Successful Procurement for Small Equipment Presented to CalACT Fall - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Successful Procurement for Small Equipment

Presented to CalACT Fall Conference 2010

Janeen Burlingame, City of Morro Bay 805.772.6263 jburlingame@morro-bay.ca.us

Keys to a Successful Procurement

• Follow your local agency purchasing policy

 If you are uncertain about policy or policy is unclear, ask for clarification

• Develop detailed specifications

Apples to apples, not apples to bowling balls

• Follow your grant agency’s purchasing policy

 If you are uncertain about policy or policy is unclear, ask for clarification

City’s Purchasing Policy

• To bid or not to bid?

Purchases $4,999 and under - no bid required Purchases $5,000 to $34,999 - informal bid Purchases $35,000 and over - formal bid

• If unclear or uncertain about policy, clarify with

your appointed purchasing agent

City’s Purchasing Policy

• Informal Bid

Purchases between $5,000 and $34,999 Based on minimum of 3 quotations (wherever possible) Quotations can be by phone or in writing Award to lowest quotation

Tip: Document, document, document

Informal Bid -Communications Project

• Purchase vehicle radios and base station

Estimated project cost $8k - do informal bid Developed specifications* Specifications and bid form sent to 3 vendors for quotes Awarded to lowest quotation

*Be as detailed as possible so when doing cost comparison, you have apples to apples, not apples to bowling balls.

City’s Purchasing Policy

• Formal Bid

Purchases $35,000 and over Submit sealed bids Notice inviting bids - include description of item(s) to purchase, due date/bid opening date Bidder’s security - may or may not be required Rejection of bids - may reject bids and re-advertise Award contract to lowest responsible bidder

Tip: Document, document, document

Formal Bid - Vehicle Purchase

• Purchase replacement trolley

Estimated project cost $165,000 - formal bid Developed specifications for CalTrans approval (grant requirement) Invitation for Bid sent to trolley manufacturers, noticed in newspaper and on City transit website Bid opening form completed as bids opened Evaluation of bids by maintenance and transit staff; determine if request for approved equal to specs are granted Recommendation of award to CalTrans for approval Council awarded contract to lowest responsible bidder

In the End…

After the procurement process is complete, you want to be able to defend your recommendation to award.

Since 1995, City has gone through 3 procurements for trolleys and 1 communications equipment procurement without a single formal protest to the FTA.

• Did you follow your agency’s purchasing policy?
• Did you follow the grant agency’s purchasing policy?
• Did you document the process throughout?
• Were you specifications detailed enough so your cost analysis

compared like items?

• For any request of an approved equal to a specification, did you

document why the request was approved or denied?