The Director shall have the power and it shall be his duty:
(a) Purchase or contract. To purchase or contract for all supplies and contractual services needed by any agency in accordance with purchasing procedures as prescribed by this article and such rules and regulations as the Director shall adopt for the internal management and operation of the office of Director of Purchases and Supplies and such other rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by the Mayor as the purchasing functions related to executive staff offices and departments.
(1) Exceptions prohibited. The authority of the Director to negotiate all purchases for all agencies shall not be abridged by excepting by rule any particular agency.
(2) Unauthorized purchases. Except as herein provided, it shall be unlawful for any agency to order the purchase of any supplies or make any contract within the purview of this article other than through the Director and any purchase ordered or contract made contrary to the provisions hereof shall not be approved and the City shall not be bound thereby.
(b) Other powers and duties. In addition to the purchasing authority conferred in subsection (a) above and in addition to any other powers and duties conferred by this article, the Director shall:
(1) Minimum expenditure. Act to procure for the City the highest quality in supplies and contractual services at least expense to the City.
(2) Encourage competition. Discourage uniform bidding and endeavor to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all purchases and sales;
(3) Purchasing analysis. 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 having national recognition, and by private businesses and organizations.
(4) Forms. Prescribe and maintain such forms as he shall find necessary to the operation of this article.
(5) Standard nomenclature. Prepare and adopt a standard purchasing nomenclature for agencies and suppliers.
(6) Vendor’s catalog file. Prepare, adopt and maintain a vendor’s catalog file.
(7) Bulk purchases. Exploit the possibilities of buying “in bulk” so as to take full advantage of discounts.
(8) Tax exemptions. So as to procure for the City all tax exemptions to which it is entitled.
(9) Cooperation with Department of Finance. Cooperate with the Department of Finance so as to secure for the City the maximum efficiency in budgeting and accounting to the extent required by the Director of Finance.
(10) Disqualification of bidders. Have the authority, with the approval of the Mayor to declare vendors who default on the quotations or contracts irresponsible bidders and to disqualify them from receiving any business from the City for a stated period of time. Any vendor who feels himself aggrieved by the decision may, within ten (10) days of notification of such determination, make objections thereto, in writing, to the City Clerk. Within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of said notification, the City Council shall, after public hearing, make a final determination as to the disqualification of the vendor, which determination shall be final.
(Ord. 2553, passed 4-12-1976; Ord. 3178, passed 7-8-1991)