Purchasing Guidelines

Approved by the Board of Trustees of Rockland Community College on October 13, 2000. Amended on August 21, 2003 and May 2018.

Contents
  1. Timely Processing of Requisitions
  2. Purchases Not Subject to Competitive Bidding
  3. Statutory Regulations

Note: The Department of Budget and Finance Purchasing Office publication, Purchasing Guidelines, details procedures governing the procurement process, including: statutory regulations; chart describing thresholds and requirements; telephone quotes; written quotes; formal sealed bids; purchasing requisition forms; and guide to completing the purchase requisition. Readers are also referred to the County of Rockland Department of General Services Purchasing Division booklet entitled Procurement Ethics Guide.

The College Board of Trustees has also authorized the College to participate in the Empire State Purchasing Group and to use the Regional Bid Notification and E-Procurement System. Accordingly, the College has executed an inter-municipal cooperation agreement with other local governments for the purpose of fulfilling and implementing the public and governmental purposes for the Empire State Purchasing Group.

Timely Processing of Requisitions

The following procedure must be followed to ensure the timely processing of requisitions:

  1. A purchase order must be issued by the Purchasing Department before an order is placed.
  2. All purchase requisitions must include appropriate, active budget codes with sufficient funds to cover the purchase. If a budget transfer is necessary, the transfer must be submitted before the purchase requisition is submitted.
  3. All purchase requisitions must be properly authorized.
  4. Timely submission of purchase requisitions will help to assure timely deliveries. Timely deliveries can not be assured when orders are put through with a “RUSH” status.

Purchases Not Subject to Competitive Bidding

Purchases of $10,000 or less for commodities, equipment, materials, supplies, and services.

Purchases of less than $35,000 or less for public works projects.

Statutory Regulations

Rockland Community College is part of the SUNY system and is required by New York State to follow General Municipal Laws when procuring goods or services. In addition to the General Municipal Law regulations, the College must follow General Accepted Accounting Practices. The combination of these two regulatory guides has resulted in the process used to purchase goods and services needed by the College community.

Section 104-b of the New York State General Municipal Law requires that procedures for purchasing goods and services that fall below the monetary limits be established and approved by the governing board. The following constitutes the Rockland Community College policy:

  1. Cumulative Purchases:
    1. Purchases shall be evaluated with attention given to cumulative dollar amounts expected in a given fiscal year. The Director of Purchasing shall canvas using agencies to determine yearly value of a commodity or service. Past history can be taken into consideration when evaluating yearly costs associated with the purchase of a commodity or service. If the bid limit is suspected to be exceeded, competitive bidding shall be used. This decision shall rest with the Director of Purchasing.
    2. If, within a foreseeable time frame, there are several comparable separate public works projects for the same or various locations, whose expected cumulative total is $5,000 or more, written quotes must be obtained from a minimum of three suppliers.
  2. Methods of Procurement Not Covered by Competitive Bidding
    1. Purchases for commodities, equipment, supplies, materials, and services under $5,000 shall be awarded at the discretion of the Director of Purchasing.  Purchases from $5,000 to $9,999 will require a minimum of three written facsimile or e-mail quotes. All purchases of more than $10,000 will be Competitively Bid.
    2. Purchases that are defined as Public Works Projects under $9,999.99 will be awarded at the discretion of the Director of Purchasing. Purchases from $10,000 to $34,999 will require a minimum of three written quotes. All purchases of more than $35,000 will be Competitively Bid.
    3. Purchases and contracts defined as Professional Services up to $35,000 will be awarded at the discretion of the College Board of Trustees, President or the Vice Presidents. Purchases and contracts of more than $35,000 to $100,000 will require the issuing of a formal Request for Proposal and the approval of the College Board of Trustees. Contracts in excess of $100,000 will require the issuing of a formal Request for Proposal, approval of the College Board of Trustees, and approval of the County Board of Trustees.
    4. Award – All awards from facsimile, e-mail, or written quotes shall be made to the supplier offering the best value to the College.
  3. Documentation
    All quotes (written or otherwise) shall be documented on existing quote forms and shall be filed in the respective year’s quote files or attached to the Purchasing Division’s copy of the Purchase Order. All purchases resulting from a written or telephone quote shall have the quote number referenced on the electronic purchase order or voucher, thus creating an audit trail.