|
Business and Operating Policies and Procedures
Policy 4.1 - Departmental Budgeting and Purchasing for Supplies and Equipment
Adoption Date: October 20, 2025 Revised
DEPARTMENTAL BUDGETING AND PURCHASING FOR SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT
Each department is responsible for submitting, justifying, and controlling its budget. Budgetary information is available online, and departments should normally use this method to obtain budget information. Upon special request, when this method is unavailable or not practical, a report of unencumbered balances may be sent to each department on a monthly basis.
CAPITAL OUTLAY CUTOFF DATE
Funds budgeted for departmental capital outlay items that remain unspent and unencumbered on February 15 each year will automatically revert to the respective fund. Funds budgeted for teaching supplies that remain unspent and unencumbered as of June 15 will also revert to the General Fund.
PURCHASING & P-CARD PROCUREMENT HANDBOOKS
When a need to purchase arises, please refer to the Purchasing Handbook and/or the Procurement Card Handbook in the Employee Handbook Appendix.
TEXAS SALES AND USE TAX EXEMPTION
The College is exempt from the payment of Texas Sales Tax and Texas Hotel Occupancy Tax. Please provide vendors with a Texas Sales Tax and Use Tax Exemption Certificate when you make any purchase or check into a hotel in the State of Texas. Exemption forms can be obtained from the Financial Accounting Department.
Because the College is tax exempt from certain Texas taxes, the College does not normally reimburse Texas Sales Taxes. An employee must always communicate the college’s tax-exempt status to a vendor via a Texas Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certification form or other number used by the vendor to identify the tax-exempt status of the college. Special care should be exercised when an employee initiates a petty cash or P-Card transaction to ensure that sales tax is not charged. In normal circumstances, if a vendor applies sales tax to a purchase, the employee must request that the vendor remove the tax.
In certain circumstances, if Texas Sales Tax is incurred (such as an emergency holiday or emergency after hours purchase), the College will pay and reimburse this tax to the vendor and employee when approval is obtained prior to the purchase by the employee from the District Chief Business Officer. If the original approval was made verbally, then it must be followed by written authorization to document the approval. If the transaction was made using petty cash, the written authorization must be submitted with the other purchase documentation when presented for reimbursement. If the transaction was made using a P-Card, the written authorization must be scanned and attached to the purchase transaction in the Well Fargo P-card portal and submitted with the hard-copy reconcilement report that is forwarded to Financial Accounting.
Unresolved sales tax repayments without prior authorization will be deducted from an employee’s pay checks by payroll deduction.
Employees may not negotiate, sign master tax exempt forms or request additional identification numbers with vendors. Because tax exempt purchases must be related to the college’s exempt functions, an employee may not use the college’s tax-exempt status for personal purchases.
PETTY CASH PROCEDURES
Petty cash funds for occasional purchases are available to college employees for small expenditures only when other means of purchasing are not appropriate or practical. The petty cash used for these expenditures must be disbursed from the site Business Office and is limited to $250. In extraordinary circumstances administrative cabinet approval may be given to exceed this limit and must be given in advance and in writing.
The use of petty cash to purchase is not intended to take the place of the district’s standard purchase order system and therefore should not be used on a routine basis. Allowable petty cash purchases are limited to immediate need situations where the ability to plan for the purchase was impractical.
Employees should use tax exemption certificates (available in the District accounting office) when making petty cash purchases. Sales tax will not be reimbursed. A receipt, invoice, or other supporting documentation must be presented to the business office not later than the next business day following the expenditure.
DEPARTMENTAL CHANGE ACCOUNTS
Selected departments may be issued small amounts of cash to make change for small cash receipts. Examples of this are the library to make change for book fines, Cosmetology to make change for cash pay customers, or concession stands to make change for cash purchases. These accounts are not to be used to make purchases for the college. Deposits must be made to the business office from these Departmental Change Accounts as required by College Policy and Procedures.
CONTRACTS
Contracts concerning agreements between the college district and vendors may be made only with the written approval of the President or Board of Trustees. Contracts for services to be performed by or for the district are to be signed by the President or designee. Refer to the Purchasing Handbook for additional details.
