(A) Procedure.
(1) Except for transactions under division (D) of this section or as otherwise authorized by law, the County Commissioners, or any employee of Garrett County, may not enter into any contract of sale or purchase to which the county is a party where the amount involved under the contract exceeds $25,000 without advertising for bids in one or more newspapers circulated in the county.
(2) The advertisement for bids shall appear at least a week prior to the date on which bids are to be filed.
(3) Any contract of sale shall be awarded to the highest responsible bidder, and any contract of purchase shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, but the County Commissioners shall have the right to reject any and all bids.
(4) Any contract entered into in violation of the provisions of this section shall be null and void. The provisions of this section shall not apply to necessary repairs made in case of emergency.
(5) If any County Commissioner shall violate any provisions of this division, the Commissioner shall be liable to indictment, and, upon conviction, shall forfeit the office.
(B) Multi-year contracts.
(1) The County Commissioners may purchase or lease personal property for any public purpose in the county pursuant to a multi-year contract in accordance with Md. Code, Art. 25, § 9D.
(2) Prior to entering a contract under Md. Code, Art. 25, § 9D, the County Commissioners shall advertise for bids in accordance with division (A) of this section.
(C) Lease purchase agreements.
(1) Subject to divisions (2) and (3) below, the County Commissioners may enter into lease purchase agreements and related financing agreements to obtain personal or real property for any public purpose in the county.
(2) Prior to entering a lease purchase agreement under this division, the County Commissioners shall advertise for bids in accordance with division (A) of this section.
(3) A multi-year lease purchase agreement or related financing agreement shall be subject to cancellation by the County Commissioners at the end of a fiscal year if sufficient money is not appropriated to fund the agreement in the subsequent year.
(D) Used personal property.
(1) Subject to division (D)(2) of this division, whenever the County Commissioners consider it in the best interest of the county, the County Commissioners may:
(a) Acquire used personal property at an auction or at a public or private sale;
(b) Lease used personal property; and
(c) Enter into any financing or lease agreement for used personal property that the County Commissioners could enter had the personal property been acquired or leased new.
(2) Unless acquired at public auction, the County Commissioners may not acquire used personal property if the price exceeds $5,000 unless the County Commissioners first obtain 2 independent appraisals of the property. However, if by resolution the County Commissioners declare that 2 independent appraisals are not reasonably available, the County Commissioners may acquire the used personal property at a price not exceeding a documented published book value that generally would be accepted within the appropriate industry. The resolution shall be adopted at a regular public session of the County Commissioners and shall indicate what efforts the county made to obtain independent appraisals and the source of the book value relied on in lieu of the independent appraisals.
(1986 Code, § 20-14) (1957 Code, § 77; 1935, Ch. 35; 1945, Ch. 370; 1977, Ch. 861; 1984, Ch. 52; 1995, Ch. 35; Am. by Md. H.B. 465, passed - -; Am. by Md. H.B. 571, passed 2-24-1998; Am. by Md. S.B. 540, passed 2-27-2018)