The City Clerk and other department heads are designated as
Purchasing Agents for the City.
[R.O. 2013 §130.020; CC §25.020; CC 1991 §130.020]
A.
In
addition to the purchasing authority conferred in the preceding Section,
and in addition to any other powers and duties conferred by this Code
or other ordinance, the City Clerk shall:
1.
Act to procure for the City the highest quality in supplies and contractual
services at the least expense to the City.
2.
Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open
competition as possible on all purchases and sales.
3.
Keep informed of current developments in the field of purchasing,
prices, market conditions and new products and secure for the City
the benefits of research done in the field of purchasing by other
governmental jurisdictions, national technical societies, trade associations,
and by private business and organizations.
4.
Prepare, adopt and maintain a vendors' catalogue file. Said catalogue
shall be filed according to materials and shall contain descriptions
of vendors' commodities, prices and discounts.
5.
Explore the possibilities of buying "in bulk" so as to take full
advantage of discounts.
6.
Act so as to procure for the City all Federal and State tax exemptions
to which it is entitled.
7.
Have the authority to declare vendors who default on their quotations
irresponsible bidders and to disqualify them from receiving any business
from the municipality for a stated period of time.
[R.O. 2013 §130.030; CC §25.030; CC 1991 §130.030]
A.
Each
City department or agency shall file with the City Clerk detailed
requisitions or estimates of their requirements in supplies and contractual
services in such manner, at such times, and for such future periods
as the City Clerk shall prescribe.
1.
A City department or agency shall not be prevented from filing, in
the same manner, with the City Clerk at any time a requisition or
estimate for any supplies and contractual services, the need for which
was not foreseen when the detailed estimates were filed.
2.
The City Clerk shall examine each requisition or estimate and shall
have the authority to revise it as to quantity, quality or estimated
cost.
[R.O. 2013 §130.040; CC §§25.040 — 25.060;
CC 1991 §130.040]
A.
No
officer or employee of the City shall transact any business in his/her
official capacity with any business entity of which he/she is an officer,
agent or member or in which he/she owns a substantial interest; nor
shall he/she make any personal investments in any enterprise which
will create a substantial conflict between his/her private interest
and the public interest; nor shall he/she or any firm or business
entity of which he/she is an officer, agent or member, or the owner
of substantial interest, sell any goods or services to any business
entity which is licensed by or regulated in any manner by the City.
B.
No
officer or employee of this City shall enter into any private business
transaction with any person or entity that has a matter pending or
to be pending upon which the officer or employee is or will be called
upon to render a decision or pass judgment. If any officer or employee
is already engaged in the business transaction at the time that a
matter arises, he/she shall be disqualified from rendering any decision
or passing any judgment upon the same.
[R.O. 2013 §130.050; CC §25.070; CC 1991 §130.050]
The City Clerk and every other officer and employee of the City are expressly prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person, company, firm or corporation to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded any rebate, gift, money, or anything of value whatsoever, except where given for the use and benefit of the City. Violation of the provisions of this Section shall upon conviction thereof be punished as provided in Section 100.220 of this Title.
[R.O. 2013 §130.060; CC §25.080; CC 1991 §130.060; Ord. No. 217.19, 2-28-2019]
All purchases of and contracts for supplies and contractual
services in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00), and all sales
of personal property which has become obsolete and unusable shall,
except as specifically provided herein, be based wherever possible
on competitive bids.
[R.O. 2013 §130.070; CC §25.090; CC 1991 §130.070; Ord. No. 217.19, 2-28-2019]
A.
All
supplies and contractual services, except as otherwise provided in
this Chapter, when the estimated cost thereof shall exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000.00), shall be purchased by formal, written contract
from the lowest responsible bidder, after due notice inviting proposals.
B.
All
sales of personal property which have become obsolete and unusable,
when the estimated value shall exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000.00),
shall be sold by formal written contract to the highest responsible
bidder, after due notice inviting proposals.
