All purchases and contracts for Town government shall be made
by the Town Manager. The Council may provide, by ordinance, for rules
and regulations regarding the use of competitive bidding and contracts
for all Town purchases and contracts.
All expenditures for supplies, materials, equipment, construction
and labor of public improvements or contractual services involving
more than Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($7,500) shall be by
public competitive bidding. The Town Manager shall be required to
advertise for bids, in the manner as may be prescribed by ordinance
for all such public competitive bidding. If the Town Council shall
determine not to adopt such an ordinance, the procurement of material
and the provision of labor shall be governed by the laws of the State
of Delaware applicable to State agencies. All such contracts shall
be approved by the Council before becoming effective and shall be
protected by such bonds, penalties and conditions as the Town may
require.
All contracts involving professional services, such as accounting,
architecture, auditing, engineering, law, planning and surveying,
need not be on a bid basis but may be negotiated by the Town Manager
or the Council. The Town Manager shall advertise the intention to
negotiate for such professional services prior to making any contract
in excess of Seven Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($7,500).
