CHAPTER 130

AN ACT to amend Chapter 116 of the Acts of the General Assembly of
1948, providing a new charter for the City of Richmond by adding a
new chapter to the charter numbered 5-1 titled Department of
Purchases and General Services, consisting of sections numbered
5-1.1 through 5-1.5, establishing a department of purchases and
general services in the government of the city of Richmond and pre-
scribing the powers and duties thereof, to repeal 8§ 5.09 through
5.12, as amended, of said chapter, to amend and reenact § 5.18, as
amended, and §§ 12.07 and 12.08 of said chapter, all dealing gener-
ally with the purchase, lease and disposal of supplies, materials,
equipment and services for the city of Richmond and the making of
contracts, and to amend and reenact § 11.10 of said chapter, relat-
ing to the bureau of traffic safety of the department of public safety
of the city of Richmond.

(H 258]

Approved February 24, 1956

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That Chapter 116 of the Acts of the General Assembly of 1948
be amended by adding a new chapter to the Charter of the city of Rich-
mond numbered 5-1 consisting of sections numbered 5-1.1, 5-1.2, 5-1.3,
5-1.4 and 5-1.5 as follows:

Chapter 5-1.

Department of Purchases and General Services.

§ 5-1.1. Department of Purchases and General Services. There shall
be a department of purchases and general services which shall consist of
the director of purchases and general services and such other officers
and employees organized into such bureaus, divisions and other unifs
as may be provided by ordinance or by the director consistent therewith.
The director shall be appointed for an indefinite term by the city manager
and shall be a member of the classified service. He shall be a person
skilled in private business or governmental purchases and property
management, control and accountability. The director shall have the
general management and control of the department and of such bureaus,
divisions and units. He shall appoint and remove, subject to the pro-
visions of Chapter 9 of this charter, all officers and employees of the
department and shall have the power to make rules and regulations
consistent with this charter and ordinances of the city for the conduct
of the functions of the devartment.
CH. 130] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 133

§ 5-1.2. Functions. The director shall, pursuant to the provisions
of this charter or other provisions of law and such rules and regulations
consistent therewith as may be established by the council:

(a) Purchase or lease for the use of the city and all of its depart-
ments, bureaus, boards, commissions, offices, agencies, courts of record,
municipal courts, and city jail or jail farm, which are hereinafter in
this chapter and in this charter referred to as using agencies, all supplies,
materials, equipment and contractual services, including insurance and
surety bonds, except the following: (1) scientific instruments and equip-
ment, medicines and drugs, legal and scientific books and periodicals,
and printing of legal briefs; (2) manuscripts, maps, charts, sheet music,
phonograph records, books, pamphlets and periodicals, when ordered by
any city library; (3) such perishable articles as may be designated in the
rules and regulations established by ordinance; and (4) such supplies,
materials, equipment and contractual services as may be required by any
using agency in an emergency as defined in such rules and regulations.

(b) Maintain, heat, light and provide janitorial and other services
for buildings owned or leased by the city, except those under the juris-
diction of the school board, and except when otherwise provided by this
charter or other provision of law or by the city manager; provided,
however, the director shall maintain, heat, light and provide janitorial
and other services for buildings under the jurisdiction of the school
oa when requested by the school board or directed by the council so

0.

(c) Maintain all automotive equipment owned by the city and used
by the using agencies.

(d) Supervise and coordinate the work and activities relating to
the acquisition, preservation, maintenance and disposal of all real estate
and tangible personal property by and for the city, including any interest,
right, easement or estate therein, and to perform such duties as may
be required by the council or city manager in connection therewith.

(e) Manage, lease or permit the use of any public market or space
or stall therein that may be owned or operated by the city.

(f) Purchase or lease for the use of the school board all or such
supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services, including insur-
ance and surety bonds, as shall be required by the school board when
requested so to do by the board.

§ 5-1.3. Further Powers and Duties. The director, for the purpose
of giving effect to the provisions of the preceding section, shall have the
following powers and duties:

(a) To establish, with the approval of the city manager and after
consultation with the heads of the using agencies concerned, and en-
force standard specifications for all supplies. materials and equipment
required by the city government, except such supplies, materials and
equipment as are excluded in § 5-1.2 of this chapter from the director’s
authority to purchase or lease.

(b) To prescribe the time of making requisitions for such supplies,
materials and equipment and the future period which such requisitions
are to cover.

(c) To inspect or cause to be inspected all deliveries of such supplies,
materials and equipment, and to cause tests to be made when necessary in
order to determine their quality, quantity and conformance with speci-
fications.

