Learn how to purchase what you need to carry on the college's mission.
ATTENTION — Spending restrictions are in place due to COVID-19.
Spending Restrictions In Effect
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in severe financial consequences to New York State
that demand prompt action. SUNY has provided guidance stating that colleges are to
take steps to reduce spending. In addition, recent budget restrictions require additional
action. Therefore, the following purchase restrictions will be in place until further
notice.
Learn More About Spending Restrictions - Updated June 21, 2021
All non-critical expenditures are suspended. If there is a critical expenditure, it will need to be submitted on a purchase requisition
and approved as outlined below.
Critical expenditures include the following:
Health or Safety
Course Delivery
Priority will also be given to purchases necessary to fulfill contractual obligations;
comply with legal, regulatory, or accreditation mandates; and support critical physical
and information technology infrastructure.
These purchase restrictions mean that expenses that would be normally permissible
from State Operating Funds cannot be supported at this time. A summary of these restrictions
can be found in the State Operating Fund Expenditure Guidelines.
The use of Procurement Cards remains restricted. A requisition must be used for all
expenses effective immediately.
A new purchase requisition has been developed that allows departments to identify
the expenditure type and to include a written justification for the need.
This directive includes all P-Card and T-Card expenses. As such, the dollar limits
for these cards have been reduced to $1.00.
Purchase and Payments should follow these procedures:
Requisitions for new services or goods must be approved as follows:
Purchases valued at $5,000 or less require approval of the Department Chairperson
or Director.
Purchases valued between $5,000.01 and $10,000.00 also require approval of the Dean
or designee.
Purchases valued above $10,000 also require the approval of the Divisional Vice President
or designee.
Vice Presidents and Deans may require additional approvals for their divisions/schools
above these levels.
Once approvals are obtained, the completed purchase requisitions should be submitted
to [email protected] for final approval.
Administration and Finance will review all purchase requests for criticality, appropriateness
and necessity of expense, and reasonableness of price.
Requisitions for new ongoing/recurring monthly expenses should be prepared for the anticipated total amount through June 30, 2022 and appropriate signatures obtained, the requisition should be forwarded to [email protected] for review and approval.
Invoices for services or goods already received should be processed as follows:
If the invoice is for goods and services under an existing contract or purchase order,
invoices are to be submitted to Accounts Payable.
If the invoice is not supported by an existing contract or purchase order, a requisition
must accompany the invoice, and submitted to [email protected] for approval.
In order to ensure purchases are expedited, please be sure to include documentation
supporting costs (e.g. invoice, quotes, price list, etc.) with your requisition.
More detailed information regarding all of these procedures can be found here.
In order to minimize the amount of office supplies purchased by the campus, the College
has expanded its office supplies to go program for the purchase of routine office
supplies used by campus departments.
Employees needing office supplies can pick up any of the following items at the warehouse
in the Service Building through our Offices Supplies to Go Program:
Binder clips (Small, Medium, and Large)
Correction Tape/Whiteout
File folders
Yellow highlighters
Note pads (5”x 8” and 8” x 11”)
Paper clips
Pens
Post-it notes
Printer paper (8” x 11”, 8.5” by 14”, and 11” x 17”)
All purchases made using state funds are subject to the New York state finance law
and rules and regulations promulgated by the Office of the State Comptroller (“OSC”).
They are also subject to procedures developed by SUNY and/or the university.
OSC performs pre- and post-audits on various transactions processed by the purchasing
office. OSC has the authority to approve or deny payments and/or contracts.
Only the director of contracts and purchasing services is authorized to sign a purchase
order to commit a financial obligation on behalf of the college.
Only the director of contracts and purchasing services is authorized to sign a purchase
order or contract to commit a financial obligation on behalf of the college.
Contracts, agreements, licenses and any other contractual document requiring a college
representative to sign must be reviewed and signed by the purchasing office. It is
in violation of NYS finance laws to procure a service or commodity without acquiring
necessary approvals and documents in advance.
The Citibank VISA procurement card (“P-Card”) program should be used for small-dollar
purchases of $5,000 or less. Use of the P-Card increases departmental efficiencies
and decreases administrative costs associated with the processing of small-dollar
purchase orders.
SUNY Plattsburgh is required to use P-Cards to purchase goods and services less than
$500.00 when a vendor accepts a P-Card for payment and is a eligible purchase.
