purpose. A written confirmation purchase order should be issued as soon as possible, and should be clearly marked “confirmation”. Mandated Sources. Mandated procurement sources shall be investigated when possible. These sources include Department of Correction, Industries for the Blind of New York State and the New York State Industries for the Disabled. Insurance. All agreements for insurance coverage will be investigated by the Village Manager. If competition is available in the market, RFPs will be requested, evaluated and an award made. If no competition is available, a contract will be negotiated between the Village and the respective carrier. Sole Source. When there is only one possible source from which to procure goods and/or services, thus indicating there is no possibility of competition, the following will be documented in writing: 1. Unique benefits of item needed. 2. No other product/service can compare. 3. Cost is reasonable as compared to product offered. 4. There is no competition available. True Lease. Prices will be negotiated between the Village of Croton-on-Hudson and Lessor. SECTION VIII EMERGENCY PURCHASES AND EMERGENCY PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACTS The term “Emergency Purchase” as defined in Section 4 of the General Municipal Law is as follows: “… in the case of a public emergency arising out of an accident or other unforeseen occurrence or condition, whereby circumstances affect public buildings, public property or the life, health, safety or property of the inhabitants of a political sub-division or district therein, require immediate action which cannot await competitive bidding, contracts for purchase or public work may be let without compliance without formal advertising requirements…” Consequently, unless the situation threatens lives, health or public property, the purchase of services or products must go through normal channels. In those cases of emergency, requiring immediate action, the department head responsible for that operation will assume charge for the operation. The following procedure will be used: 1. Contact the vendor immediately and arrange the purchase or service. 2. Notify the Manager or Treasurer in writing as soon as possible when the emergency purchases or services are necessary, and document what was required, and from whom the purchase was being made. SECTION IX PIGGYBACKING In addition to the procedures and guidelines stated herein, in accordance with General Municipal Law§ 103(16) effective November 13, 2013, New York State political subdivisions have the authority for “Piggybacking” to contracts awarded by other municipal entities. Based on the authority granted under Chapter 497 of the Laws of 2013, the Village will make purchases through the use of contracts awarded by other governmental entities as long as such contracts are awarded to either the lowest responsible bidder or based on the Best Value Purchase in a manner consistent with General Municipal Law. SECTION X ENVIRONMENTALLY PREFERABLE PURCHASING Where the Village of Croton-on-Hudson is procuring a commodity or service, whether by competitive bid or other type of procurement, that is the subject of a GreenNY procurement specification that has received final approval of the NYS GreenNY Council pursuant to Executive Order No. 22 (2022), the Village Manager, Treasurer, or Department Head shall follow the GreenNY procurement specification to the maximum extent practicable and where cost is reasonably competitive as defined in General Municipal Law § 104-a. GreenNY approved procurement specifications can be found online at: https://ogs.ny.gov/greenny/approved-greenny- specifications. Last Updated: December 2, 2024 APPENDIX A VILLAGE’S STATED DOLLAR CATEGORIES Purchasing Contracts Discretion of Dept. Head Minimum 3 Quotes Telephone/ Internet* Minimum 3 Quotes Written* Bid** Up To $2,499 X $2,500 $4,999 X $5,000 $19,999 X $20,000 Or Over X *Due to past history, general knowledge, or urgent need, some purchases over $2,499 but under $19,999 shall be placed directly without obtaining multiple quotes. In addition, see Section VI, Emergency Purchases and Public Works Contracts. *Purchases above $2,500 require the advance approval of the Village Manager or his designee. **Except as outlined in Section II – Exceptions to Bidding, under no circumstances will a quote that exceeds the bidding limits be awarded. Public Works Contracts Discretion of Dept. Head Minimum 3 Quotes Telephone/ Internet* Minimum 3 Quotes Written or RFP* Bid** Up To $4,999 X $5,000 $9,999 X $10,000 $34,999 X $35,000 Or Over X *Due to past history, general knowledge, or urgent need, some purchases over $2,499 but under $19,999 shall be placed directly without obtaining multiple quotes. In addition, see Section VI, Emergency Purchases and Public Works Contracts. *Purchases above $5,000 require the advance approval of the Village Manager or his designee. **Except as outlined in Section II – Exceptions to Bidding, under no circumstances will a quote that exceeds the bidding limits be awarded.