The purpose of this Section is to establish rules and procedures governing the procurement of materials, supplies, equipment and services for the City and to maintain a high ethical standard for all officers and employees of the City in connection therewith.
[R.O. 2012 § 110.050; CC 1989 § 1-178; Ord. No. 541 § 1, 6-25-1973; Ord. No. 876 § 1, 11-28-1983; Ord. No. 1075 §§ 1 – 2, 4-26-1999]
Power And Duties Of City Administrator. The City Administrator shall, in accordance with and subject to the rules, regulations and procedures in this Section and all applicable laws:
A.
Direct, supervise and be responsible for the procurement and acquisition of all materials, supplies and equipment and all contractual service and all insurance required by any department, agency or office of the City and by any other governmental department, agency or office with respect to any procurement by such department, agency or office funded wholly or partially, either directly or indirectly, by City funds, provided however, the City Administrator shall not be responsible for contracts for the acquisition of real estate, for public improvements or for professional services, except as provided herein;
B.
Sell or dispose of all obsolete or unusable personal property of the City.
If the City Administrator shall be temporarily disabled or shall be absent from the City, the Mayor shall designate an employee of the City who shall perform the duties of the City Administrator during such absence or disability. The person so designated shall not perform such duties for a period longer than thirty (30) days without the approval of the Board of Aldermen.
Every officer, agent and employee of the City is hereby prohibited from accepting, directly or indirectly, from any person to which any purchase order or contract is or might be awarded any rebate, gift, money or anything of value whatsoever.
Each department shall present to the City Administrator in such manner, at such times and for such periods as the City Administrator shall prescribe detailed estimates of its requirements for supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services. Each department may also present to the City Administrator at any time a requirement for any materials, supplies, equipment or services for which the need was not foreseen when the department's detailed estimate was presented. The City Administrator shall examine each estimate or requirement and he/she shall have the authority to revise it as to quantity, quality or estimated cost after consulting with the head of the using department.
A purchase order or contract shall be issued and become valid only when countersigned by the City Administrator who shall have determined that there is a sufficient unencumbered balance in the appropriation account of the using department to fund such purchase order or contract.
A.
When Required, Determining Necessity. Supplies, materials, equipment and contractual services shall be procured only after obtaining formal written bids when the value of the proposed procurement is in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) or when directed by the Board of Aldermen or when required by the laws of the State. The procurement of several items of the same type at substantially the same time is a single purchase for this Article and the total cost of all such items will determine whether formal competitive bidding procedure must be followed. No contract of purchase shall be subdivided to avoid competitive procedures.
B.
Invitations, Notices. Such bids shall be invited through a notice to be published in at least one (1) local newspaper at least one (1) time, the first publication to be at least two (2) weeks prior to the date specified for submission of bids. Such notice shall include a general description of the items to be purchased, the conditions of such purchase, the place specifications and bid forms may be secured, the time and place for submitting such bids and the time and place for acceptance of bids. The City Administrator may also solicit bids by mailing copies of the specifications and bidding documents to prospective vendors.
C.
Items For Which Advertisement Authorized. The City Administrator may advertise for sealed bids for any item for which an appropriation has been made in the annual budget of the City or upon resolution of a majority of the members of the Board of Aldermen.
D.
Sealing, Identifying, Recording Receipt. All bids shall be sealed, shall be identified as bids on the envelope and shall be submitted within the time and at the time stated in the public notice inviting bids. The time of receipt of each bid shall be entered by the receiving employee on the envelope containing such bid.
E.
Opening And Inspection. The City Administrator shall open all bids as soon as practicable after the time to submit bids has expired and shall in conjunction with the head of the using department, prior to the next regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen after the bid time expires, prepare a summary of all bids, including a review of the facts. All bids received shall be made available for inspection as public record.
F.
Awarding Contract. After presentation of the available data, the Board of Aldermen, at a regular or special meeting, shall award the contract to the lowest responsive, responsible timely bidder for the goods or services to be procured, provided however, the Board of Aldermen shall have the authority to reject any and all bids.
G.
Purchase Agreement. Subsequent to the award by the Board of Aldermen, the City Administrator shall by purchase order or formal contract enter into an agreement with the bidder selected by the Board for procurement of the goods and services to be procured.
H.
Bid Deposits. When deemed necessary by the City Administrator, bid deposits may be required. Such deposits may be required to be in the form of a certified check or bid bond and may be for an amount not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) or ten percent (10%) of the amount of the bid, whichever is greater. When so required, all bids not accompanied by such deposit shall be rejected. Such bid deposit shall be returned to all bidders upon execution of a contract with, or issuance of a purchase order to, the successful bidder. A successful bidder shall forfeit his/her deposit if he/she fails to enter into a contract within twenty (20) days after the award.
I.
