7.5 Emergency Purchases
Emergency Purchases
The Illinois Procurement Code defines an emergency as a situation involving public health, public safety, or cases where immediate expenditure of funds in excess of the competitive bid threshold is necessary for repairs to State property to protect against further loss or damage, to prevent or minimize serious disruption in State services, or to insure the integrity of State records. Emergency conditions may result from fires, explosions, adverse weather conditions, or epidemic conditions. They may also result from untimely breakdown, damage, or loss of equipment vital to the maintenance of health or safety standards. In such situations, the Illinois Procurement Code provides that the competitive selection process is not required. Emergency purchases are limited to 90 calendar days in length unless authorized by the Chief Procurement Officer after a public hearing is held pursuant to 30 ILCS 500/20-30.
Purchasing procedures, including bidding requirements, may be waived in emergency cases where it becomes important for a transaction to be completed within a certain time. Effort is made to accelerate or modify normal procedures to accommodate an emergency rather than to eliminate a procedure. Examples of such efforts include requesting quotations verbally or by email or facsimile machine. The Purchasing Division should be contacted as soon as a department determines that an emergency purchasing situation exists. If the emergency purchase exceeds the dollar threshold at which the Board of Trustees approval is required, the transaction will require Board of Trustees approval.
The president, after consulting with each member of the executive committee of the Board who can reasonably be contacted, may approve emergency transactions in excess of the Board limit on behalf of the Board of Trustees and report the same promptly to the Board. If the amount of the emergency transaction exceeds such dollar amounts as the Board of Trustees may specify from time to time the president must consult with all Board members who can reasonably be contacted before approving the emergency action.
The Purchasing Division is responsible for preparing all statements that must be filed with the Auditor General of the State of Illinois and the Chief Procurement Officer for Higher Education (CPO). These must be filed within ten days after an emergency purchase has been made.
Emergency Board of Trustees Approval of Purchases
In certain situations, it is not feasible to wait until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees to obtain approval to issue a purchase order or enter into a contractual agreement for any type of purchase (e.g. competitive solicitation, contract renewal, sole source procurement). University policy, subject to certain limitations, delegates authority to the President of the University to approve such purchases. Purchases requiring Presidential approval are to be conducted in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Illinois Procurement Code prior to submission for such approval.
Presidential approval - In the General Rules, Section 4, The Board of Trustees has delegated authority to the President of the University to approve emergency transactions. The president, after consulting with each member of the executive committee of the Board who can reasonably be contacted, may approve emergency transactions in excess of the Board limit on behalf of the Board of Trustees and report the same promptly to the Board.
Please send questions regarding this policy manual to OBFSPolicies@uillinois.edu.
Last Updated: August 14, 2017 | Approved: Senior Associate Vice President for Business and Finance | Effective: April 2006