HomeMy WebLinkAbout(2006, 05/09) - F-14 - Amended0
AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT FOR SERVICES
PURPOSE
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To set forth the City's policy establishing authority for committing City funds for
Service Contracts.
LIMITATION
Contracts for services are distinct from contracts for procurement of specific material
items. If the only purpose of a contract is for the City to obtain goods, material or
equipment, guidelines contained in the City's Purchasing Procedures will be followed.
Contracts entered for the purpose of obtaining related service, installation, repair or
maintenance of goods, materials and equipment shall also be formed under the
guidelines contained in the City's Purchasing Procedures. The terms and conditions of
contracts for service, installation, repair or maintenance of goods shall be included on
the City's Purchase Order form, and additional contractual and procedural provisions
may be necessary under the Purchasing Procedures for equipment maintenance,
computer software and hardware purchases which exceed $10,000, and other purchase -
related services which exceed $30,000.
Under the terms of City Charter Section 1110, contracts for public works that exceed
30,000 in total expenditures must be awarded by the City Council. At its option, the
City Council may direct the contract to be signed by the Mayor, the City Manager or the
responsible Department Director.
APPLICATION
The policy contained herein applies to all other contracts for services, whether acquired
under a standard or emergency basis, including but not limited to professional services,
audit services, public works project services, public property maintenance and repair
services, and maintenance, custodial and repair services for all City facilities.
POLICY
A. Authority to Enter Contracts
The Charter of the City of Newport Beach permits the City Council to delegate
authority to sign contracts to the City Manager, and such other officer or officers
as the Council may designate, and to impose monetary limits on such signing
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authority. By resolution, the Council has delegated authority to sign service
contracts to certain City officers, with specific monetary limits.
Regardless of whether an elected or nonelected City officer signs the service
contract, the contract and any subsequent contract amendments shall also be
signed by the City Clerk, shall be in a form approved by the City Attorney, and
the City Attorney shall review and approve all contract and contract amendment
documents prior to contract execution.
1. The City Manager. The City Manager is authorized to sign and award
contracts for services without prior Council approval, provided the
contract amount does not exceed $50,000 and funds are available. This
authority shall not be delegated below the Assistant City Manager level.
The City Clerk shall sign all such contracts, and the City Attorney shall
review and approve all contract documents prior to contract execution
and award.
a. Some services are paid for by permit applicants, but the contracts
for those services are entered by the City on behalf of the
applicants. Funds to pay for these services are provided by the
applicant and held by the City in an applicant deposit account. The
City Manager is authorized to sign all service contracts which are
paid for with funds from the applicant's deposit account,
regardless of the amount of the contract.
b. When services are paid for by funds in an applicant deposit
account and the total cost of services shall exceed $100,000, the City
Manager shall provide notice of the permit application and a brief
description of the proposed project to the City Council.
2. Department Directors. Department Directors are authorized to sign
written contracts for services that do not exceed $30,000 without further
Council review, as long as the services were approved by the City Council
as part of the annual Department budget. This authority may not be
delegated below the Department Director level. The City Clerk shall sign
all such contracts, and the City Attorney shall review and approve all
contract documents prior to contract execution and award.
3. City Attorney. The City Attorney is authorized to sign contracts for all
services for outside counsel and experts related directly to and necessary
for prosecution and defense of pending litigation as defined in the Brown
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Act, and for services for outside counsel and experts necessary to address
other pending or potential legal claims or legal issues so long as funds for
outside counsel, experts and related legal services were approved by the
City Council as part of the annual budget process.
B. Authority to Amend Contracts
If circumstances arise that were not reasonably foreseeable by the parties at the
time of contracting, and which make extra work necessary for the proper
completion of the service, a contract amendment and corresponding increase in
total contract amount may be necessary. For purposes of this policy, "total
contract amount" shall be defined as the total consideration paid over the term of
the agreement, including any previous amendments to the contract.