WHEN A PURCHASE IS $50,000 OR GREATER/COMPETETIVE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES
Contact Business Services, which is responsible for managing competitive bids and proposals to discuss/implement a formal solicitation and the best procurement method to follow based on the situation.This oversight begins with a request submitted by the interested party, approved by their Cabinet member, and continues through the pre-bid, award, and post-award processes.All requests must be vetted by the area with interest in the goods/services and approved by the requestor’s Cabinet member prior to submission.The requested goods/services should have been approved as a part of the college’s strategic plan with associated funds allocated during the budgeting process (or upon receipt of a donation).
Formal Solicitations normally require at least a minimum of four weeks to be completed depending on when the Board of Trustees meeting occurs. Adequate time must be allowed to ensure this process is orderly and follows state law. Please plan accordingly.
The following procedures apply to competitive procurement that is governed by the Texas Education Code Chapter 44 (competitive bidding, competitive sealed proposals other than construction services, Requests for Proposals, interlocal contracts, reverse auction procedures, or formation of political subdivisions) for purchasing and acquisition of goods and services and the Texas Government Code 2269 (interlocal contracts, competitive bidding, competitive sealed proposals, construction manager-agent methods, construction manager-at-risk methods, design-build methods, and reverse auction procedures) governing facilities construction.
1. Competitive Procurement Request.
Areas seeking to initiate competitive procurement solicitations or bids will submit a formal Competitive Procurement Request Form to the Business Services Department.
The form must include:
- A thorough description of the goods or services.
- An estimated budget based on budget-approved funds or donations.
- The desired procurement timeline.
- Any relevant specifications or requirements necessary to develop and publish the solicitation.
- Names of potential contractors or vendors.
Exceptions
- For Board-approved cooperative purchasing networks, the President is delegated authority to approve purchases up to $100,000, with a report to be submitted to the Board of Trustees at the next scheduled meeting.
- Additionally, in other circumstances, the Board grants discretion authority for purchases ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to be approved by the Chief Business Officer, in consultation with the President, in lieu of submission to the Board of Trustees for prior approval. These purchases will be reported to the Board of Trustees at the next scheduled meeting.
- Emergency purchases may be exempt from the competitive procurement process under certain circumstances. These transactions still must be documented and justified in accordance with college policy. Common examples of emergency purchases include urgent facility repairs or acquisitions involving proprietary systems and technology.
2. Draft Solicitation Review.
Once the Business Services Department has prepared the solicitation document, the requestor and Cabinet member must review the draft for accuracy, completeness, and alignment with the original request. Approval must be indicated by the requestor’s and Cabinet member’s signature on the Competitive Procurement Request Form.
3. Identification of Potential Contractors.
The Business Services Department may compile a list of contractors/vendors using one or more of the following methods, when needed:
- Review of existing vendor databases and past procurement records
- Market research or outreach to industry associations
- State-approved cooperative purchasing networks or directories
- Vetted vendor recommendations from the requesting area
4. Formal Solicitations & Proposal Handling Guidelines.
4.1 Board Approval/Construction Method
In the event of facilities construction, the method of construction must be approved by the Board of Trustees prior to release of the solicitation.
4.2 Public Notice.
- All bids and competitive submissions shall be publicly advertised in accordance with state and federal guidelines/laws and institutional procedures with the bid opening date, time and location included.
- In some instances, there will be a pre-bid conference for which the time, date, and location will be included in the notice.
- A Checklist of Required Items must be included in all bids/formal solicitations, and all listed items must be included for the submission to be considered responsive.
4.3 Receipt of Proposals.
- All bids/submissions should be received by the specified opening time and date specified in the solicitation document.
- Submissions will be recorded into a proposal receipt log.
- The Chief Business Officer or designee will read aloud the name of each proposer and related details according to the purchasing method being followed in state law.
- Corrected omissions by the bidder will be noted and considered during the evaluation and tabulation process.
- Incomplete submissions not corrected will be considered nonresponsive and will be rejected without further consideration.
4.4 Reservation of Rights.
Howard College reserves the right to accept or reject any or all submissions — in whole or in part — to waive any informality or technicality in any submission received, and to accept the submission deemed most advantageous to the institution and offering best overall value. A submission does not constitute a guarantee of award. Furthermore, the institution reserves the right to cancel solicitations. This language must be included in all bid/formal solicitation documents.
