Hereinafter, this chapter shall be known and referred to as
the "Purchasing Ordinance."
The Manager shall act as Purchasing Agent of the City, unless
he or she shall designate another officer or employee of the City
to act as Purchasing Agent. Any such designation shall be in writing
filed with the Clerk. The Manager shall, from time to time, adopt
any necessary rules concerning routine requisitions and purchase orders.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
No contract shall be entered into by the City for the making
of any public improvement or for the purchase of any materials, tools,
apparatus, supplies or services, exclusive of professional services,
defined and limited to legal, engineering, accounting and auditing,
the consideration or cost of which shall exceed $10,000, until specifications
shall be prepared therefor, and published advertisement made for sealed
proposals thereon; provided, however, that by a vote of 3/5 of the
members of the Council, in the event of an emergency, such contracts
may be made without advertisement and sealed bids. The City shall
have the right to reject any or all such proposals. The City Council
shall adopted an official purchasing policy by resolution of the City
Council which shall address purchases that are less than $10,000.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
A. The City
may, through its departments, officers, and employees, perform public
work of all kinds, or it may let any of such work by contract. The
City shall not, however, undertake the performance of any construction
work exceeding an estimated cost of $10,000 until it has first advertised
for sealed proposals therefor, unless waived by the Council, in writing,
by written resolution.
B. No public
improvement costing more than $50,000 shall be contracted for or commenced
until drawings, profiles, and estimates for same shall have been submitted
to the Council and approved by it, and the same or a copy thereof
shall thereafter remain on file in the office of the City Clerk, subject
to inspection by the public.
No contract or purchase shall be subdivided to avoid the requirements
of this chapter.
Any expenditure for supplies, materials, equipment or contract obligating the City, where the amount of the City's obligation is in excess of $3,000 or such lesser amount, which may from time to time be established by the Council by resolution, must be approved by the Council and shall be approved only after competitive bidding as provided by the provisions of this chapter, unless such is covered by §
93-9 of this chapter.
A. Such expenditure shall be made the subject of a written contract,
unless excepted from such requirements by the Council in writing.
A purchase order shall be a sufficient written contract in cases where
the expenditure is in the usual and ordinary course of the City's
business.
B. Notices inviting sealed competitive bids may be published in the
official newspaper at least five calendar days prior to the final
date for submitting bids.
C. In all cases where sealed bids are invited, a copy of the official
notice shall be posted on a public bulletin board in the City Hall.
The Agent shall mail copies of the official notice to such qualified
vendors as he or she may deem necessary to give actual notice to interested
bidders and to obtain competitive bidding.
D. Unless prescribed by the Council, the Manager shall prescribe the
amount of any security to be deposited with any bid. Such deposit
shall be in the form of cash, certified or cashier's check, or
bond written by a surety company authorized to do business in the
State of Michigan. The amount of such security shall be expressed
in terms of percentage of the bid submitted. Unless fixed by the Council
or Charter, the Manager shall fix the amount of the performance bond
and in the case of construction contracts, the amount of the labor
and materials bond to be required of the successful bidders.
E. Bids shall be opened in public at the time and place designated in
the notice requesting bids in the presence of the Agent, the Clerk
and at least one other City employee. The head of the department most
closely concerned with the subject of the contract may also be present.
The bids shall thereupon be carefully examined and tabulated and reported
to the Council with the recommendation of the Agent (as approved by
the Manager, if the Manager is not acting as the Agent for this purchase)
at the next Council meeting. After tabulation, all bids may be inspected
by the competing bidders. In lieu of the procedure for opening bids
herein specified, the Council may direct that bids be opened at a
Council meeting.
F. After the opening of the submitted bids, such bids may not be withdrawn
prior to Council action without forfeiture of the bid deposit.
G. When such bids are submitted to the Council, if the Council shall find any of the bids to be satisfactory, it shall accept that bid of the lowest competent bidder, as described in §
93-6. However, the Council shall have the right to reject any or all bids and to waive irregularities in bidding and to accept bids, which do not conform in every respect to the bidding requirements.
H. Subsections
A,
B,
C,
D,
E and
F of §
93-6 shall apply to this section; provided, however, that the word "Council" shall be substituted for the words "Agent" or "Manager."
I. At the time the contract for a construction project is executed by
the contractor, he or she shall file a bond executed by a surety company
authorized to do business in the State of Michigan to the City, conditioned
to pay all laborers, mechanics, subcontractors and material men, as
well as all just debts, dues and demands incurred in the performance
of such work and shall file a performance bond when one is required.
Said contractor shall also file evidence of public liability insurance
in an amount satisfactory to the Manager, and shall also agree to
save the City harmless from loss or damage caused to any person or
property by reason of the contractor's negligence.
J. All bids and deposits of certified or cashier's checks may be
retained until the contract is awarded and signed. If any successful
bidder fails or refuses to enter into the contract awarded to him
within five days after the same has been awarded, or file any bond
required within the same time, the deposit accompanying his bid shall
be forfeited to the City and the Council may, in its discretion, award
the contract to the next lower responsible bidder or said contract
may be readvertised.
Competitive bidding may not be required in the following cases:
A. Where the subject of the contract is other than a public work or
improvement.
B. When the product or material contracted for is not competitive in
nature and/or no advantage to the City would result from requiring
competitive bidding, and the Council authorizes execution of a contract
without competitive bidding by resolution passed by a unanimous vote
of those Council members present at the meeting.
C. In the employment of professional services.
D. Where the City elects to do the work directly as provided by the
Charter.
The responsibility for the inspection and acceptance of all
materials, supplies and equipment shall rest with the ordering department
and the Manager.
Whenever any City property, real or personal, is no longer needed
for corporate or public purposes, the same may be offered for sale
in accordance with the restrictions established by the City Charter;
provided, however, that utility plants and property may be disposed
of only in accordance with state law and the City Charter.
The Council or Agent shall have the power to enter into purchase
contracts with and from other governmental agencies, should there
be an opportunity for a saving to the City and/or where the Council
determines that it would be in the best interest of the City. Provided,
however, that the Council shall give its prior approval of such purchases,
and provided further that all such purchases shall be in compliance
with the provisions of this chapter and the City Charter.
This chapter is declared to be separable. Should any section
or part of a section of this chapter be found invalid, void or unconstitutional
by any court or tribunal of competent jurisdiction, such findings
will only affect that said section. The validity or constitutionality
of any other section of this chapter shall not be affected by said
finding.