Sec. 2-582. - Proscribed participation by public employees in procurement transaction.
Sec. 2-582.1. - Solicitation or acceptance of gifts.
Sec. 2-582.2. - Disclosure of subsequent employment.
Sec. 2-582.3. - Gifts by bidders, offerors, contractors or subcontractors.
Sec. 2-582.5. - Purchase of building materials, etc., from architect or engineer prohibited.
Sec. 2-583. - Penalty for violation.
Sec. 2-584. - Participation in bid preparation; limitation on submitting bid for same procurement.
The provisions of this division supplement, but do not supersede, other provisions of law, including, but not limited to, the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (section 2.2-3100 et seq.), the Virginia Governmental Frauds Act (section 18.2-498.1 et seq.), and Articles 2 and 3 of Chapter 10 of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended. The provisions of this division apply notwithstanding the fact that the conduct described may not constitute a violation of the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act.
(Ord. No. 3910-89; Ord. No. 5805-02)
For the purposes of this division, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:
(1)
City employee shall mean any person employed by the city, including elected officials or appointed members of governing bodies.
(2)
Immediate family shall mean a spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, and any other person living in the same household as the employee.
(3)
Official responsibility shall mean administrative or operating authority, whether intermediate or final, to initiate, approve, disapprove or otherwise affect a procurement transaction, or any claim resulting therefrom.
(4)
Pecuniary interest arising from the procurement shall mean a personal interest in a contract as defined in the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act (section 2.2-3100 et seq.).
(5)
Procurement transaction shall mean all functions that pertain to the obtaining of any goods, services or construction, including description of requirements, selection and solicitation of sources, preparation and award of contract, and all phases of contract administration.
(Ord. No. 3910-89; Ord. No. 5805-02)
Sec. 2-582. - Proscribed participation by public employees in procurement transaction.
Except as may be specifically allowed by subdivisions A2 and A3 of section 2.2-3112, Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, no city employee having official responsibility for a procurement transaction shall participate in that transaction on behalf of the city when the employee knows that:
(1)
The employee is contemporaneously employed by a bidder, offeror or contractor involved in the procurement transaction; or
(2)
The employee, the employee's partner, or any member of the employee's immediate family holds a position with a bidder, offeror or contractor such as an officer, director, trustee, partner or the like, or is employed in a capacity involving personal and substantial participation in the procurement transaction, or owns or controls an interest of more than five (5) percent; or
(3)
The employee, the employee's partner, or any member of the employee's immediate family has a pecuniary interest arising from the procurement transaction; or
(4)
The employee, the employee's partner, or any member of the employee's immediate family is negotiating, or has an arrangement concerning, prospective employment with a bidder, offeror or contractor.
(Ord. No. 3910-89; Ord. No. 5046-97, § 1; Ord. No. 5805-02)
Sec. 2-582.1. - Solicitation or acceptance of gifts.
No city employee having official responsibility for a procurement transaction shall solicit, demand, accept or agree to accept from a bidder, offeror, contractor or subcontractor any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal or minimal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value is exchanged. The city may recover the value of anything conveyed in violation of this section.
(Ord. No. 3910-89)
Sec. 2-582.2. - Disclosure of subsequent employment.
No city employee or former city employee having official responsibility for procurement transactions shall accept employment with any bidder, offeror or contractor with whom the employee or former employee dealt in an official capacity concerning procurement transactions for a period of one (1) year from the cessation of employment by the city unless the employee or former employee provides written notification to the city council prior to commencement of employment by that bidder, offeror or contractor.
(Ord. No. 3910-89)
Sec. 2-582.3. - Gifts by bidders, offerors, contractors or subcontractors.
No bidder, offeror, contractor or subcontractor shall confer upon any city employee having official responsibility for a procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value is exchanged.
(Ord. No. 3910-89)
(a)
No contractor or subcontractor shall demand or receive from any of his suppliers or his subcontractors, as an inducement for the award of a subcontractor or order, any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value is exchanged.
(b)
No subcontractor or supplier shall make, or offer to make, kickbacks as described in this section.
(c)
No person shall demand or receive any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of value in return for an agreement not to compete on a city contract.
(d)
If a subcontractor or supplier makes a kickback or other prohibited payment as described in this section, the amount thereof shall be conclusively presumed to have been included in the price of the subcontract or order and ultimately borne by the city and will be recoverable from both the maker and recipient. Recovery from one (1) offending party shall not preclude recovery from other offending parties.
(Ord. No. 3910-89)
Sec. 2-582.5. - Purchase of building materials, etc., from architect or engineer prohibited.
(a)
No building materials, supplies or equipment for any building or structure constructed by or for the city shall be sold by or purchased from any person employed as an independent contractor by the public body to furnish architectural or engineering services, but not construction, for such building or structure or from any partnership, association or corporation in which such architect or engineer has a personal interest as defined in § 2.2-3101, Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended.
(b)
No building materials, supplies or equipment for any building or structure constructed by or for the city shall be sold by or purchased from any person which has provided or is currently providing design services specifying a sole source for such materials, supplies or equipment to be used in such building or structure to the independent contractor employed by the city to furnish architectural or engineering services in which such person has a personal interest as defined in § 2.2-3101, Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended.
(c)
The provisions of subsections (a) and (b) shall not apply in cases of emergency.
(Ord. No. 3910-89; Ord. No. 4967-96, § 1; Ord. No. 5805-02)
Sec. 2-583. - Penalty for violation.
Willful violation of any provision of this division shall constitute a Class I misdemeanor. Upon conviction, any city employee, in addition to any other fine or penalty provided by law, shall forfeit his employment.
(Ord. No. 3910-89)
Sec. 2-584. - Participation in bid preparation; limitation on submitting bid for same procurement.
No person who, for compensation, prepares an invitation to bid or request for proposal for or on behalf of the city shall (i) submit a bid or proposal for that procurement or any portion thereof or (ii) disclose to any bidder or offeror information concerning the procurement which is not available to the public. However, the director of purchasing may permit such person to submit a bid or proposal for that procurement or any portion thereof if the director of purchasing determines that the exclusion of such person would limit the number of potential qualified bidders or offerors in a manner contrary to the best interests of the city.
(Ord. No. 5046-97, § 1; Ord. No. 5999-04)