Policies + Procedures — Administration — Purchasing

6.4 Purchasing

I. Purpose

As a public-funded entity, the college models their purchasing practices on those of the County of Bucks and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The College aims to obtain supplies, material, equipment, and services, which meet the stated requirements, from the lowest priced, responsible vendor. This policy will be revised annually to correspond to the county purchasing guidelines.

II. Scope

This policy applies to all purchases made by any employee on behalf of the College.

III. General

Following are the requirements for all purchases:

$1,000-$12,899 – two written quotes by letter, email, or internet.
$12,900-$23,799 – three written quotes by letter, email, or internet.
$23,800 and above – must be publicly advertised for bid and approved by the Board of Trustees.
Request for Proposal (RFP) - Professional services related to auditing, architectural services, engineering services, certified public accountants, insurance services, consultant services of any type, and all other similar professional services shall be solicited by the administration as a Request for Proposal rather than a competitive bid. Because RFPs are used for procurement where factors other than price alone are critical, the award will be made to the most qualified vendor, not necessarily the vendor with the lowest price.
All professional services, regardless of dollar value, require the pre-approval of the area Vice President and/or President.
- Professional service contracts up to $50,000 in total regardless of the term or $50,000/year not to exceed two years – may be approved without public advertisement by the Chief Financial Officer based on quotes received.
- Professional service contracts exceeding the above limits – must go through public advertising and approval by the Board of Trustees.
- When services are rendered over a longer period of time without regard to a project, a new RFP shall be solicited by the administration at least every five years.

Legal services to be provided to the College shall be solicited at the sole discretion of the Board of Trustees.

The College shall not be responsible for payment of goods and/or services, in any amount, ordered without prior approval and authorization by the Budget and Purchasing Departments.

IV. Procedures

Faculty and staff are responsible for providing complete ordering information by using the online electronic requisition system. All requisitions require approval by the responsible budged manager and the budget office to confirm available budget funding.

Written Quotes

Written quotes for purchases $1,000-$23,799 must include the following: date, signature, and company name and telephone number.

Public Bidding

The public bidding process for purchases $23,800 and over requires 8-10 weeks to allow for completion of the following:

Preparation, printing and mailing of bid specifications
Newspaper advertising (three times at intervals of not less than three days)
Pre-bid meeting with potential bidders (if needed)
Addendum to specifications (if needed)
Bid opening meeting
Departmental review of bid responses to determine compliance with specifications and vendor qualifications
Department and purchasing recommendation for contract award to responsible low bidder who meets specifications
Approval by the Board of Trustees

Monthly advertising schedules, bid opening dates and Board of Trustees meeting dates are established on an annual basis. Department heads are responsible for complying with the published schedule. Late requests are deferred to the next monthly cycle.

Sole Source

Sole source purchases apply to the acquisition of an item or service available only from a single supplier, generally identified as a proprietary item. A proprietary item can be purchased only from a single vendor. The request department must provide written justification for the item or service available from a single supplier. The Purchasing Department may identify alternate suppliers of comparable and/or equivalent items and reference comparable pricing for review by department personnel.

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Requests for Proposal shall be considered on the basis of ability to perform the work and the experience of the assigned professional staff, as well as the submitting firm, price and time frames for completion. When professional services are required, the requesting department must provide the following information:

Statement of the work to be performed
Preliminary description of the professional services to be provided
Activities and deliverables required by the College
Schedule as to the award of the contract and completion of project
Contract and payment requirements
Primary College project contact
List of recommended qualified principals or companies to be invited to submit a proposal.

Annual end of calendar year updates to this policy and necessary campus notifications will be the responsibility of the Purchasing Director.