The Procurement Department shall have the power and its duty shall be to perform the following functions:

(a) Procurement.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this charter, it shall purchase, and when feasible store and distribute all personal property to be procured with funds from the City Treasury. It shall establish and maintain City storehouses, develop and operate therein a uniform, modern system of stores control based upon perpetual inventory and maintain a sufficient stock of staple commodities on hand to supply the estimated current needs of all departments, boards and commissions of the City and other governmental agencies for whom such commodities are procured with funds appropriated from the City Treasury. All purchases, other than purchases for stock and all deliveries from such stock shall be made only upon proper requisition.

For the purpose of exercising its procurement functions more efficiently and economically, the Department shall classify all items of personal property subject to procurement by it; maintain a laboratory for testing and inspecting such property; adopt as standards the minimum number of qualities, sizes and types of such items consistent with efficient operation; and prepare, promulgate and enforce, written specifications for all such standard items.

(2) The Department shall procure at the cost of the City good and sufficient bonds, to be approved by the City Solicitor and filed with the Department of Records, to meet the requirements of law, in the case of all City officers and employees required to give surety bonds to the City, for the faithful performance of their official duties or to account for City funds or property in their possession. When authorized by the Administrative Board, it shall also procure liability insurance, covering liability of the City and its officers and employees. It shall also procure any other kind of insurance which it may be lawful for the City or any officer, department, board or commission of the City to carry and for which an appropriation has been made to the Department.

(3) The Department shall let all contracts for utility services which are required by any department, board and commission of the City and other governmental agencies and which are to be paid for with funds from the City Treasury.

(4) The Department shall from time to time notify the chief clerk of the Council, the Mayor, the several officers, departments, boards and commissions of the City and other governmental agencies whose procurement requirements are to be purchased with funds appropriated from the City Treasury, respectively, to furnish, at such time as it may require, lists of all requirements that may be needed by each of such officers, departments, boards, commissions and agencies for such periods as the Department shall prescribe, excepting only perishable food stuffs for City institutions. Upon receipt of such lists, the Department shall, as far as practicable, consolidate and classify the requirements named therein, and shall prepare annual, semi-annual, or quarterly schedules thereof, as deemed for the best interest of the City. The Department shall have the power to make such changes in the schedules as may be deemed proper, and may standardize any or all requirements therein. The schedules as finally prepared, shall be used by the Department for procuring the requirements specified therein.

(5) In the performance of its procurement functions, the Department shall consult with and consider recommendations of the Council, the Mayor, the officer, department, board or commission of the City or other governmental agency, whose requirements it is procuring.

(6) Whenever the Department shall procure any item which is to be paid for, out of an appropriation made to another department, board or commission of the City or to any other government agency or from a special fund, the Department shall act as agent for such department, board, commission or agency.

(7) The Department may permit any officer, department, board or commission of the City or other agency to make a particular purchase or class of purchases directly, but in any such case the Department shall first approve in writing the specifications for such purchase.

(b) Printing and Publications.

(1) The Department shall furnish by contract or otherwise all printing and binding, engraving and publications required by the City.

(2) The Department shall distribute all printed matter of the City. It may sell, at prices to cover the cost of publication, any printed matter which it distributes. The Department shall compile, edit and publish annually a City Manual. It shall copyright, in the name of the City, all City publications which it regards desirable to have copyrighted.

(c) Contracts. After advertising and the receipt of competitive bids, the Department shall let all contracts to be paid for with funds appropriated from the City Treasury for which competitive bids are required, including contracts for concessions whether or not the specifications were prepared and the performance of the contract is to be supervised by another department, or by a board, commission or other governmental agency.

(d) Sales of Unserviceable Personal Property. The Department shall receive from departments, boards and commissions of the City and other governmental agencies, unserviceable personal property owned by the City or acquired with funds appropriated from the City Treasury and, if no other department, board or commission of the City or other governmental agency supported by funds appropriated from the City Treasury is able to make use of it presently, dispose of it by sale, either at public auction or private sale, or by transfer, exchange or otherwise after public advertisement or other appropriate public notice and receipt of bids.

ANNOTATION

Sources: The Administrative Code of 1929, Act of April 9, 1929, P.L. 177, Sections 2403-2406, 2409, as amended; Act of June 25, 1919, P.L. 581, Article XXIV, Section 3, as amended.

Purposes: 1. All procurement functions of the City are centralized in a Procurement Department to facilitate financial controls and to promote efficiency and economies. See Section 8-202.

2. The Procurement Department is to purchase and when necessary store and distribute all personal property to be procured with City funds. It is to run City storehouses, maintain an adequate inventory accounting system, and keep stores of staple commodities to supply current needs. Part of this procurement process is to include the standardization of purchases and the adequate testing and inspection of materials procured. For accounting purposes, all deliveries from City stores are to be made only on proper requisitions.

3. All bonds required to be furnished by City officers and employees are to be procured by the Procurement Department but the City is to pay for the cost of such bonds. The Department is also to purchase all insurance needed and authorized by the City for its employees.

4. The Department is to let all contracts for utility services required by the City and to be paid for with City funds.

5. To enable the Department to make purchases in quantity and to standardize purchases in the interest of economy and efficiency, a procedure is devised for the scheduling of requirements based upon regular information supplied to it by all the officers and agencies of the City. However, the Department is required in the performance of its procurement functions to consult with the various officers and agencies so that items procured although standardized as far as may be possible, will still meet particular needs.

6. As a general rule, appropriations for the procurement of personal property are to be made directly to the Procurement Department. However, even where such an appropriation may be made to any other officer or agency, the Department is to make the purchases although it acts as the agent for such officer or agency.

7. In order to enable an officer or agency to meet emergencies or to make a specialized type of purchase, the Department may, upon request, permit a direct purchase by any officer or agency. However, the Department's approval must be obtained in writing and the specifications for the purchase must be first approved so that such exceptions will remain subject at all times to control by the department responsible for procurement.

8. All printing, binding, and engraving and publications required by the City are to be furnished by the Procurement Department.

9. The Department is to distribute all printed matter of the City to the public and to City agencies. This requirement should serve the convenience of the public since there will be only one agency where City printed matter may be procured. It should also minimize the wasteful distribution of City printed matter.

10. A City Manual giving complete information about the various City officers and agencies and their functions and of the operations of the City government is to be compiled, edited, and published by the Procurement Department. Such a manual should serve the convenience of the public and of City officers and employees.

11. The Procurement Department is to let all contracts which are to be paid for from City funds for which competitive bids are required even though specifications may have been prepared and performance is to be supervised by another agency of the City. See Section 8-200 as to when competitive bidding is required. Included in this category are contracts awarding City concessions. See Section 8-201. These requirements are necessary to standardize contract procedures and for the convenience of bidders and the effecting of economies for the City.

12. The Department is to be the City agency for the disposal of unserviceable City property so that any property for which there is a use, will be used, and property for which there is no use, will be disposed of. See Section 8-203. Before disposing of any property, the Department must determine whether any other agency supported by funds from the City Treasury can use it. If use cannot be made of the property and it is unserviceable, the Department is authorized to dispose of it by sale or otherwise only after advertisement or public notice and receipt of bids. If the property is not resalable, the Department may destroy it.