The purchase and sale of property shall be governed by the provisions of this section:
(A) All sales or purchases in excess of $2,000 shall be approved by the City Commission and formal sealed bids shall be obtained unless the City Commission, by formal unanimous resolution of those present at a meeting and based upon the written recommendation of the City Manager, determines that no advantage would result from such competitive bidding and the requirements of the City Charter at Section 13.2 are complied with. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(1) For purchases over $2,000, a sealed competitive bid process shall be used. An appropriate notice inviting sealed bids shall be published in one or more newspapers of general circulation in the city at least seven business days before the final date for submitting the bids. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(2) The City Manager shall solicit bids from a reasonable number of qualified prospective bidders as are known to the City Manager by sending each a copy of the notice requesting bids. Notice of the bid process shall be posted at the city offices. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(3) Unless set forth by the City Commission, the City Manager shall set and define the amount of any security to be deposited with any bid. Any required deposit shall be in the form of a certified check, a cashier's check, or a bond written by a surety company authorized to do business in the State of Michigan. The amount of such security shall be expressed in terms of percentage of the bid submitted. Unless fixed by the City Commission, the City Manager shall fix the amount of the performance bond and in the case of construction contracts, the amount of the labor and material bond to be required of the successful bidder. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(4) All sealed bids shall be opened in public at the time and place designated in the notice requesting sealed bids and in the presence of the City Manager, the City Clerk, or the City Treasurer, and at least one other city official, preferably the department head most closely concerned with the subject of the bid process. The bids shall be reviewed and tabulated and reported to the City Commission with the recommendation of the City Manager at the next regular meeting of the City Commission. After tabulation, all bids may be inspected by the competing bidders as allowed by Michigan's public record disclosure laws. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(5) The following criteria shall be considered in the review and selection of the successful bid:
(a) The ability, capacity, and skill of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the services required;
(b) The ability of the bidder to perform the contract or provide the services promptly within the time specified and without delay or interference;
(c) The character, integrity, reputation, judgment, experience, and efficiency of the bidder;
(d) The quality of performance of previous contracts for services or goods of the bidder;
(e) Previous and existing compliance by the bidder with all laws and ordinances relating to the contract or services or the providing of goods;
(f) The conformance or nonconformance of the bid with the published bid specifications;
(g) The sufficiency of the financial resources and ability of the bidder to perform the contract or provide services;
(h) The quality, availability and adaptability of supplies or contractual services to the particular use required;
(i) The ability of the bidder to provide future maintenance and service for the use of the subject of the contract, where applicable;
(j) The number and scope of the conditions attached to the bid. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(6) When such bids are submitted to the City Commission, the contract to be executed, in a form approved by the City Attorney, shall also be submitted and, if the City Commission shall find any of the bids to be satisfactory, it shall award the contract to the selected bidder and shall authorize execution of the approved contract. Upon execution of the contract by the successful bidder and the filing of any bonds which may have been required, which bond shall first be approved by the City Attorney as to form and content, such award may be by resolution of the City Commission. The City Commission shall have the right to reject any or all bids and to waive irregularities in the process and to accept bids which do not conform in every respect to the bidding requirements, provided that the City Commission shall not have the authority to accept a bid of lower specifications without re-advertising the bid as a whole. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(7) All bids, deposits of certified or cashier's checks may be retained until the contract is awarded and fully executed. If any successful bidder fails or refuses to enter into the contract awarded to the successful bidder within five business days after the award date, the deposit accompanying their bid shall be forfeited to the city, and the City Commission may, in its sole discretion, award the contract to the next successful bidder or such contract may be re-advertised for a new bid process. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(8) A record shall be kept for six months of all open market bid processes and the responsive bids submitted. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(9) All bid related records shall be available for public inspection. Any or all bids may be rejected at the sole discretion of the city. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(C) The City Commission may authorize the making of public improvements or the performance of any other city work by any city entity without competitive bidding. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(D) Purchases shall be made from the lowest "competent bidder" meeting the requisite specifications. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(E) Sales are to be made to the bidder whose bid is most advantageous to the City of Marine City as recommended by the City Manager. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(F) Using the State of Michigan purchasing contracts or other recognized/government sponsored bid process is permitted to satisfy the bid process. The state contracts and other recognized state bid processes have already been competitively bid and can be used without an additional bid process. The use of MiDeal (the State of Michigan's extended purchase program) shall satisfy the bid process.
(G) Every attempt shall be made to ensure that all purchases are fair and impartial with no impropriety or appearance of impropriety. All qualified businesses shall have access to city business. No individual or business shall be arbitrarily excluded under any circumstance.
(H) In all processes herein, every attempt will be made to secure the maximum amount of competition.
(I) All purchases and sales shall be evidenced by written contract or purchase order. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(1) Expenditures under this section shall be made the subject of a written contract. A purchase order shall be a sufficient written contract in situations where the expenditure is in the usual and ordinary course of the city's affairs. In no case shall a purchase order be sufficient for the construction of public works or the contracting of supplies or services over any period of time where the quality of the goods or materials or the scope of the services bargained for is not wholly standardized. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(K) The city may not sell any park, cemetery, or any part thereof, except in accordance with restrictions placed thereon by statute. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(L) The city may not lease, purchase, or sell any real estate or any interest therein except by the affirmative vote of four members of the City Commission. (See: Charter § 13.1)
(Ord. 23-001, passed 2-2-2023)