BIRCH BAY WATER & SEWER DISTRICT

SUBJECT: Purchasing — Under $50,000

This policy establishes procedures for purchasing materials, supplies and equipment for the District by department managers.

Purchases specifically exempt from this policy include those:

• Clearly and legitimately limited to a single source
• Involving special facilities or market conditions
• In the event of an emergency
• Insurance or bonds

In the case of valid exemptions as identified above, the District General Manager may allow, at his discretion, a purchase of materials, supplies or equipment without following the purchasing guidelines contained in this policy. Such permission must be in writing.

The District shall establish a Vendor List, per Resolution 600. The purpose of the Vendor List is to promote competitive bidding and provide a pool of vendors for District employees to consult when making purchasing decisions. It is not necessary to purchase off the Vendor List. However, it should be consulted in seeking quotes and bids.

Department managers are required whenever possible to obtain quotes from three vendors “Whenever possible” means whenever those quotes are readily obtained under the prevailing conditions or by the means available.

Factors to be considered in determining when this standard is met may include:

• Whether the item is available from three vendors on the vendor list
• Uniqueness of the item
• Its availability in the local market
• Previous recent experience obtaining quote for same/ similar item
• Urgency of District need for item
• Projected delivery or acquisition time
• Time already expended in obtaining quote(s)
• Estimated time required to obtain additional quote(s)
• Amount of staff resources available to secure quotes, and
• Estimated cost of item

The District General Manager is given the discretion to require quotes on any purchase or expenditure that, given his/her experience, would yield the District a net savings by doing so.

A purchase order submitted to the General Manager shall contain a description of the material, supplies or equipment being purchased, a list of the vendors contacted and the price obtained from each vendor.

Purchases made without a contract - estimated to cost $10,000 or less. In the event that the purchase is made without three quotes, the reason for the exception shall be clearly stated on the purchase order. Normally, lowest quotes should be accepted. There may be exceptions as in the case of lack of comparability of items, time of deliver, etc. The General Manager may approve exceptions with appropriate documentation. Purchases made by contract. Any purchase estimated to cost more than $10,000 must be made by contract. Any purchase to be made by contract, even if the estimated cost is less than $10,000, must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder per RCW 43.19.1911 (7) and (9).

Effective 01/01/03
APPROVED: 01/09/03

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE — PURCHASING UNDER $50,000

For items under $500, quotes need not be obtained if there is sufficient prior experience with purchasing the item to ensure that the price obtained is competitive and/or the cost of the item is under $200. In such cases, it would not be practicable to research comparative prices because the cost of the investigation is likely to exceed the value of potential savings and because there are not sufficient staff resources to devote to the process for such minor purchases.

However, I may still require quotes if in my judgment, it is necessary to ensure a competitive price.