A. The following procurements, transactions, scenarios, products, and services are not subject to the competitive procurement processes contemplated by this chapter:
1. Grants, gifts, and bequests, provided that any such transfer complies with applicable law and ethical practices and that prior to the City accepting any such transfer, the Mayor has approved the same;
2. Superior or more suitable products, provided that the City documents in writing how any such product significantly surpasses similar competing products in terms of quality, serviceability, or longevity, or that such product is better suited to the needs of the City to lower costs of inventory or to maintain compatibility with existing City-owned equipment;
3. Interlocal agreements or other similar cooperative arrangements with any Federal, State, County, or other local government entity, including special service districts, school districts, and other similar entities, for the purpose of procuring goods and services via any such agreement or arrangement administered by another governmental entity; however, prior to entering into any such interlocal agreement or other similar cooperative arrangement, the City shall document in writing that the benefits of this method of procurement outweigh utilizing the competitive procurement process;
4. Purchasing under State contracts;
5. When procurement involves the expenditure of Federal or State funds received by the City, provided that the City's qualifications for receiving the funds require the City to utilize procurement processes other than those contemplated by this chapter;
6. Emergency situations where the competitive procurement processes could not reasonably be utilized, in which case the emergency procurement shall be made with as much competition as practicable in light of the circumstances and, following the emergency procurement, the individual who made the procurement shall provide a written declaration to the purchasing agent detailing the procurement, including the cost of the emergency procurement, the circumstances necessitating an emergency procurement, and the procedures utilized in the emergency procurement. An emergency situation is an imminent threat to the public's health, welfare, safety, or when there exists an imminent and substantial risk of injury or loss to property under conditions which reasonably do not permit fulfilling all the purchasing requirements in this chapter. Before proceeding with procurement under this section, a purchasing agent must notify and receive approval from the City Administrator or Finance Director;
7. When products or services are reasonably available only from a single source, in which case prior to procurement the City shall document in writing the efforts that were taken to determine that the subject products or services were, in fact, reasonably available only from a single source;
8. When a contractor is already on site;
9. When due to an inventory of replacement or servicing parts which is compatible with existing specific equipment used by the City, the City has a contract or multiple contracts for the continual replenishment of the inventory;
10. Professional services contracts including legal, engineering, accounting, financial services and architectural;
11. When fewer than three (3) timely and responsive proposals are received by the City, in which case the purchasing agent may procure the goods or services from any source and in any legal manner which the purchasing agent determines to be in the best interests of the City; and
12. Contracts for special investigatory or similar services or supplies for the Police Department where confidentiality is necessary.
B. At the discretion of the purchasing agent, the City may utilize the competitive procurement process for any of the exceptions listed in subsection A of this section. (Ord. 30-2018, 5-8-2018)