Using a P-Card will not only speed up the procurement process by eliminating the need
to have a purchase order printed, but will also allow orders to be placed by phone
or electronically to a vendor who may not accept a purchase order number.
Procurements up to $5,000 that are P-Card eligible purchases should be processed using
a departmental Procurement Card. All NYS finance laws, SUNY and college policies must
be followed for procurements made with the card.
SUNY Plattsburgh is required to use P-Cards to purchase goods and services less than
$500.00 when a vendor accepts a P-Card for payment and is a eligible purchase.
Complete a purchase requisition for any good over $5,000, any service, and any purchase
incorporating terms and conditions. A purchase requisition generally becomes a purchase
order.
Agency contracts are inappropriate expenditures for P-Cards.
Please note, the vendor must be on the state financial system to be processed. If
they are not on the system, they must fill out a NYS substitute W-9 form and return
it to purchasing.
The purchasing office has available a wide variety of primary and open market sources
for competitive purchases. Below is a prioritized list of sources for making competitive
purchases.
A preferred source is a designated vendor, who in an effort to advance certain social
and economic goals, has received special provider status under New York state statute.
The preferred sources are the Department of Correctional Services (Corcraft), Industries
for the Disabled, Industries for the Blind and Office of Mental Health. The acquisition
of commodities/services has been given exemption from statutory competitive procurement
guidelines. It is the obligation of the university to procure goods and services from
a designated preferred source provider whenever possible. Purchasing office staff
should be contacted in the early stages of any planned purchases (such as office furnishings)
that may be affected by these regulations.
Corcraft Provides furniture including landscape, modular systems, desks chairs and file cabinets
to name a few of the items.
Industries for the Disabled Provides janitorial and housekeeping supplies and services, field marking paint, printed
apparel as well as certain office and school supplies.
A campus may purchase commodities or services directly from a responsible vendor of
its choice. A campus should take the steps necessary to ensure that prices are reasonable.
For purchases over $2,500 written documentation should be maintained to support both
the selection of the vendor and reasonableness of the price. The vendor selection
and Price Justification Checklist is required to be submitted with the P-Card certification
and approved purchase requisitions for all purchases greater than $2,500.
The total amount of the purchase represents the total financial obligation incurred
by the college. In a multi-year contract, the obligation incurred over the entire
contract term must be considered, rather than the annual amount alone.
Must request an exemption from OSC. If granted, must publish notice of exemption.
Competitive Selection
No competition required, however, written justification supporting the sole source,
single source, or emergency determination must be kept.
Expenditure/Reimbursement Guidelines
The following guidelines are intended to assist college personnel with determining
if an expenditure is allowable from state funds. State funds include state purpose
allocation, DIFR, IFR, and SUTRA funds. These guidelines have been established based
upon guidance from the Office of the State Comptroller and SUNY System Administration.
To satisfy state audit requirements, departments must be able to provide written justification
regarding how the item purchased or service rendered is program or mission related
and/or beneficial to the college.
Please address any questions regarding this document or items not addressed in this
document to the budget and financial reporting office and/or the purchasing office.
For questions regarding the use of SA funds, College Foundation funds, or Research
Foundation funds, please contact the custodian of those funds.
Goods generally are received through the university’s warehouse and occasionally directly
to the departments.
The receiving department should examine items received to ensure that they are in
good condition and to verify compliance with the purchase order. If the items are
in order, a receipt should be prepared by the receiving department and forwarded to
accounts payable.
As a state agency, the State University of New York is self-insured and is afforded
protection against claims for legal damages through the New York State Court of Claims
Act. This protection extends also to university employees and officers acting within
the scope of their official duties. There are occasions, however, when it is necessary
to purchase insurance, such as off-site field trips held on private property, certain
travel activities involving students, protection of valuable property on loan to the
university, etc. This must be purchased through the purchasing office. Insurance cannot
be purchased on a P-Card.
When contracting with a vendor for services, construction and other similar requirements
the contractor is required to provide the University with a certificate of insurance.
The standard insurance amounts that are usually required and the format to be followed
can be obtained by contacting the purchasing office. Depending on the nature of the
contract additional forms of insurance may be required. For example, construction
contracts may warrant “Builders Risk” insurance which protects the university during
construction should an accident occur due to the fault of the contractor. Architect
and engineer contracts may require “Professional Liability” insurance.
Inquiries regarding the need for insurance for a specific occasion or activity should
be directed to the purchasing office. The office can obtain appropriate insurance
at a nominal cost to the department through the New York State Office of General Services.