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Purchasing Guidelines

AUTHORITY TO SIGN CONTRACTS
The authority to execute College contracts is vested in the Chancellor of the College or designee. The Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration has been designated to execute contracts on behalf of the College. No one else is authorized to sign contracts or agreements on behalf of the College. All contracts are to be routed to the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration for contract review. 

AUTOMOBILES
New vehicles must be purchased against established State Contracts. Contact the Purchasing Department for additional information.

EMERGENCY PURCHASES
An emergency condition is defined as “a situation that creates a threat to public health, welfare, safety or property, such as may arise by reason of floods, epidemics, riots, equipment failures, or such other reasons as may be proclaimed by the Commissioner of Administration.” Poor planning does not constitute an emergency condition.

An emergency purchase may be made when the existence of an emergency condition creates an immediate and serious need for supplies, materials, equipment or services that cannot be purchased by normal methods and the lack of which would seriously threaten:

  • The functioning of state government

  • The preservation or protection of property, or

  • The health or safety of any person

 When an emergency purchase is indicated, the Purchasing Office should be contacted for assistance. If an emergency condition arises after office hours and circumstances will not permit any delays, then the department head or an authorized department representative should obtain whatever competitive pricing is practical (written, telephone, etc.) and proceed, using discretion, with the purchase. The department head or the authorized must then sign a written report explaining the nature of the emergency representative and submitted to the Purchasing Office, along with a requisition for the materials or services purchased. This report and requisition are required to be submitted within two (2) working days and must indicate the competition that was obtained or attempted.

The BRCC Purchasing Office is responsible for reporting all emergency purchases to the Office of State Purchasing.

ETHICS
BRCC follows the established governing state law: Chapter 15 - Code of Governmental Ethics, Louisiana Revised Statue 42:1101.

FORMS
These forms are on the Purchasing page of the BRCC website:

  • Return Goods Form: Use this form to return goods to a vendor. Please reference the RETURNING ITEMS TO A VENDOR section below.

  • Sole Source Justification Form: Use this form to document a sole source requirement. Please reference the SOLE SOURCE section below.

  • Packing Slip Substitute Form: Use this form when the vendor has not supplied a packing slip/delivery ticket or if a packing slip is lost. Payments cannot be made to a vendor without this documentation.

INSTALLMENT PURCHASES
Installment purchases-where bids are obtained in accordance with appropriate purchasing procedures and payments are made over a period of time-are permitted only in special cases. A written explanation of why a financed purchase is more advantageous than a purchase is required. This justification must indicate:

  • The amount of the item(s) if not being financed as an outright purchase

  • The total amount of the financed item(s) for the agreement term

  • The desired term of the installment agreement

  • The monthly cost of the installment agreement

  • The source of funds to be used to pay the installment

  • Why an installment is being requested in lieu of an outright purchase

  • Approval signature of the appropriate Vice Chancellor

LEASE OR RENTAL OF REAL PROPERTY
Because of the time required to set up a lease or rental agreement for real property (office space, classrooms, etc.) it is suggested that departments contact the Purchasing Office for assistance at least three (3) months in advance of the desired starting date of the lease or rental agreement.  All lease or rental for real property must have the State’s Office of Facility Planning and Control approval.  Rental space less than 5,000 SF does not have to be bid. Any lease or rental of property must be approved by the Vice Chancellor of Finance.

MEETING FACILITIES (Rental)
Telephone or facsimile price quotations shall be solicited, where feasible, to at least three (3) bona fide, qualified vendors. Whenever possible, at least one (1) of the bona fide, qualified vendors shall be a certified small and emerging business.

However, any associated meals do not have to be bid but have to conform to the rules and regulations of PPM 49. Refer to “MEALS."

MEMBERSHIPS
All memberships, regardless of cost, must be processed as an electronic requisition. Please include the start and end dates of the membership. Send the invoice to Accounting and Finance. Only institutional memberships in the name of the College or in the name of the College department will be permitted.

REPAIRS AND REPAIR PARTS
Repairs to equipment and parts associated with a specific repair job are to be purchased either through the use of competitive prices obtained in accordance with Purchasing Procedures or through the use of an “authorized dealer."  In either case, a written cost estimate should be obtained prior to authorization for any repair.

An authorized dealer is defined as a dealer certified by the manufacturer to sell or perform maintenance on that manufacturer’s equipment. Contact the Purchasing Department for assistance.

RETURNING ITEMS TO A VENDOR
Items may be returned to vendors for a variety of reasons. Please complete the Return Goods Form that is available in the Purchasing section of the BRCC website.  Forward the completed form to the Purchasing Department. Do not send the items to the Purchasing Department. The Purchasing Department will contact the vendor and make arrangements for the return. A Receiving Department employee will pick up the items from the using department. It is the responsibility of the using department to properly package the return goods for its type of shipment. The end using department may be charged for restocking and freight.

SOLE SOURCE
“Sole source procurement” is an exception to normal purchasing procedures and is permitted only when the required item or service is available from a single supplier.  A requisition for a particular proprietary item does not justify sole source procurement if there is more than one potential bidder or offer for that item. Examples of circumstances that could necessitate sole source procurement are:

  • Where compatibility of equipment, accessories, or replacement parts is a primary consideration

  • Where a sole-supplier item is needed for trail use or testing

  • Where procurement of a sole-supplier item is for resale

  • Where service being purchased is a public utility service

When sole source purchases are requested, the fact that a sole source situation exists must be documented by the requestor on the Sole Source Form (found on the Purchasing website).  Forward the completed form to the Purchasing Office along with a signed quote (fax is acceptable) from the vendor denoting the description of the item, price, terms, delivery, and a statement from the vendor that they are the sole source. The Purchasing Office is the final authority for determining that a requested sole source purchase is in fact, a sole source. Sole source purchases are subject to close scrutiny by the Legislative Auditors. In case of reasonable doubt, competition is to be solicited.

The BRCC Purchasing Office is responsible for reporting all sole source purchases to the Office of State Purchasing.

STATE CONTRACTS
State contracts are contracts set up by the Office of State Procurement with numerous vendors for the purchase of various specified items during a given period of time.

The College has the option of purchasing against these contracts without the necessity of developing specifications or requesting bids, which means purchase orders may be placed immediately for a faster delivery. Also, because of the volume associated with state purchases, the prices are very competitive.

Contact the Purchasing Department for information on existing State Contracts.

CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS (Attendance, Travel)
Information for State travel regulation PPM 49 may be obtained from the Office of Accounting and Finance.

MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER SUBSCRIPTION
Subscriptions for magazines and newspapers, delivered to the College address, require an electronic requisition.

MEALS, SPECIAL ON CAMPUS
Meals for on campus meetings or activities must have a special meal form approved by the Vice Chancellor of Finance and Finance.  Special meal forms and electronic requisitions must be completed and approved before the event.  Special meals do not have to be bid but have to conform to the rules and regulations of PPM 49.  An electronic requisition should be used for vendors that accept purchase orders.    If a check is needed to pay the vendor at the event, this must be noted on the electronic requisition.

Current Special Meal form can be obtained from the Purchasing Department.

PROFESSIONAL, PERSONAL, AND CONSULTING SERVICES CONTRACTS
Information may be obtained from the Purchasing & Contracts page.