The business procedure governing the procurement, storage, issuance and delivery of all materials, supplies, services and equipment required in the operation of the College is an administrative responsibility controlled by the College Board of Trustees and governed by County Colleges Contracts Law 18A:64A-25.1 et seq. The Purchasing Department is obligated to monitor compliance with the laws, rules and regulations set forth by federal, state and local authorities as they pertain to the procurement and related functions. In the event of any discrepancy in the following statements, all applicable statute, state or local rule or regulation, legal advertisement, instruction to bidder issued at the time of bidding, or individual set of specifications shall govern the transaction(s).
The Board has designated the following individuals as contracting agents for the College: President; Vice President for Academic Affairs; Vice President for Institutional Advancement; Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Compliance; Chief Financial Officer; and Director of Purchasing and Inventory. No other person has the authority to enter into purchase contracts or, in any way, obligate the College for procurement indebtedness. Any such commitments are considered unauthorized and may not be honored for payment. In no instance should suppliers deliver materials for purchase or testing until a Middlesex College purchase order has been issued by the Purchasing Department (or in the case of emergencies, an email from a contracting agent authorizing such purchase). All cooperative purchases exceeding the quote threshold, all non-fair and open contracts exceeding the “Pay-to-Play” threshold, and all contracts exceeding the bid threshold must be approved by the Board of Trustees prior to the purchase being authorized by an official College Purchase Order.
Suppliers shall be responsible business organizations offering material, supplies, services or equipment required by the College. When requested, any supplier may be required to present factual evidence of financial status and capability or other information related to whether the Bidder is responsible to supply specific commodities. The Director of Purchasing and Inventory may elect to make plant visitations, check available ratings, obtain references or other researched media as deemed necessary.
It is the responsibility of the Purchasing Department to purchase all required supplies, services and equipment. Specifications shall be written so that broad competitive solicitation through formal bid or written quotation procedures is encouraged. Expenditures exceeding the current bid threshold may require a performance bond and bid guarantee at the discretion of the College and as provided for in N.J.S.A.18A:64A-25.16-17.
The Purchasing Department will solicit written quotations covering the purchase of any items having an estimated net price in excess of the current quote threshold but under the current bid threshold. Sealed bids or Requests for Proposals/Qualifications will be solicited for any item or group of items that exceed the current bid threshold, or at the discretion of the Director of Purchasing and Inventory. All sealed bids received will be opened at the indicated time, and any bids received after the opening time will be returned upon request of the Bidder. Sufficient time should be allowed by all interested bid parties using U.S. Mail or other carriers, to have bid documents reach the Purchasing Department prior to the scheduled bid opening time. Any bids that may have been delivered elsewhere at the College and rerouted to Purchasing must also be received prior to this scheduled opening time.
The Director of Purchasing and Inventory shall review the results of each bid and make recommendations to the Board of Trustees who may accept or reject those in the form of resolutions for award. The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any or all bids and/or quotations, and to accept those items and/or services deemed to be in the best interest of the College. A written purchase order will then be issued to the lowest responsible bidder or awardee as approved by the Board.
Any legal challenges to the bidding process must be pursued before the Board of Trustees in accordance with P.L. 1994 Ch. 48, Sec. 6 (f). The challenge or objection must be presented by filing a petition with the secretary of the Board of Trustees within seven (7) calendar days of the decision to award or not award a contract. Proceedings on the petition shall be governed by the Rules Governing Hearing Before the Board of Trustees of Middlesex College. The rules may be obtained from the Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees.
All College purchases are secured by means of a standard or blanket purchase order document. The Terms and Conditions applicable to all standard and blanket purchase orders can be found above. In order to eliminate delays and reduce the need for writing large numbers of small purchase orders for these materials, blanket orders are processed annually for supplies requiring frequent delivery. Blanket orders are authorizations for specific College department to spend up to a pre-determined, “not-to-exceed” amount. The Purchasing Department reserves the right to conduct performance audits of vendor contracts and usage by College departments.
All deliveries shall be F.O.B. delivered. All packaging must clearly notate the College’s Purchase Order number and shall contain a packing list. Any drop shipped items may be returned to the shipper if insufficient information is available to determine the original purchase order holder.
Samples, when requested by the Purchasing Department, shall be furnished free of expense. Such samples will, upon request, be returned at the vendor’s expense. Vendors occasionally may be asked to set up demonstrations of educational materials so that the College administrators and instructors may observe and study the latest materials available for future purchase.
All vendors shall submit invoices to accounts_payable@middlesexcc.edu. Invoices without the authorized Purchase or Blanket Order number may be delayed. Invoices for incomplete shipment (partial payment) will only be paid upon authorization by the Director of Purchasing and Inventory.
Vendors that prefer payment via ACH deposit (e-check) must send their request to ACH_help@middlesexcc.edu. Banking information is encrypted and stored on the College’s network; encryption complies with all current banking regulations and can only be viewed by authorized individuals. Banking information is verified through a pre-note process; once confirmed all payment below $100,000 will be paid via e-check and remittance information will be sent to the email on file.
All requests to examine bid or other public documents must be submitted in writing to purchasing@middlesexcc.edu. If a formal Open Public Records Act request is submitted, email the required form to publicrecords@middlesexcc.edu.
It shall be the responsibility of the Purchasing Department to dispose of surplus or obsolete materials, supplies or equipment after receiving approval by the Board of Trustees. Such items shall be sold via auction on GovDeals.com; all transactions will be governed by the terms indicated on the College’s auction postings. If no bids are received after two postings, the property may be sold or disposed of as determined by the Director of Purchasing. No College employee may make any commitment for disposal of equipment without specific prior approval of the Director of Purchasing.