(d) To supervise and control storerooms, workshops, garages and
repair shops, telephone facilities, mailing, messenger, duplicating or print-
ing services and facilities provided for the several using agencies, or any
of them, and the use thereof.
(e) To transfer to or between using agencies, sell or tradein supplies,
materials and equipment determined by him, with the approval of the city
manager and after consultation with the head of the using agency con-
cerned, to be surplus, obsolete or unused.

(f) To maintain an adequate system of accounting for all property
received and all property issued by the department, in accordance with
accepted principles of accounting for property and inventory control, and
to maintain such inventory of all movable property belonging to the city
as may be required by the council.

(g) To perform such duties with regard to the letting of contracts
for public works or improvements as are provided in Chapter 12 of this
charter, and to have such other powers and to perform such other duties
as may be provided by ordinance.

§ 5-1.4. Competitive bidding. (a) Before making a purchase or
contract the director shall give opportunity for competitive bidding under
such rules and regulations as may be established by the council. All single
purchases or contracts which shall involve an expenditure of one thousand
dollars or less shall, whenever practicable, be based on three or more
competitive bids which may be informal, and shall be awarded to the
lowest or best responsible bidder, except as hereinafter provided. If any
single purchase or contract involves an expenditure of more than one
thousand dollars it shall be made on the basis of sealed bids after such
public notice as may be prescribed by the council. The city manager, how-
ever, Shall have the power in respect to all purchases or contracts involving
an expenditure of ten thousand dollars or less, and the council in all other
cases, to authorize the director to reject any or all bids, to readvertise
for bids, or to make the purchase or contract in the open market either
after the rejection of all bids or before competitive bids have been
requested.

(b) The council shall further have the power in the adoption of the
rules and regulations provided for in § 5-1.2 of this chapter to authorize
the director, with the approval of the city manager, to purchase or make
contracts for professional services and for services for which the rate or
price is fixed by a public authority authorized by law to fix rates or prices,
without recourse to competitive bidding.

(c) All sales of tangible personal property made by the director,
whenever practicable, shall be made on the basis of competitive bids after
such public notice as may be prescribed by the council in such rules and
regulations established by it, and when there has been competitive bidding
all such sales shall be made to the highest or best responsible bidder; pro-
vided, however, the director shall have authority to reject any or all bids
and to order new bidding, or, with the approval of the city manager,
ae the sale to any one, whether a former bidder or not, without further

idding.

(d) A record of all bids, showing the names of the bidders and the
amounts of the bids and indicating in each case the successful bidder,
together with the originals of all sealed bids and other documents pertain-
ing to the award of contracts, shall be preserved by the director for six
years in a file which shall be open to public inspection during regular
business hours.

(e) No transaction which is essentially a unit shall be divided for
the purpose of evading the intent of this section.

§ 5-1.5. Accounting Control of Purchasing. (a) All purchases
made and contracts executed by the director shall be pursuant to a written
requisition from the head of the using agency whose appropriation is to
be charged or from the head of a bureau or other operating unit to whom
such authority has been delegated in writing and filed with the director
by the head of the using agency, except as provided in subsection (e) of
CH. 130] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 135

§ 8.03 of this charter. The form of the requisition shall be prescribed by
the director. .

b) No purchase order made or contract entered into by the director
shall be valid unless there be endorsed thereon the certificate of the direc-
tor of finance that there is an unexpended and unencumbered balance in
the appropriation and allotment applicable thereto.

(c) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent
the director from making purchases for a stores revolving fund, which
the council is hereby authorized to establish, and of making sales from
the stores to the several using agencies based on their requisitions, pro-
vided the director of finance certifies that there is an unexpended and
unencumbered balance in the appropriation to be charged.

2. That §§ 5.09, as amended, 5.10, 5.11, as amended, and 5.12 of Chapter
116 of fhe Acts of the General Assembly of 1948 be and are hereby
repealed.
3. That § 5.13, as amended, and §§ 12.07 and 12.08 of Chapter 116 of
oF Acts of the General Assembly of 1948 be amended and reenacted as
ollows:

§ 5.13. Power of Council to Assign Budget Bureau * to Department
of Finance and to Assign Function of Maintaining Sewers, Drains and
Culverts and Maintaining and Operating Sewage Disposal Plants to Depart-
ment of Public Utilities. The budget bureau * may, on the recommendation
of the city manager, be assigned by the council by ordinance to the depart-
ment of finance, with like effect as if * it had been established in that
department by this charter. The function of maintaing sewers, drains and
culverts and maintaining and operating sewage disposal plants, may, on
the recommendation of the city manager, be transferred from the depart-
ment of public works and assigned by the council by ordinance to the
department of public utilities, with like effect as if such function had been
established in that department by this charter.

