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Finance and Administration

PURCHASING OFFICE

The Purchasing Office’s primary mission is to facilitate and execute the buying function of commodities (e.g., tangible goods) and services (e.g., consultants, maintenance) and serve our constituents with quality service, timely delivery, and “best value” available in the marketplace, while fostering sound business controls to protect the assets of the University.  As a governmental entity, the University is subject to New York State laws, audit, and public scrutiny.  It is the University’s fiduciary responsibility to protect its public assets and fairness to vendors, which mandates transparency of processes unique to a publicly-funded institution. Remember, the source of the funds that we spend is predominantly taxpayer dollars and student tuition dollars.  It is important to remember that the Purchasing Office is available to execute all purchases and assist you in navigating the overall process.

NOTE Only the Purchasing Office can obligate the College on matters of procurement through the issuance of duly authorized Purchase Orders and contracts.  Faculty, staff, and administrators do not have authorization to procure commodities or services, or to enter into contractual relationships with vendors, or to make any commitments on behalf of the College/University.

GENERAL PURCHASING GUIDELINES

Proper procurement procedure begins with the creation of a CUNYBuy requisition and the issuance of a Purchase Order by the Purchasing Office.  Orders/services placed without following the standard procurement workflow are called confirming orders. Confirming orders are a violation of CUNY’s procurement policy.  A confirming order is an order placed by an end-user (Requester) without following the standard procurement cycle which begins with the creation and submission of a CUNYBuy Requisition and the issuance of Purchase Order by the Purchasing Office.

In the case of an emergency, contact the Purchasing Office immediately. Casual planning for the procurement of commodities (goods)/services does not constitute an emergency.

RELATED ENTITIES (ASSOCIATION, AUXILIARY) GUIDELINES

Non Tax-Levy Procurement

If purchasing against a relevant non-tax levy account and any of the following criteria are present, employees are not allowed to order directly from the vendor and must create a purchase requisition in CUNYBuy:

  1. The total of the items being ordered from the vendor costs $250 or more (excluding reimbursements);
  2. The vendor requires a Purchase Order to ship the items; 
  3. Honoraria;
  4. Performance Agreement;
  5. The purchase is a capital asset that needs to be tagged by the Office of Information Technology and Property Management (please contact them at 718.368-6674 and 718-368-5165 for further details if you are unsure of the guidelines);
  6. and/or a contract must be signed and/or there are terms and conditions associated with the purchase.  As a reminder, only a very limited number of Kingsborough Community College employees can sign agreement and contracts.  If an unauthorized person signs they are personally entering into the contract with the vendor.

PURCHASE OF SOFTWARE

COTS Software purchases are still subject to all CUNY and State procurement guidelines, policies and procedures.
Informal Purchases:
Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Software

Definition:

To qualify for the COTS Software Purchasing Process:

  1. Software must require minimal customization and be installed and run on a CUNY-owned or -managed computer (e.g., desktop, laptop, tablet, server, or mobile device)
  2. Software must be a new* purchase with a total aggregate value of $0 - $20,000. If this purchase includes renewal terms, the total aggregate value may not exceed $49,999 and renewals cannot exceed a five-year term.
  3. The purchase must be made with tax levy funds.

NOTE:   A new purchase is for a product that the College has never:

  1. Purchased previously, regardless of funding source; and
  2. Used under the terms of a trial offer. This process also excludes purchases of new releases or version of a previously purchased product.
MINORITY- and WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS

The University-wide Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Program of the City University of New York strives to assure that MWBE firms around New York State and New York City are given equal opportunities to have business with all CUNY campuses in various fields including construction, commodities and consultant/services.
In terms of statutory requirements, the University-wide MWBE Program of the City University of New York is responsible for ensuring CUNY's compliance with the Executive Law Article 15-A which mandates state agencies to establish business for minorities and women on solicitations.
Also, it is the policy of the City University of New York (University) to take affirmative action to ensure that New York State certified minority and women owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) are given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to provide the University with commodities and services at competitive prices

The University-wide MWBE program has been dedicated to improving MWBE utilization by each CUNY campus through re-organizing and streamlining the procurement process. The program makes every effort to increase the participation and utilization of qualified MWBE firms through means such as setting MWBE goal amounts for each campus and each contract type, finding perspective vendors for campus projects, sending out bidding opportunities to vendors and coordinating fairs for vendors and contractors. The program also requires each campus to report MWBE utilization in each quarter to monitor compliance. The program is required to meet the Governor's MWBE participation goal of 30%.

CAMPUS COMMUNITY (INTERNAL)
Tax-Levy Procurement & Training:

OBF Advisory (Fraudulent Purchase Orders
Purchasing FAQs 
Purchasing Guidelines Summary
Agreements, Contracts and Specifications (pdf)
Single/Sole Source Procurements (pdf)
CUNYBuy Training Portal -  CUNYBuy Training Portal (Log-in using your CUNYfirst credentials)
Confirming Orders – Unauthorized Procurement Form
CUNY All Funds Expense Matrix
Procurement/Travel Card Policy Requests for state issued travel cards must be approved by the Vice President for Finance and Administration/President.
https://www.kbcc.cuny.edu/administration/business_manager/documents/purchasing/P_T_NET-Cards_Security_Access_Form_72114.pdf
Records Retention (pdf)

Vendor Info:

OGS State Contracts http://www.nyspro.ogs.ny.gov/
DCAS (City) Contracts  mspwvw-dcsocp.dcas.nycnet/NYCProcurement/DMSS/asp/RcReports.asp
OSC Guide to Financial Operations (State Guidelines) http://www.osc.state.ny.us/agencies/guide/MyWebHelp
NYS Preferred Source Program for People Who Are Blind (NYSPSP) http://NYSPSP.org
NYS Industries for Disabled http://www.nysid.org
NYS Department of Correctional Services Division of Industries (Corcraft) http://corcraft.org
Minority-and Women-Owned Business Enterprises http://www.esd.ny.gov
Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses https://ogs.ny.gov/divison-service-disabled-veterans-business-development