4.5 Confidentiality.
- Prior to opening any submission, all documents received shall be safeguarded and kept unopened.
- After opening submissions, documents may become public records according to state procurement laws.
5. Procurement Interview & Assessment Committee.
A Procurement Interview & Assessment Committee (PIAC) shall be convened for each competitive submission.
5.1 Committee Selection.
The committee will consist of a minimum of three members:
- The Cabinet requestor.
- At least two individuals nominated by the requestor’s Cabinet member who possess relevant expertise and a clear understanding of the solicitation’s institutional impact.
- Other individuals, as appropriate, nominated by the Chief Business Officer in consultation with the President of the college.
Nominees should be:
- Familiar with the procurement scope and specific need it addresses.
- Direct or indirect users of the goods/service, and/or
- Possess insight into how the goods/service will integrate with department/college operations.
Additional Expertise Requirements:
- For goods or services solicitations. Direct knowledge of the required functionality and participation in the vendor-led demonstrations, when applicable.
- For equipment and construction solicitations. Practical experience with equipment operation and/or construction and how the proposed solution will integrate with existing college infrastructure.
Committee members are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and must agree to maintain confidentiality throughout and following the review process. In the event a conflict exists, the individual is recused from participation.
5.2 Committee Ranking.
- The PIAC will rank proposals based on their opinion of the best solution for the college.
- A written ranking report shall be prepared, including justification for the committee’s choice. This report will be submitted to the Technical Scoring & Review Panel for further consideration and final recommendation.
6. Final Recommendation to Board.
The Technical Scoring & Review Panel (TSRP) will convene to review the proposal receipt log, PIAC written ranking report, and to evaluate and score submissions using the published scoring rubric in consideration of best value for the college.
The abbreviated panel will consist of:
- PIAC
- Chief Business Officer / Internal Auditor
- Chief Fiscal Officer / Controller
Bids/proposals of values greater than $100,000 and/or significant impact will include an extended panel which includes the following individuals:
- President
- A minimum of three additional individuals which can include:
- Cabinet members who are familiar with the project, district budgets, and college policies and/or
- Impartial third parties with relevant expertise.
Panel members are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and must agree to maintain confidentiality throughout and following the evaluation and scoring process. In the event a conflict exists, the individual is recused from participation.
In determining the best overall value for the college, the panel may consider these criteria plus any criteria allowed by law:
- Quality of goods and/or services
- Price/weight determined by law
- Vendor experience and qualifications
- Technical merit
- Customer support, warranties, maintenance, and training
- Compliance with solicitation requirements
- Delivery and implementation timeline
- Past performance / experience
- References
The abbreviated and/or extended TSRP will review and consider the PIAC written ranking report, score the submissions using the published scoring rubric, and prepare a formal bid tabulation.
This report will be submitted to the President for further inquiry and consultation in the abbreviated TSRP or as part of the President’s involvement in the extended process.
The President will inform the Board of Trustees of bid tabulation. The Board has delegated authority to the college president for the bid tabulation process. After the Board is informed, and unless the Board has questions for further consideration, the Board may affirm the decision, and the bid tabulation will become a public document in accordance with Texas state law.
Items exempted by law will be redacted.
7. Conflict Resolution.
In the event of a dispute or challenge, the following procedure shall apply:
- Initial Complaint. The concerned party must submit a written complaint/appeal to the Business Services Department within five (5) business days of the proposal opening or award notification. The complaint/appeal must clearly state the nature of the dispute and provide supporting documentation.
- Investigation. The Chief Business Officer or their designee will conduct a review of the complaint, including relevant documentation and interviews, if necessary, to determine whether procurement procedures were appropriately followed.
- Investigative Response. A written response will be issued within ten (10) business days of the initial complaint, stating the findings and any corrective action taken, if applicable.
- Appeal. If the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution, they may submit an appeal to the College President within five (5) business days of receipt of the investigative response. The President shall review the appeal and determine a resolution.
- Final Appeal. If the complainant is not satisfied with the appeal resolution, the complainant can request that the issue be forwarded to the Board of Trustees for final determination.
This procedure must be included in all bid/formal solicitation documents.
|
