The town of Wallkill, New York, updated its code governing procurement practices on Nov. 9 to match the guidelines set by state law.
The town adopted the code in 1992 and last updated it in 2004.
According to the updated code, before a new purchase is made, a good faith effort shall be made to determine the accumulative dollar amounts spent on the order over a year.
If the total contract amount is expected to exceed $20,000—or $35,000 for a public works contract—it would be subject to a competitive bidding process.
For contracts less than $20,000 but more than $1,200—or less than $35,000 but more than $5,000 for a public works contract—three written quotes shall be sought; for those valued even lower, department heads or the purchasing agent can decide at their discretion.
Exceptions are allowed for emergency contracts and professional services orders.
If a contract is determined not subject to competitive bidding, the decision shall be documented in writing and may include a memo on the rationale, subject to approval by the town board.
“The town has been observing the current limits [in the state law] and doing it the right way,” town attorney William Frank told The Epoch Times. “We just needed to update the code.”
“The code also needed to be updated because purchasing is more computerized now than the last time the code was updated.”
Before a purchase order can be issued, an electronic requisition form shall be submitted through the computerized purchasing system and approved by the town supervisor.
Exceptions are allowed for orders such as utility bills and monthly renewed contracts.
After an order has been fulfilled and several other conditions met, it shall be included on the warrant list for town board approval for payment.
Eleven town positions are authorized to make purchasing decisions: town supervisor, deputy supervisor, councilmen, town clerk, director of purchasing, police chief, commissioner of public works, highway superintendent, water and sewer administrator, building inspector, and town assessor.
Town councilman Neil Meyer said of the procurement code: “This is one of the things the Comptroller’s Office noted during their risk assessment last year, so I am happy that a new one was approved.
“However, I am still of the mindset [that] it should be reviewed and revised annually to ensure it doesn’t become outdated to the point of not being followed.”
Mr. Frank said that having a procurement policy, as opposed to codifying it as part of local law, would make timely updates easier; most other municipalities that Mr. Frank counsels follow the practice.
“It takes a local law to change the town code, and there has to be a process including publication and public hearing,” he said. “If it is a policy, it can be updated by a town resolution.”
