Feather Sound Community
Services District
Purchasing Policy
(Adopted November 11th
2009)
SCOPE OF PURCHASES
Purchases for goods and services
may only be made for the purpose of maintaining the green-spaces and
lighting of common areas within the boundaries of Feather Sound
Community Services District (FSCSD) and for the fulfillment of
responsibilities as defined in the agreement between FSCSD and
Pinellas County. Maintenance of roadways, sidewalks, signage, areas
outside of the taxing district, within the boundaries of established
homeowners associations or on private property are not within the
FSCSD charter. Funding for purchases outside the FSCSD charter is
prohibited.
AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE
-
Under $500: Board members have
the authority to approve purchases up to $500. All purchases,
regardless of dollar amount, will require receipts and must be
reviewed and approved by the board as appropriate and within the
charter authority of the organization at the next board meeting.
-
$501--$9,999: purchases must be
approved in advance by a vote of the board.
-
Greater than $9,999: Purchases
exceeding $9,999 require bids and board approval. In some
instances, (professional services, lack of competitors) the
board may waive formal bidding.
-
Recurring Expenditures:
Recurring expenditures and payments for utilities (electric and
water) and contractual obligations (lawn and grounds
maintenance) do not require approval after the initial service
or contract has been approved by the board. All non-recurring
purchases are subject to board review and approval. Approval of
all purchases should be noted in the board minutes.
-
Emergency Purchases: The Chairman or Vice-Chairman shall be
authorized to make emergency purchases, not exceeding $9,999, in
cases where failure to do so could result in an immediate and
apparent loss to FSCSD. The board shall be notified of an
emergency purchase at the first opportunity.
BIDDING
FSCSD requires bidding on all
purchases in excess of $9,999 (except as discussed in Section I).
Purchases for amounts less than $9,999 may also be bid at the
discretion of the board. If the board determines that a purchase
should be bid then it will appoint a board member to solicit bids
from at least three sources. The board will review these bids and
evaluate each based on price, quality of service and other criteria
which it considers appropriate. An award of bid will be made and
noted in the minutes of the board meeting.
The board member soliciting the bids is responsible for notifying
the vendors of their bid status and when appropriate request a
written contract from the winning vendor. The board may authorize
signing of the contract by the board member coordinating the bidding
process or ask for board review and approval of the contact at its
next meeting. Contractors/Vendors awarded a bid must provide proof
of insurance and licenses as appropriate for the services to be
performed. A copy of the board minutes approving each contract
should be kept with the original contract.
CONTRACT REVIEWS
All contracts and on-going service
arrangements should be reviewed at least annually by the board and
approved for continuation or re-bid upon expiration of their term.
This review should be recorded in the meeting minutes. The board
may at its discretion elect to continue service agreements without a
written contract in those cases where it determines there is little
or no financial risk or other consequences in the termination of the
agreement by either party on a short term basis.
Contracts and service arrangements
currently subject to annual review include the following:
Progress Energy (Electric)
Pinellas County Utilities (water)
BeMac (Lawn and grounds maintenance)
Omni (Irrigation system)
American Ecosystems (Pond water treatment)
Architectural Fountains Inc (Water Fountain service)
Play Safety, Inc ( Playground inspection)
St. Petersburg Times (Legal notices)
United States Liability Ins Grp ( Non Profit Professional Liability
Policy)
Auto-Owners Insurance (General Liability Insurance)
Synovus Bank (Banking services)
Regions Bank (Banking services)
The UPS Store (Mail services)
Attkisson & Associates, P.A. (Tax and audit services)
PAYMENT FOR PURCHASES
Payment in full will only be made
once it is determined that the full value of the goods or services
have been delivered and invoiced. Payment should be made by check or
direct debit to the checking account as in the case of utilities
(electric and water). Payment may also be made by debit card for
small recurring transactions such as the legal meeting notices in
the St. Petersburg Times. Payments by check require the signatures
of two bank authorized board members. All payments by check must be
documented with a receipt and include the check number and date of
payment. The Treasurer is responsible for maintaining documentation
for all disbursements and making them available to the external and
internal auditors for FSCSD.
SALES TAX
FSCSD is exempt from sales tax. Vendors should be notified of this
status when purchases are made. An exemption certificate from the
State of Florida should be provided to the vendor if needed to
demonstrate tax exempt status. It is the responsibility of the
Treasurer to renew the sales tax exemption with the State of Florida
as needed.
PROHIBTIONS
Board Members are prohibited from purchasing any item in the name of
FSCSD for personal use and are further prohibited from using their
status as a board member to coerce special consideration in the
purchase of goods and/or services for personal use. Board members
are prohibited from purchasing from vendors where a conflict of
interest may be present. See FSCSD Conflict of Interest Policy.
Draft Revised (Oct 2009)
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