(a) The purchase or procurement of the following are exempt from Competitive Bidding requirements of this Article, provided that the Business Enterprise providing the Goods or Services is registered, to the extent required by law, to pay B & 0 Taxes to the City and has paid its then payable B & 0 Tax obligations to the City, and provided further that nothing herein precludes the use of Competitive Bidding, which may be authorized at any time by the City Official with authority to enter into the Contract under this Article or may be required be resolution of the City Council:
(1) Any Goods or Services purchased by the Mayor, the Clerk or a Department Head under the Limited Spending Authorization from the City Council under Section 109.03
of this Article;
(2) Any reimbursement of cash expenses of City Officials according to the provisions of this Article;
(3) Any Goods or Services that are necessary in an Emergency, provided that in the event of an Emergency the responsible City Official shall complete, .and the Mayor shall affix his or her signature to, a written statement describing the Emergency that shall be maintained in the City's records;
(4) Any Goods or Services purchased from the State or its Political Subdivisions or any Goods or Services purchased under the terms of a State-wide Contract or a so-called 'piggy back' state contract to the extent that such contracts are permitted under State law and are available;
(5) Public utility Services or Goods;
(6) Advertising space in newspapers, professional journals or publications;
(7) Original works of art for public display;
(8) Published books, maps, periodicals and technical pamphlets or works;
(9) Postage and postal fees paid to the U.S Post Office and courier fees paid to professional courier services;
(10) Professional training;
(11) Conference facilities;
(12) Maintenance on equipment that must be provided by the original equipment manufacturer or an authorized dealer;
(13) Professional dues, registration and membership fees;
(14) Attorney's and legal services fees;
(15) Accountant's, architect's, and physician's services fees;
(16) Other specialized services including computer technology services, engineering services, grant writing, auctioneering and tree removal;
(17) License agreements for computer software;
(18) Copyrighted materials;
(19) Any Expenditures related to the employment of City Officials including Payroll Obligations, insurance or other benefits;
(20) Real Property Rights, including Leases of Real Property Rights;
(21) Any other Goods or Services which the City is required by State or Federal Law to purchase from a particular Person, Political Subdivision, the State or the United States of America.
(b) Sole Source Purchasing. Any planned Solicitation by the City or contemplated need for Goods or Services that the requesting City Official believes should be restricted to one potential source, Vendor or Business Enterprise may be exempt from Competitive Bidding under the following circumstances:
(1) The City Official making the request for the Contract shall provide a signed written statement explaining why no other source will be suitable or acceptable to meet the needs of the City;
(2) The Mayor shall review such explanation and make reasonable examination of the circumstances underlying the proposed purchase, the potential sources of the Goods or Services and various Business Enterprises that may be capable of providing such Goods or Services;
(3) Upon finding that the City Official's written explanation presents a valid and substantial case for purchasing an item without the use of Competitive Bidding, the Mayor may sign such written explanation;
(4) The explanation shall be presented to the City Council which may then authorize the purchase without the benefit of Competitive Bidding by passing a resolution.
(c) Cooperative Purchasing. The City Council may, in its sole discretion, authorize the Mayor, the Clerk, an appropriate Department Head or other City Official to work with Political Subdivisions to submit combined Solicitations, or the equivalent thereof under the Political Subdivisions' purchasing requirements, so as to obtain the best price for the Goods and Services needed for the City using scale and quantity to reduce price. In the event a City Official believes such an authorization may benefit the City he or she may present the request to the City Council in a writing to include:
(1) The Goods or Services to be solicited, the proposed scope of the project, the percentage of the total Goods or Services to be acquired for the City and the percentage of the total cost of the Contract that will be paid by the City;
(2) The means by which the City will ensure that it is receiving the best price which, in most instances, will identify the competitive bidding procedures by which the Solicitations or similar requests for bids will be acquired, but may occasionally identify one of the alternate means of acquiring offers; and
(3) The date of the City Council meeting where the City Council may expect to have an offer for contract to approve the combined purchase of Goods or Services.
(Ord. 641. Passed 12-7-09.)