No purchase, contract for services of any kind or description, lease or lease-purchase, payment for which is to be made from funds of the city, shall be made by the purchasing agent, or any officer, employee or agent of the city except in the manner set forth in this subchapter. The total cost of an item, not the method of payment, determines the method of procurement. Artificial division, splitting, or fragmentation of a transaction to circumvent source selection or to avoid requirements for bidding or authorization of procurement is prohibited.
(A) Under $5,000. Whenever any contemplated purchase, contract for services, lease or lease-purchase, is for the sum of less than $5,000, the purchasing agent of the city may order the items as needed without further delay.
(B) $5,000 to $20,000 inclusive. Whenever any contemplated purchase, contract for services, lease or lease-purchase, is for the sum of $5,000 and not more than $20,000, the purchase may be made by the purchasing agent without the requirements of public notification by advertisement. The purchasing agent shall obtain three informal competitive quotations, in writing, from available suppliers.
(C) Over $20,000. Whenever any contemplated purchase, contract for services, lease or lease-purchase, is for the sum of more than $20,000, the purchasing agent shall cause to be published in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation in the city, notice inviting bids, which notices shall be published at least ten days prior to the date set for the receipt of the bids. The notice required shall include a general description of the articles to be purchased or services performed and the time and place of opening bids. In addition, the purchasing agent shall post a notice inviting bids on the official city website, and may also notify all responsible prospective suppliers of the items to be purchased, services performed, or lease or lease-purchase. The bidding requirements of this section shall not apply to used vehicles, used equipment, and other used personal property, upon written substantiation that the item or items to be purchased are only sporadically or occasionally available for purchase, and due to the sporadic nature of availability, the purchase via bidding or other competition would not be advantageous. In such situations, the purchasing agent shall obtain three quotations of similar vehicles, property, or equipment, if possible. In addition, Council may waive the publication requirement for other purchases exceeding $20,000 if it is in the best interest of the city and in accordance with state law.
(D) No contract in excess of $20,000. Except in an emergency, any purchase contract, lease, or lease-purchase in excess of $20,000 shall be by the Council.
(E) All purchases. All purchases for the Page Utility Enterprises shall meet the same requirements as items divisions (A) through (D) above, except as provided in § 31.59(D). For PUE purchases, the “City Manager” will be replaced by the Utilities General Manager; the “City Council” will be replaced by the Page Utilities Board and “City Hall” will be replaced by the “Page Utility Enterprises Office”.
(F) Changes. Any changes made to the purchasing policy shall be forwarded to the Chief Financial Officer of Page Utility Enterprises by the City Finance Director.
(1976 Code, § 3-4-1) (Ord. 384-00, passed 2-10-2000; Ord. 580-12, passed 1-26-2012; Ord. 601-13, passed 4-24-2013; Ord. 653-19, passed 2-13-2019; Ord. 698-22, passed 9-28-2022)