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A Vendor's Guide to Doing
Business with Gloucester County & Gloucester County Schools
The Central Purchasing
Department's function is to procure the right goods & services, at the right
time, and at the right price for our departments/schools. We strive to
foster as much competition as practicable in procuring our goods/services, and
we hope that this section will help you, the vendor, better understand how to go
about doing business with your County.
Topics
covered:
* Dollar Limits on Purchases
* Exceptions
*
How to Find Out About Bids/Proposals
*
Purchase Orders (PO)
*
Payment of Invoices
*
Definitions
Dollar Limits on Purchases
The method of procuring
goods/services is determined by the dollar amount:
Everything Less than $2,000 -
the department/school can purchase the good/service directly from a company of
their choice. A PO is not required. As a vendor you should
contact the department/school you wish to do business with, and offer them your
goods/services.
Goods/Printing $2,001 - $3,000
- Department/School can buy from a company of their choice, but a PO is
required.
Services $2,001 - $5,000
- Department/School can buy from a company of their choice, but a contract must
be signed, proof of insurance supplied, and a PO is required.
Goods/Printing $3,001 - $5,000
- A minimum of 3 oral or written quotes must be solicited by the
department/school, and a PO is required.
Everything $5,001 - $10,000
- The Purchasing Director, or his designee, must solicit a minimum of 3 oral or
written quotes. PO is required. Services require a signed contract
& proof of insurance.
Everything $10,001 - $30,000
- The Purchasing Director, or his designee, shall solicit a minimum of 6 sources
in writing, using formal, sealed bidding procedures. PO is required.
Public notice is required. Services require a signed contract & proof
of insurance.
Everything Over $30,000
- Competition must be sought by the Purchasing Director following the Virginia
Public Procurement Act.
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Exceptions
Professional Services
shall be solicited using competitive negotiation procedures following the
Virginia Public Procurement Act.
Used Equipment
does not require competition under $50,000, however public notice is required
before the purchase can be made.
Emergency Procurements
shall have competition as practicable in the situation. Public notice is
required and a written justification must be made.
Sole Source Procurements
must be approved in advance by the Purchasing Director. Public notice is
required and a written justification must be made.
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How to Find Out About Bids/Proposals
The best way is to watch our website.
Every bid/proposal that comes out of this office is advertised on our website,
with some of them downloadable in Adobe 5.0 format.
Bids/Proposals are also advertised in
local area newspapers: Gloucester/Mathews Gazette-Journal, Daily Press, Richmond
Times, Virginian Pilot. The dollar amount will determine how many
newspapers are advertised in for a certain solicitation.
Registering with the County is not the
same as registering with the State. We do not have the funds to mail to
all vendors in a certain commodity code, so you are not guaranteed to be
solicited simply by registering with the County.
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Purchase Orders
POs will be issued for all County/School
purchases that are more than $2,000. The original will be mailed to the
vendor (it can also be faxed if time is of consideration.) The ordering
department/school will verify receipt of the order against the PO and then
submit a receiving copy of the PO along with the invoice to Finance
for payment.
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Payment of Invoices
All Gloucester County invoices will be
paid in accordance with Section 2.2-4339 of the Code of Virginia.
Invoices for items ordered, delivered, and
accepted shall be submitted by the vendor directly to the payment address shown
on the purchase order/contract. All invoices shall show the county
contract number and/or purchase order number; social security number (for
individual contractors) or the federal employers' identification number (for
proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations.) Any payment terms
requiring payment in less than 30 days will be regarded as requiring payment 30
days after invoice or delivery, whichever occurs last. However, this shall
not affect offers of discounts for payment in less than 30 days.
The following shall be deemed to be the
date of payment: the date of postmark in all cases where payment is made by
mail, or the date of offset when offset proceedings have been instituted as
authorized under the Virginia Debt Collection Act.
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Definitions
Bid: A competitively
priced offer made by an intended seller, usually in reply to an Invitation for
Bids (IFB).
Contract: An agreement
enforceable by law, between two or more competent parties, to do or not to do
something not prohibited by law, for consideration.
Emergency Purchases: A
breakdown or imminent potential breakdown in essential services, or
circumstances under which goods or services are needed for immediate use in work
which may vitally affect health, safety, property, and welfare of the public, or
which may interrupt the normal operations of County/School services.
Immediate notification to the Purchasing Director and written justification is
required.
Goods: Material,
equipment, supplies, printing, and computer hardware and software. (Code of
Virginia, Section 2.2-4301)
Professional Services:
Work performed by an independent contractor within the scope of the practice of
accounting, actuarial services, architecture, land surveying, landscape
architecture, dentistry, law, medicine, optometry, pharmacy, or professional
engineering. "Professional Services" shall also include services of an
economist procured by the State Corporation Commission. (Code of Virginia,
Section 2.4-4301)
NonProfessional Services:
Any services not specifically identified as professional services in the
definition of professional services.
Proposal: An offer made by
one party to another as a basis for negotiations (usually in response to a
Request for Proposals {RFP}), prior to the creation of a contract.
Quotation: A stating of
price for purchase of goods or services.
Services: Any work
performed by an independent contractor wherein the service rendered does not
consist primarily of acquisition of equipment or materials, or the rental of
equipment, materials, and supplies. (Code of Virginia, Section 2.2-4301)
Sole Source: A product or
service which is practicably available only from one source (please
differentiate between proprietary purchases, where a product is manufactured by
only one company, but is sold through distributors and competition can be sought
between them). Sole Source Justification form must accompany all such
requests.
Surplus Property: Property
which is in excess to the needs of the County/Schools and is no longer required.
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