A. The purpose of our purchasing or procurement policy is to establish fairness and uniformity among the city's departments and to ensure that purchase of goods and services by the City of Somerton comply with all legal, fiscal, and insurance requirements established by federal, state, or county government. This article is intended to be used as a reference by city staff, vendors, and the general public with respect to these policies. The policies presented in this article have been reviewed and approved by the City Council, and should be used to determine the appropriate policies to be followed for a particular procurement. In cases where this policy does not address a particular situation, the Arizona State Procurement Code found in A.R.S. Title 41 will be followed. A glossary is attached to the end of this article for the reference of readers. The Council reserves the right to amend or change these policies and any subsequent changes to these policies shall be incorporated by reference into all contracts with the city.
B. More specifically, the purchasing policies strive for the following goals:
1. Maximization of competition. In order to be responsible to the public, these specifications are written to allow the purchasing process to be as open as possible to a number of qualified vendors.
2. Equal and fair competition. It is our goal that vendors are provided the same information regarding the availability of contracts, and products or service needs and specifications and their responses such as price quotes are kept confidential until the purchases are completed and so no favoritism is shown in the purchasing process.
3. Predictability. City staff has a clear indication of the rules for the type of purchase in question so that their time and efforts are best utilized.
4. The best value at the lowest price. The money available for city services is maximized so that purchases are made the lowest price for the product or service that best meets the needs of the city.
5. Ethical procedures. To prevent and/or disclose conflicts of interest between vendors on the part of city staff, elected officials and/or appointed officials.
6. Budget responsibility. To ensure that expenditures do not exceed the funds allocated through the city's budgetary process.
(Res. 2008-011, passed 2-19-2008)