A. Purchasing Authorized:
1. The City shall contract for and purchase, or issue purchase authorization for, all supplies, materials and equipment for the operation of the City government. Before the purchase of, or contract for, any supplies, materials or equipment, or the sale of any surplus or obsolete supplies, materials or equipment, ample opportunity for competitive bidding, under such regulations and with such exceptions as the City Charter and the City Commission may prescribe, shall be given.
2. The City Manager, subject to any regulations which the City Commission may prescribe, shall contract for and purchase, or issue purchase authorization for, all supplies, materials and equipment for the offices, departments and agencies of the City government. Every such contract or purchase exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) shall require the prior approval of the City Commission.
B. Contractual Services Defined: "Contractual services", for the purpose of this chapter, shall mean services performed for the City by persons not in the employ of the City and may include the use of equipment or the furnishing of commodities in connection with such services under express or implied contract. "Contractual services"shall include travel, freight, express, parcel post, postage, telephone, telegraph, utilities, rents, printing and binding, repairs, alterations and maintenance of buildings, equipment, streets, bridges and other physical facilities of the City.
C. Selling Or Disposing Of Surplus Or Obsolete Supplies Or Equipment:
1. Subject to the provisions of State law and this section, surplus or obsolete supplies, materials or equipment belonging to the City may be sold.
2. No sale shall be made under this section until the City Commission has declared the supplies, materials or equipment involved to be surplus or obsolete.
3. Except as may otherwise be provided, the City Commission may order any surplus property to be disposed of as worthless, or disposed of by donating or selling to a governmental entity, or disposed of by selling to the highest responsible bidder. In the event that the Commission authorizes the sale of surplus property bids, the City shall advertise any sale under this section in a newspaper of general circulation in the City or County, or in such other manner as deemed necessary to adequately reach prospective buyers to give them an opportunity to make bids. All bids shall be sealed and opened in public at a designated time and place, except when the sale is by auction. The City Commission may repeatedly reject all bids and advertise again. The City Commission shall sell such supplies, materials and equipment to the highest responsible bidder and, if necessary, shall cast lots in case of a tie to determine to whom to sell.
4. In the event that the surplus property receives no bids or the City Commission rejects the bids and does not authorize the surplus property to be re-bid, the City Manager is authorized to dispose of the surplus property in a manner in which he deems is in the best interest of the City.
D. Payment Procedure In Lieu Of Purchase Orders: Upon direction from the City Manager, a payment procedure shall be implemented whereby all properly submitted and due claims and invoices shall be processed and paid in the following manner:
1. The City Clerk or his/her designee shall:
a. Accumulate all properly submitted and due claims and invoices to be processed for payment;
b. Confirm the availability of the appropriately designated funds to be used;
c. Present said due claims and invoices to the City Manager for confirmation of the validity of the expenses incurred;
d. Encumber the confirmed, appropriately designated funds from being utilized for any further purpose than as described therein;
e. Present said due claims and invoices to the Mayor or his/her designee for consideration and approval for payment;
f. Issue properly signed checks, or other authorized forms of payment, in payment of said claims and invoices; and
g. Prepare a list of claims and invoices paid, which shall be submitted, for informational purposes, to the Board of City Commissioners at their next regular meeting following the payment date.
2. When implemented by the City Manager, the payment process and procedure detailed in subsection D.1. of this section shall also apply to all public trusts for which the City is the sole beneficiary. (Ord. 06072018-01, 6-7-2018; amd. Ord. 08182021-05, 8-18-2021; Ord. 04112022-09, 4-11-2022)