Performance Bond. The successful bidder may be required to post a performance bond whenever the same is deemed appropriate by the City Administrator, provided however, such requirement is set forth in the conditions of bidding. The performance bond may be in the form of a specified amount or a percentage of the value of the proposed purchase.
J.
Appropriate Bidding Conditions. The City Administrator shall establish in the condition of bidding such terms as may be deemed appropriate to protect the interests of the City.
A.
The City Administrator may without prior authority acquire in the open market all goods and services with a value of less than twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00).
B.
Such an acquisition shall be based upon sound procurement principles. Formal bids shall not be required, but whenever practical purchases of the value between one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) shall be based upon quotations from two (2) or more vendors, with consultation with department head requesting purchase.
A.
Absence Or Rejection Of Bids. The Board of Aldermen may by resolution approve negotiated procurement of goods or services of a value in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) if there have been no responsive bids to an advertisement for bids or if the Board of Aldermen has rejected all bids.
B.
Emergency Purchases. The Board of Aldermen may by resolution approve negotiated procurement of goods and services of a value in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) without requiring formal competitive bids if the Board determines from all information submitted to it by the City Administrator and the using department that the immediate procurement of such goods is essential to prevent delays which might adversely affect the health, welfare or convenience of the citizens or cause substantial financial disadvantage to the City.
The Board of Aldermen may by resolution approve negotiated procurement of goods of value in excess of twenty-five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) without requiring formal competitive bids if the Board determines from all information submitted to it by the City Administrator and the using department that such goods are of such specialized or non-standard nature that they can be acquired only from a sole source of supply and that no similar standard goods would reasonably satisfy the City's requirements.
When professional services in addition to those provided by the City Officers and employees are required by the City, investigation shall be made in the manner directed or approved by the Board of Aldermen concerning persons or companies who perform the required service. On the basis of such investigation, the Board of Aldermen shall then designate or approve one (1) or more of such persons or companies for the required professional service.
Real estate shall be acquired by the City only pursuant to a contract authorized and approved by an ordinance enacted by the Board of Aldermen.
A.
Public improvements shall be contracted for in the manner provided in this Section.
B.
Emergency work or repairs requiring prompt attention, ordinary maintenance work to be paid out of the general fund of the City for which specific provision was made in the budget and work to be paid out of the appropriated proceeds of any bond issue authorized by vote of the people shall be procured as provided by the provisions of this Section applicable to the type of procurement involved.
When the City needs new insurance or the Board of Aldermen directs that a comprehensive study be made of any insurance requirements, the following procedure will be followed:
A.
The City Administrator shall advise the Board of pending expiration of existing policies at least one hundred twenty (120) days in advance of any such expiration.
B.
The City Administrator will advertise the need for such new insurance or such insurance study by advertisements in local newspapers first published at least ninety (90) days prior to the expiration date of existing policies.
C.
The City Administrator will make available to any duly licensed insurance agency or company all available specifications and data concerning the insurance requirements in question.
D.
The Mayor and Board of Aldermen shall cause to be reviewed and evaluated all proposals for insurance coverage.
E.
The Board of Aldermen shall then select the agency or company or both to provide required insurance coverage.
A.
The City Administrator or his/her agent shall inspect or supervise the inspection of all deliveries of supplies, materials, equipment or contractual services to determine their conformance with the specifications set forth in the order or contract.
B.
The City Administrator may authorize using departments having the staff and facilities for adequate inspection to inspect all deliveries made to such using departments under rules and regulations which the City Administrator shall prescribe.
C.
The City Administrator shall have the authority to require chemical and physical tests of bid and delivery samples to determine their quality and conformance with the specifications. In performance of such tests the City Administrator shall have the authority to make use of laboratory facilities of any department of the City Government or of any outside laboratory.
The City Administrator shall have authority to join with any other governmental units in cooperative purchasing when the best interest of the City would be served by such cooperative purchasing.
A.
All using departments shall submit to the City Administrator, at such times and in such form as he/she shall prescribe, reports showing stocks of all supplies, materials and equipment which are no longer used or which have become obsolete, worn out or scrapped.
B.
The City Administrator shall have the authority to transfer surplus supplies, materials and equipment to other using departments or he/she shall have the authority to exchange such personal property on new supplies, materials and equipment.
C.
Surplus, unusable or obsolete supplies, materials and equipment whose estimated value is five hundred dollars ($500.00) or more shall be sold by formal written contract to the best responsible bidder, after due notice inviting bids as provided for procurement by competitive bids.
D.
Sales of surplus, obsolete or unusable personal property valued at less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be made in the open market and in accordance with the procedure set forth for open market purchases.
Except as provided in regulations prescribed by the City Administrator, it shall be unlawful for any officer or employee of the City other than the City Administrator to purchase materials, supplies or equipment or to enter into contracts for any goods or services and the City shall not be bound by any purchase ordered or any contract made in violation of the provisions of this Section.