1. If the original contract did not exceed $30,000 and was signed by a
Department Director, the Department Director overseeing the contract
may sign the contract amendment if that amendment will not cause the
total contract amount to exceed 125 % of the original contract amount.
2. The City Manager may sign and award the contract amendment if the
total cost of services will not exceed 125% of the original contract amount,
or if the total contract amount does not exceed $50,000, whichever is
greater.
3. In certain situations, the City Manager and the Department Director in
charge of the contract may determine that an amendment is needed that
will cause the total contract amount to exceed the City Manager's
amendment signing authority, and that the timing is such that a work
stoppage or other undesirable consequence will result if approval of the
change is delayed until the next City Council meeting. In those situations,
the City Manager may approve an amendment that increases the total
contract amount up to 150% of the original contract. However, the City
Manager will notify all City Council Members individually if this
situation develops, and if any individual Council Member objects to the
increase, a special meeting of the City Council will be called to address the
issue.
4. In the event of emergency work that requires an amendment to an existing
contract, the emergency contracting policy outlined below shall be
followed.
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C. Procedures
1.
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BiddinLy. It is recognized that by their nature, service contracts cannot
always be awarded as a result of a competitive bid process. However,
competitive bids should be obtained whenever possible before resorting to
negotiated awards.
2. Approvals.
a. All contracts for services, including exhibits and amendments, shall
be reviewed and approved as to form by the City Attorney's Office
prior to contract execution. The City Clerk shall sign and attest to
all service contracts.
b. City Purchase Orders are not required for service contracts. A copy
of the contract shall be submitted directly to Accounts Payable,
where the Fiscal Services Manager will use it as an encumbering
document. Thereafter, progress payments will be handled in the
same manner as progress payments on a Purchase Order, i.e.
invoices will be approved by the director of the department
administering the contract and submitted to Accounts Payable for
payment.
C. Insurance - All contracts shall be accompanied by proof of the
appropriate level of insurance at the time of execution. The
insurance level required shall be in accordance with the City's
published Schedule of Insurance (attached and herein incorporated
by reference as part of this Policy), or as otherwise approved by the
City's Risk Manager.
3. Retention.
a. The City Clerk shall retain the original executed service contract
approved by the City Council and signed by the Mayor (or such
other officer as the Council may designate, in instances in which
the Council approves a contract and directs a City officer to sign.)
At least one copy with original signatures shall also be kept by the
Department responsible for administering the contract as required
by the City Document Retention Policy.
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b. The City Manager's Office shall retain an original executed copy of
any service contract signed by the City Manager or Assistant City
Manager(s), in accordance with the City Manager's Office
document retention policy.
C. Each department shall retain an original executed copy of any
service contract signed by its Department Director, in accordance
with that department's document retention policy.
D. Professional Services Consultant Selection
Professional consultant services differ from other services in that they are of a
professional nature, and due to the ethical codes of some of the professions
involved, as well as the nature of the services provided, do not readily fall within
the competitive bidding process. Professional consultants should be individually
selected for a specific project or service with the objective of selecting the most
qualified consultant at a fair and reasonable cost.
Professional services shall be obtained by a qualifications -based selection
process. The following procedures shall be used in the selection of professional
consulting services. This policy shall include, but not be limited to, services in
the following fields:
Engineering (civil, mechanical, electrical, structural, traffic, geotechnical, etc.)
Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Construction Project Management Firms
Environmental
Planning
Economic Analysis
Property Appraisals
aLand Surveying
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Financial Services
Data Processing Services
Legal Services not otherwise authorized in Section A(3) of this Policy
1. Professional Services Consultant Selection Procedures
a. Major Projects - Anticipated fee of over $100,000 or other criteria
related to complexity as determined by Department Director.
i. Lead Department(s) shall prepare a Request for
Qualifications (RFQ) and solicit responses using current lists
and industry resources. Lists of qualified consultants and
RFQs shall be processed as needed, but not less than once
every five (5) years.
ii. A Review Board, selected by the appropriate Department
Director and composed of appropriate Staff representatives
and /or qualified outside representatives, shall select three •
3) to five (5) qualified firms to submit proposals.