[R.O. 2013 §130.080; CC §25.100; CC 1991 §130.080; Ord. No. 217.19, 2-28-2019]
A.
The
notice required by the preceding Section shall consist of the following:
1.
Notice inviting bids may be published once in at least one (1) official
newspaper of the City and at least five (5) days preceding the last
day set for the receipt of proposals. The newspaper notice required
herein shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased
or sold, shall state where bid blanks and specifications may be secured,
and the time and place for opening bids.
2.
The City Clerk may also solicit sealed bids from all responsible
prospective suppliers who have requested their names to be added to
a bidders' list, which the Clerk shall maintain, by sending them a
copy of such newspaper notice or such other notice as will acquaint
them with the proposed purchase or sale. In any case, invitations
sent to the vendors on the bidders' list may be limited to commodities
that are similar in character and ordinarily handled by the trade
group to which the invitations are sent.
3.
The City Clerk may also advertise all pending purchases or sales
by a notice posted on the public bulletin board in the City Hall.
[R.O. 2013 §130.090; CC §25.110; CC 1991 §130.090]
Bids shall be submitted sealed to the City Clerk and shall be
identified as bids on the envelope. They shall be opened in public
at the time and place stated in the public notices. A tabulation of
all bids received shall be posted for public inspection.
[R.O. 2013 §130.100; CC §25.120; CC 1991 §130.100]
A.
Contracts
shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. Bids shall not
be accepted from, nor contracts awarded to, a contractor who is in
default on the payment of taxes, licenses or other monies due the
City. In determining "lowest responsible bidder" in addition to price,
the following shall be considered:
1.
The ability, capacity and skill of the bidder to perform the contract
or provide the service required;
2.
Whether the bidder can perform the contract or provide the service
promptly, or within the time specified, without delay or interference;
3.
The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience and efficiency
of the bidder;
4.
The quality of performance of previous contracts or services;
5.
The previous and existing compliance by the bidder with laws and
ordinances relating to the contract or service;
6.
The sufficiency of the financial resources and ability of the bidder
to perform the contract or provide the service;
7.
The quality, availability and adaptability of the supplies or contractual
services to the particular use required;
8.
The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service
for the use of the subject of the contract;
9.
The number and scope of conditions attached to the bid.
[R.O. 2013 §130.110; CC §25.125; CC 1991 §130.110]
All bids shall be accepted or rejected by the Board of Aldermen.
When the award is not given to the lowest bidder, a full and complete
statement of the reasons for placing the order elsewhere shall be
entered upon the journal of the Board.
[R.O. 2013 §130.120; CC §25.130; CC 1991 §130.120]
If all bids received or the lowest bids received are for the
same total amount or unit price, quality and service being equal,
the contract shall be awarded to a local bidder. Where there is no
local low bidder, the award shall be made on the basis of a drawing
of lots to be held in public.
[R.O. 2013 §130.130; CC §25.140; CC 1991 §130.130]
A.
All purchases of supplies and contractual services and all sales of personal property which has become obsolete and unusable for which competitive bidding is not required by Section 130.060 of this Code shall be made in the open market, without newspaper advertisement and without observing the procedure prescribed by Section 135.070 for the award of formal contracts.
1.
All open market purchases shall, whenever possible, be based on at least three (3) competitive bids and shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder in accordance with the standards set forth in Section 135.100.
3.
The City Clerk shall keep a record of all open market orders and
the bids submitted in competition thereon, and such records shall
be open to public inspection.
[R.O. 2013 §130.140; CC §25.150; CC 1991 §130.140]
In case of an apparent emergency which requires immediate purchase
of supplies or contractual services, the Board of Aldermen may authorize
the purchase at the lowest obtainable price any supplies or contractual
services regardless of the amount of the expenditure. A full explanation
of the circumstances of an emergency purchase shall be recorded in
the journal of the Board of Aldermen.
