2018 -- H 7196 SUBSTITUTE A

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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A N   A C T

AMENDING THE CHARTER OF NORTH PROVIDENCE

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Corvese, O'Brien, and Hull

     Date Introduced: January 18, 2018

     Referred To: House Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Article 20, Chapter 1, Sections 20-1-2 and 20-1-3 of Chapter 471 of the

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2014 Public Laws entitled "An Act Amending the Charter of North Providence", are hereby

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amended to read as follows:

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     20-1-2. Meetings.

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     The board shall hold regularly scheduled meetings and give written notice of regularly

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scheduled meetings at the beginning of each calendar year. The notice shall include the dates,

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times, and places of the meetings and shall be provided to members of the public upon request

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and to the secretary of state at the beginning of each calendar year in accordance with chapter 46

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of title 42, "Rhode Island Open Meetings Act."

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     The board shall give supplemental written public notice of any meeting within a

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minimum of forty-eight (48) hours before the date. This notice shall include the date the notice

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was posted, the date, time, and place of the meeting, and a statement specifying the nature of the

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business to be discussed. Notwithstanding the aforementioned forty-eight (48) hour notice, this

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supplemental notice shall be provided to the members of the board at least two weeks (2) in

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advance of the meeting(s).

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     In the event of an emergency affecting the public safety, health or welfare, on the written

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recommendation of the purchasing agent, additional meetings of the board may be held provided

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that written notice of the meeting, as provided under the Rhode Island Open Meetings Act, as

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amended, is given.

 

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     The board shall hold all meetings at the North Providence town hall. All meetings shall

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be held on weekdays at 6:00 p.m.

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     The agenda, the time, and the location of each meeting, except an emergency meeting as

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hereinabove provided, shall be advertised in a paper of local circulation on the town's website and

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within town hall on the Public Notice Bulletin Board at least one week prior to the meeting.

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     20-1-3. Processing prior to requesting bids and upon Submission of Bids.

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     (a) Prior to sending out the Request For Proposal, the treasurer must approve, in writing,

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to the purchasing board, a written certification of the line item in the budget that supports the

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purchase.

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     (b) All purchases requiring the submissions of bids pursuant to state law or this charter, at

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the time they are submitted to either the town or the purchasing agent, shall be time stamped by

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the purchasing agent or the town when submitted. No bid submitted after the time set for

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submission in the bid specifications shall be considered by the board.

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     (c) The purchasing agent may declare a general amnesty to this requirement in the event

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of severe weather or other state of emergency, such that town offices are closed or mail is

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otherwise undeliverable. Said general amnesty shall be until a time immediately following said

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severe weather or state of emergency.

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     (d) Should the town post an addendum to any bid specifications after they have been

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circulated to proposed bidders, the purchasing agent may extend the time for bid submissions to a

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date no later than fourteen (14) days from the original date of bid submissions.

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     SECTION 2. Article 20, Chapter 2, Section 20-2-1 of Chapter 273 of the 1999 Public

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Laws entitled "An Act Amending the Charter of North Providence" is hereby further amended to

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read as follows:

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     20-2-1 Procedure.

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     All purchases for construction exceeding an aggregate amount of Ten Thousand

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($10,000.00) Dollars and for all other purchases exceeding an aggregate amount of Five

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Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars shall be made only by bids except, that this procedure shall not be

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enforced for purchases required in connection with an emergency as defined in Section 2-1-6 (d)

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of this Charter.

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     All purchases not exceeding an aggregate amount of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) Dollars

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for construction and Five Thousand ($5,000.00) Dollars for all other purchases shall be made by

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obtaining written or telephone quotations from at least three (3) suppliers/contractors of the

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items/services. A record of all such purchases and quotations shall be retained by the Purchasing

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Agent. In the event that there are available less than three (3) suppliers of the items/services, such

 

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lessor number of suppliers may be requested to quote prices.

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     Purchasers of items with a value of items/services with a value of less than Fifteen

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Hundred ($1,500.00) Twenty-Five Hundred ($2,500) Dollars shall be authorized to be made by

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the Purchasing Agent.

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     All items which are essentially a unit, are made normally on a recurring basis or which

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can be purchased more economically in larger quantity, shall be purchased in such a quantity as

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the Purchasing Agent may direct for the greatest economical advantage to the Town. The

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Purchaser shall not be fractionalized to circumvent the intent of this Section. The Purchasing

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Board may declare void any purchase it deems to have been made in such a manner as to

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intentionally defeat the intent of the Section and the person making the purchase may be held

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personally liable for any resulting loss or other damages to the Town.

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     In order to operate as a central purchasing agency or to otherwise make purchases more

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economically, the Purchasing Agent may require each office, department or other agency to

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submit at specified times, a list of items and of their quantity as may be needed within designated

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periods.

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     The amount set forth in this Section shall be increased or decreased annually at the same

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rate as the Boston Regional Consumer Price Index.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

AMENDING THE CHARTER OF NORTH PROVIDENCE

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     This act would require the town of North Providence to post the agenda for its purchasing

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board meetings on its town website and in the town hall on the public notice bulletin board, at

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least one week prior to meeting. It would increase from fifteen hundred dollars ($1,500) to

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twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500) the maximum amount the town purchasing agent could

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authorize the purchases of items/services. It would also allow the town's purchasing agent to

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declare a general amnesty period due to severe or other state emergencies from the purchasing

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bid's submission date. Finally it would enable the purchasing agent to extend the original bid

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submission deadline, if the town posted an addendum to the original bid's specifications.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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