When a minimum of three (3) potential firms are
unavailable, or if it is in the best interest of the City to limit
the number of firms solicited, the basis for such action
should be included in the report to the City Council.
iv. The Review Board shall review the proposals received and
select the most qualified firms for interviews. The Review
Board shall rank consultants based upon the following
criteria:
Ability of the consultants to perform the specific tasks
outlined in the RFP.
Qualifications of the specific individuals who will
work on the project.
Amount and quality of time key personnel will be
involved in their respective portions of the project.
Reasonableness of the fee requested to do the work.
Demonstrated record of success by the consultant on
work previously performed for a City, and for other
municipalities or enterprises.
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The specific method and techniques to be employed
by the consultant on the project or problem.
V. The Review Board shall select the most qualified firm and
negotiate an appropriate not -to- exceed cost of services
amount based upon the agreed scope of work (hours) and
hourly rates. If negotiations are not successful, the Review
Board will select a second qualified firm.
vi. The Review Board's recommended selection will be placed
on the Council agenda. The recommendation should
include the agreed not -to- exceed cost of services and a
summary of the basis used to select the recommended
consultant.
vii. A Professional Services Agreement reviewed and approved
by the City Attorney will be attached to the Council staff
report.
b. Intermediate Projects - Anticipated fee between $30,000 - $100,000,
or other criteria related to complexity as determined by
Department Director.
i. Affected Department(s) should use procedures noted in
Section D(1)(a) of this Policy, above, and invite proposals
from a minimum of three (3) qualified consultants.
ii. The Department Director shall make a selection based upon
the criteria set forth in Section D(1)(a) of this Policy and
place the recommendation on the Council agenda.
iii. A Professional Services Agreement reviewed and approved
by the City Attorney will be attached to the Council staff
report, unless the cost of services do not exceed $50,000, and
the agreement is signed by the City Manager.
C. Minor Projects - Anticipated fee under $30,000
i. The Department Director shall maintain current files on
qualified consultants in appropriate categories. The
Department shall contact at least three (3) qualified
consultants and request them to submit a proposal.
ii. The Department Director shall make a selection based upon
the criteria noted in Section D(1)(a) of this Policy and is
authorized to execute a Professional Services Agreement
reviewed and approved by the City Attorney.
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E. Emergency Contracts for Services
If a contract for services is necessary under the provisions of Newport Beach
Municipal Code Section 2.20.020, procedures in the City Emergency Procedures
shall be followed.
If a contract for services is necessary under the authority of Newport Beach City
Charter Section 1110, and the contract amount exceeds the signing authority of
the relevant Department Director or City Manager as authorized in this Policy,
then that contract shall be brought to the City Council at its next regularly
scheduled meeting for review.
Whenever possible, the City shall enter Emergency On -Call Agreements with
contractors or consultants who can be relied upon to assist the City in advance of
any actual emergency. Emergency On -Call Agreements shall be submitted to
Council for approval after being reviewed and approved by the City Attorney's
Office. After the Emergency On -Call Agreement is approved, services provided
on an emergency basis under an Emergency On -Call Agreement may be retained
by oral commitment of the City Manager (or, in the case of an emergency •
described by Municipal Code Section 2.20.020, the Director or Assistant Director
of Emergency Services), to be memorialized in a Letter Agreement between the
parties as soon as possible.
When a written contract has been entered to address an emergency, a copy of the
written contract shall be provided to the City Clerk as soon as possible.
FUTURE AMENDMENTS TO POLICY
Any future changes in the provisions of this Policy shall be made by resolution of the
City Council.
Adopted - January 24,1994
Amended - ApriI 13, 2004
Amended by Resolution No. 2006 -35 - May 9, 2006
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