The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority (CNYRTA) routinely expends funds to purchase goods and services including, but not limited to, bus parts, support equipment, professional services, etc. Any purchases using Federal funds must be in compliance with Federal Transit Administration ("FTA') Circular 4220.1E, Third Party Contracting Guidelines.

The basic procurement objective is to secure the best goods and/or services at the lowest available price, consistent with quality requirements and delivery needs. The practice of competitive bidding, whether formal or informal, not only tends to assure reasonable prices, but guards against improper practices. All procurement transactions, without regard to dollar value, will be conducted in a manner that provides maximum open and free competition.

The CNYRTA shall make awards only to responsible contractors possessing the ability to perform successfully under the terms and conditions of a proposed procurement. In making a responsible contractor determination, consideration shall be given to such matters as contractor integrity, compliance with public policy, record of past performance, and financial and technical resources. Responsibility differs from responsiveness in that responsibility generally applies to the offeror. Responsive applies to the bid submission and its conformance with the specifications or requirements of the solicitation document.

When a purchase is initiated by CNYRTA, it will fall into one of the following three procurement categories:

Micro‑Purchases: purchases resulting in cost to CNYRTA under $1,000

Procurements of goods and/or services costing less than $1,000 do not require competitive quotations. When employing this type of procurement, the Procurement Department must ensure equitable distribution among qualified suppliers in the local area. For micro‑purchases, a fair and reasonable price determination is made based on price analysis.

Small Purchases: purchases resulting in cost to CNYRTA between $1,000 and $14,999.99 per year

Small purchase procedures are those relatively simple and informal procurement methods for securing services, supplies, bus parts or other property that cost more than $1,000 but do not cost more than $14,999.99. NOTE: The Davis‑Bacon Act applies to federally funded construction contracts over $2,000.

There are two levels and two categories of small purchases:

NON BUS PARTS

• $1,000.00 - $2,500.00: require a minimum of three verbal quotations
$2,501.00 - $14,999.99: require a minimum of three written quotations

BUS PARTS

• $1,000.00 - $5,000.00 require a minimum of three verbal quotations
• $5,000 - $14,000.00: require a minimum of three written quotations

Large Purchases: purchases resulting in an aggregate cost to CNYRTA of $15,000 or more per year

Pursuant to New York's Public Authorities Law and Article 4‑C of the New York Economic Development Law, all procurements of $15,000 or more require the selection of contractors on a formal, competitive basis, unless otherwise indicated in these Guidelines, and must be advertised in the New York State Contract Reporter. Advertisements may also be placed in local newspapers or trade publications as deemed appropriate by the Procurement Staff.

Procurements in this category fall into one of two types: Invitation for Bids (IFB) or Request for Proposals (RFP). Executive Director approval must be given in order to proceed with purchases greater $15,000. Board approval is required prior to award.

Sealed Bid

Sealed bids shall be publicly solicited and a firm, fixed‑price contract (lump sum or unit price) shall be awarded to the bidder whose bid is (1) lowest in price and (2) conforms with all the material terms and conditions of the bid specifications, including a successful responsible bidder and responsive bid determination.

Request for Proposals (RFP)

Competitive negotiation is generally used when conditions are not appropriate for the use of sealed bids. As costs become less important in relation to other factors driving the procurement, competitive negotiation becomes a more appropriate procurement tool. In competitive negotiation, proposals are requested from a number of sources. Negotiations are normally conducted with more than one of the sources submitting offers. Either a fixed‑price or cost reimbursable type contract is awarded in this type of procurement.

Procurement of Architectural and Engineering (A&E) Services

CNYRTA shall use a qualifications‑based procurement method based on the Brooks Act when contracting for Federally‑funded A&E Services Contracts (as required in 40 U.S.C., Section 541 and 49 U.S.C. Section 5325(d)). Other types of services considered to be A&E Services include program management, construction management, feasibility studies, preliminary engineering, design, surveying, mapping, and services which require performance by a registered or licensed architect or engineer.

Procurement by Non‑Competitive Negotiation (Sole Source)

Non‑competitive negotiation involves procurement through solicitation of a proposal from a Sole Source, or, after solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined to be inadequate. A contract amendment or change order that is not within the scope of the original contract is considered a Sole Source procurement.

Procurement by noncompetitive negotiation may be used only when procurement is infeasible under micro‑purchase, small purchase, competitive bidding (formal advertising), or competitive negotiation procedures and at least one of the following circumstances applies:

1.       The item is available only from a Single Source;

2.       A public exigency or emergency exists whereby the urgency for the requirement will not permit a delay resulting from competitive solicitation;

3.       The FTA authorizes non‑competitive negotiation (for Federally‑funded contracts only);

4.       After solicitation of a number of sources, competition is determined to be inadequate; and

5.       For Federally funded procurements, the item is an associated capital maintenance item as defined in 49 U.S.C. Section 5307 (a)(1) that is procured directly from the original manufacturer or supplier of the item to be replaced.