§ 12.07. Contracts for Capital Improvement Projects.—Whenever
any capital improvement project is to be undertaken by the city or any
department, board, commission or agency thereof, except the school board
and the department of public utilities, it shall be the duty of the director
of public works to cause plans, specifications and estimates of cost of such
capital improvement project to be made. The school board and department
of public utilities may utilize the services of the department of public
works in preparing plans, specifications and estimates of cost for capital
improvement projects relating to their respective functions but they may,
in the discretion of the school board or director of public utilities, as the
case may be, cause such plans and specifications to be prepared by their
own employees or by architects and engineers engaged for the purpose.
In the case of any capital improvement project, except one relating to
school buildings and grounds, if the estimate of cost is ten thousand dol-
lars or less it may, in the discretion of the city manager, be constructed
either by contract or by the employees of the department of public works
or the department of public utilities, as the case may be. If the estimate
of cost is more than ten thousand dollars such capital improvement project
shall, except as hereinafter provided, be constructed by contract. No con-
tract for any capital improvement project estimated to cost more than
one thousand dollars shall be let except upon sealed bids based on the plans
and specifications prepared by the department of public works or the
department of public utilities, which bids shall be advertised for, received,
opened and tabulated by the * director of purchases and general services
in the manner and subject to the conditions prescribed by ordinance. The
contract shall be awarded by the * director of purchases and general
services to the lowest responsible bidder, provided that the city manager,
when the estimated cost of the capital improvement project is ten thou-
sand dollars or less, and the council in all other cases, may authorize the
rejection of all bids, instruct the * director of purchases and g
services to readvertise for bids with or without modification of the plans
and specifications for such capital improvement project or order the same
to be constructed by the department of public works or the department of
public utilities, as the case may be. A record of all bids, showing the
names of the bidders and the amounts of the bids and indicating in each
case the successful bidder, together with the originals of all sealed bids
and other documents pertaining to the award of contracts, shall be pre-
served by the * director of purchases and general services for six years
in a file which shall be open to public inspection during regular business
hours. No capital improvement project which is essentially a unit shall be
divided for the purpose of evading the intent of this section.

§ 12.08. School Board Contracts for Capital Improvement Projects.
—The school board may make use of the contract procedure provided by
§ 12.07 and if it does so the authority to reject all bids and order the *
director of purchases and general services to readvertise for bids shall
be vested in the school board, provided that the execution of any capital
improvement project relating to school buildings or grounds shall not be
undertaken by the department of public works except upon the request
of the school board and with the approval of the city manager. The school
board may, in its discretion, adopt its own procedure for the letting of
contracts for capital improvement projects, provided that no such project
involving an estimated cost of more than ten thousand dollars shall be
let except on sealed bids.

4. That § 11.10 of Chapter 116 of the Acts of the General Assembly
of 1948 be amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 11.10. Bureau of Traffic Safety.—The bureau of traffic safety
shall consist of the traffic engineer who shall be the head of the bureau,
and such other employees as may be provided by ordinance. The traffic
engineer shall be a graduate of a recognized * school of collegiate grade
and shall be trained or experienced in traffic problems. He shall make
continuing studies of traffic conditions in the city and the approaches
thereto, with special reference to prevention of congestion and accidents,
the provision of parking facilities and the solution of other problems inci-
dent to traffic. He shall from time to time report to the director of public
safety his recommendations relating to the opening and widening of
streets, the regulation of traffic thereon, parking facilities, and other con-
ditions affecting the safe and convenient use of the streets and public
ways of the city. It shall be the duty of the city planning commission
and the department of public works to cooperate with the bureau of
traffic safety in making such studies and all records, reports, maps and
other data in their possession pertinent to such studies shall be available
to the said bureau. The council shall not adopt any ordinance regulating
traffic or establishing or altering the routes of public transportation
systems until the same has been referred to the bureau of traffic safety
and its report thereon filed with the city clerk, provided that if no such
report be filed within sixty days after such reference the council may
proceed to act on such ordinance. The director of public safety shall have
power, after consultation with the chief of police and the traffic engineer,
to make any rules, regulations and orders relating to traffic, the power to
make which is conferred on local authorities by the motor vehicle code of
Virginia or any other general law of the Commonwealth, including the
power to make rules, regulations and orders concerning the establishment
of signs and signals and the exclusion from any street or public way of (a)
parking, (b) traffic movement in more than one direction, and (c) trucks
and other commercial vehicles except for the purpose of receiving loads
or making deliveries, provided that such orders, rules and regulations
CHS. 130, 181] ACTS OF ASSEMBLY 137

shall not conflict with the laws of the Commonwealth or the ordinances
of the city. Penalties for the violation of any of such orders, rules or
regulations shall be fixed by ordinance.

2. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.