(a) Purpose. All purchasing and contracting shall be accomplished in the best interests of the city using the prudent person's standard of care. Purchasing or contracting shall be performed so as to secure for the city the greatest value considering cost, quality, delivery, service and other considerations which reflect overall value comparisons.

(b) Full and open competition. Full and open competition shall be encouraged.

(c) Competitive bidding. Contracts shall be based on competitive bids or request for proposals except where this article authorizes noncompetitive awards. The purchasing manager or designee shall determine the type of procurement process to be used for each award.

(d) Bulk purchases. Whenever feasible, purchasing of commodities shall be done in bulk to take full advantage of discounts. Departments shall be responsible for anticipating needs in a timely fashion in order to consolidate and expedite procurement of the same type of commodities.

(e) Disqualified vendor or contractor. Vendors or contractors who have performed unsatisfactorily under published rules or procedures of the purchasing and contracting division as contained within the city's purchasing procedure letters, who have defaulted on terms of their bids/proposals, or who have contacted city councilmembers, city management and city staff other than in the purchasing and contracting division about a pending contract award during the evaluative period between submittal of bids or proposals and the award, and against specific written direction in the requests for proposals may be declared debarred or suspended bidders/offerors and may be precluded from participation in future contracting opportunities and disqualified from receiving any business from the city for a specified time period. No vendor or contractor shall be declared a debarred or suspended bidder until an opinion regarding such has been obtained from the city attorney's office.

(f) Exception for real property and water related acquisitions and leases. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, this article shall not be applicable to the leasing, rental or acquiring of real property and water, including improvements thereon.

(g) Subdivision prohibited. No contract or purchase shall be subdivided to avoid the requirements of this article.

(h) Record. A record shall be maintained, in accordance with state statutes, of all open market bids solicited and submitted to competition thereon, and such records shall be open to public inspection.

(i) Payments. Payments to vendors or contractors shall be expedited whenever possible in order to realize discounts and enhance the city's reputation as a responsible customer. (Code 1979, § 2-183; Ord. No. 2023-08, § 1, 4-10-2023; Ord. No. 2020-57, § 1, 11-2-2020; Ord. No. 2012-30, § 2, 7-9-2012)