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Policies and Procedures

6300 Purchasing and Equipment Inventory

Initial Date of Approval: 9/18/07

Revision Date(s):  6/14/10, 10/10/11, 6/10/15, 11/15/17

Administrative Responsibility: Vice President of Administrative Services

PURPOSE

To ensure compliance with laws and regulations regarding purchasing and provide control and accountability over state property.

REFERENCES

POLICY

It is the policy of Skagit Valley College to comply with State of Washington purchasing laws and regulations and to acquire and maintain control over state property (equipment) in accordance with RCW 43.19, OFM, and SBCTC guidelines.

PROCEDURES

Goods, materials, supplies, or equipment may be purchased from any of the following sources: selected vendors (on the basis of quality, service, and price), direct purchases from Department of Enterprise Services (DES), state contracts, other state agencies, or formal bid process.

Purchasing Goods and Services
The following purchasing requirements apply to general goods and services. Different rules apply to direct purchases from DES, Department of Information Services (DIS), Cooperative Purchasing Agreements, and OFM personal and client services contracts.

The college follows the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) guidelines and purchasing limits. Depending on the dollar amount of the purchase, one of the following competitive purchasing methods for goods and services must be used. Refer to the DES website and RCW 28B.10.029 to determine the dollar limits applicable to each process.

  • For purchases under a specified amount, colleges have authority to buy without competitive quotes.
  • Request for Quotes. We are required to solicit a minimum of three competitive quotations. The quotes may be obtained by telephone, writing, or fax.
  • Competitive Sealed Bids. Purchases in excess of an amount identified by DES are made under a formal sealed bid procedure in accordance with the rules and regulations of DES.

RCW 39.26 grants exceptions to the competitive process for purchases from state contracts, emergency purchases, single source of supply, insurance and bonds, purchases for resale by institutions of higher education, and other specific situations. Skagit Valley College employees shall follow these procedures for purchases:

  • A purchase requisition (PR) is created at the department level and used to request that a purchase be made.
  • All PRs must have an account code and signature from the budget authority for the account being charged.
  • PRs are then forwarded to the Business Office.
  • Upon receipt of the goods, a receiving report is signed, dated, and returned to the Business Office with invoice and/or packing slip attached.
  • Any discrepancy between the goods ordered and received is reported to the Business Office. Discrepancies shall be resolved between the receiving department, ordering department, and vendor as necessary.

Purchase requisition forms may be obtained from the Business Office.

Fiscal Year End Purchasing
Goods and services must be received by June 30 to be included as expenditures in the current fiscal year. Therefore, all requests for purchases must be turned in to the Business Office no later than May 1st. Any requests for purchases made after May 1st will be reviewed and authorized by the Vice President of Administrative Services.

Goods and/or services received after June 30 will be charged to the following year’s budget.

These year-end purchasing deadlines exclude federal grants operating on a fiscal year other than the state fiscal year of July 1 through June 30.

Equipment Inventory
Upon the receipt of equipment, a state property tag number is issued by the Business Office for affixing on the item. However, a state tag will be assigned, but not affixed, if it is impractical or impossible to mark according to OFM Standards – see SAAM 30.30.30. An item is defined as equipment if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

First cost value of $5,000 or more and life expectancy of one year or more.

Does not change its form with use, i.e. non-consumable

Is of a “small and attractive” nature, as defined by OPPM Section 6350, making formal accountability practical (e.g. , laptops, cameras, televisions).

Equipment details are included in the State Equipment Register (SARS). This includes item description, source of purchase, department holding custody, cost, and location.

Any change of location shall be reported to the Business Office for purposes of record correction. Inventory Transfer forms are located on the SVC Intranet at http://portal.skagit.edu/businessoffice/default.aspx. All transfers must be signed by both the department that originally had the equipment and the department receiving the equipment.

Disposals or any Equipment Removal shall be documented on Equipment Removal From Inventory Forms found on the SVC Intranet at http://intra.skagit.edu/files.asp_Q_pagenumber_E_892. All disposals shall be verified by two witnesses.

Loss, theft, damage, or any occurrence rendering property unusable is reported to the Business Office for removal in inventory records).

An actual Physical Inventory of SVC equipment shall be completed at least every two years. State Property not currently in use shall be stored in areas where access is limited to authorized personnel only.