A. Procurement Guidelines. The city manager shall implement policies and procedures governing the procurement of goods, services, and public projects for the city consistent with this chapter. Said procedures and policies may be amended as needed to address operational issues as they arise. The city manager, or his or her authorized representative, shall enforce the procurement guidelines.
B. Rejection of Bids and Proposals. At its discretion, the city council may reject any and all bids, proposals, quotations, or prices and take any other action deemed appropriate for the procurement of goods, services, and public projects.
C. Required Restrictive Procedures. More restrictive procurement methods shall be used if required by federal and state law, or where federal or state funds are involved in the contract to be awarded, or when the city council or city manager determines it is in the best interest of the city to do so.
D. Appropriations Requirement. No contract or purchase shall Be made unless the city manager or finance director shall have first confirmed that there is an unencumbered appropriation in the fund against which such expenditure is to be charged sufficient to cover the amount of purchase or contract, unless in cases of emergency.
E. Unauthorized Purchases. No officer or employee of the city shall request a vendor to deliver goods, services, or public projects to the city without prior authorization by the appropriate city official. Such purchases are void and not considered an obligation of the city.
F. Review and Approval of Plans and Specifications. The city engineer, or qualified designees, are authorized to review and approve engineering plans for all public projects. This shall include the working details, drawings, plans and specifications prepared for every public project, including emergency and change order work, which may affect the design or operation of public improvements and which may bring into question the city’s liability for dangerous conditions of public property.
G. Master Agreements. Unless prohibited by law, the city may enter into master agreements under which the city purchases goods, services, or public projects, including but not limited to on-call services, task orders, and job orders. Master agreements shall have a not-to-exceed cost limit. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Chapter 3.20 and unless otherwise prohibited by law, master agreements with a total aggregate not-to-exceed value in excess of $50,000 may be procured using the formal request for proposal process. Master agreements of $50,000 or less may be procured through any alternative means as determined by the city manager or his or her designee.
H. Split Purchases. A split purchase occurs when the quantity or scope of a required good, service, or public project is known prior to the initial purchase, and is divided into multiple purchases in order to avoid procurement requirements. Split purchases are prohibited and are considered fraud, waste, and/or abuse by auditors and in violation of best practices standards. (Ord. 2021-06-1524 § 2 (part))