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Bidding Parameters
Purchases of $3,000 or Less
If a purchase is $3,000 or less, no quotes are required, but are recommended when possible. The Department verifies that the purchase does not fall under component, separate, or sequential purchasing, as they are illegal Please refer to the definitions in the Purchasing Policy. The PL may attach the following to the requisition: • Quotes, if applicable • Other documentation that supports the purchase, if applicable
Under State law, before the City plans to make purchases between $3,000 and $50,000 with a vendor in a fiscal year, the City must meet the Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) purchasing requirements These purchases require at least three informal written quotes/bids/proposals, depending on the estimated annual spend The City shall contact at least two vendors from the State’s current certified HUB list (Appendix — HUB Search). If the listing fails to identify a HUB vendor in the counties in which the City is situated (Tarrant and Denton), the City is exempt from this requirement
If HUB vendors are unresponsive, the Department has met the HUB requirement by notifying them and giving them the opportunity to submit The City retains all submitted quotes/bids/proposals and email correspondence with the HUB vendors for auditing purposes
Some exceptions to the HUB Purchasing Requirements include the following: • Vendor Contract covered by an Interlocal Agreement • Vendor Contract covered by a Cooperative Agreement • Formal competitive sealed bid/proposal resulting in a City contract • Professional Services Exemption • Sole Source Exemption • Emergency Purchase Exemption • Other Exemptions as defined in State Law
If the purchase is procured under Competitive Purchasing Requirements, the HUB purchasing requirements are not applicable to the purchase See the Competitive Purchasing Requirements – Purchases of more than $50,000 section of the Playbook for documentation requirements City Council minutes are not required for estimated annual spends under $50,000
Purchases Between $3,000 and less than $25,000
An annual estimated spend with a vendor of more than $3,000, but less than $25,000 requires at least three informal written quotes and is subject to HUB requirements The Department is responsible for the selection of the vendor and completion of the Bid Tabulation form
The Department attaches the following to the requisition: • HUB search results • If HUBs exist, documentation that the Department contacted HUB vendors • All written quotes received • Completed Bid Tabulation form, including the reason why the Department selected the vendor • Other documentation that supports the purchase, if applicable
Purchases of $25,000 to $50,000
An annual estimated spend with a vendor of $25,000 to $50,000 requires written bids/proposals and is subject to HUB requirements A committee evaluates the bids/proposals received and recommends the vendor award, based on predetermined criteria, to the Department Director for final approval. No committee is required if the bid is evaluated on lowest price only The process consists of the following steps: 1. The Department creates and submits to Finance the specifications of the product/scope of services sought
2. Finance reviews the product specifications/scope of service, creates the Request for Bid/Proposal draft, including the Best Value criteria, and returns the draft to the Department for review 3 The Department and Finance work on revisions and determine how long to leave the Request for Bid/
Proposal open based on the complexity of the bid/proposal requirements 4. Finance posts the final Request for Bid/Proposal on the City’s electronic bidding platform, Bonfire, which vendors access from the City’s website. Finance sends a notification of the Request for Bid/
Proposal to required HUB vendors. Bonfire automatically notifies applicable vendors registered on
Bonfire. 5 The Department and Finance select the evaluation committee, consisting of a minimum of 3 people
Finance sets up and coordinates the evaluations in Bonfire, if applicable. 6 Finance determines if the submission followed the required elements stated in the Request for Bid/
Proposal. If a submission does not, Finance disqualifies the submission and the evaluation committee will not score it 7 Assigned evaluators score the submissions based on pre-established Best Value criteria in the Request for Bid/Proposal 8 Once scoring is completed, Finance presents the committee’s recommendation to the Department for final approval. 9. Once approved, Finance sends the signed contract to the vendor, provides the final signed contract to the City Secretary, and enters the contract into the Munis Contract program 10. Finance files the HUB search results, documentation that the City contacted HUB vendors, Bid
Tabulation form, all bids/proposals submitted and any other documentation in the bid folder
The Department shall attach the following to the requisition: • Vendor Contract • Other documentation that supports the purchase, if applicable Competitive Purchasing Requirements - Purchases of more than $50,000
Under State law, before the City plans to make purchases of more than $50,000 with a vendor in a fiscal year, the City must meet the Competitive Purchasing Requirements Under the City Charter (Chapter 9 43), the City Council approves/awards in advance all contracts for expenditures more than $50,000 The following are common ways to meet these requirements: • Vendor Contract covered by an Interlocal Agreement • Vendor Contract covered by a Cooperative Agreement • Formal sealed bid/proposal resulting in a City contract • Professional Services Exemption • Sole Source Exemption • Emergency Purchase Exemption • Other Exemptions as defined in State law
If all the following requirements are met, the State’s competitive purchasing requirements are also met through a Vendor Contract covered by an Interlocal Agreement: • Another governmental entity has a contract with a vendor that was procured in compliance with the State’s competitive purchasing requirements for the service/product sought; • The City has an interlocal purchasing agreement with the other governmental entity; and • The vendor honors the same pricing and terms in the other governmental entity’s contract with the City
Verify that the City has a current Interlocal Agreement with the other governmental entity by checking the Interlocal/Cooperative Agreement Listing on the Finance intranet page If the other governmental entity is not on the list, contact Finance to determine if the City can enter into an Interlocal Agreement with the other governmental entity
In the General Notes section of the requisition, the Department references that competitive purchasing requirements were met through the Interlocal Agreement with the name of the other governmental entity The Department attaches the following to the requisition:
• Signed Vendor Contract with other governmental entity • Vendor quote referencing that the prices and terms are based on the other governmental entity’s contract, including the contract number • Minutes from the City Council meeting approving the purchase • Other documentation that supports the purchase such as the City Council Memo, if applicable
If all the following requirements are met, the State’s competitive purchasing requirements are also met through a cooperative purchasing agreement: • The City has an agreement or membership with the cooperative purchasing organization; and • The cooperative purchasing organization has a contract with a vendor that was procured in compliance with the State’s competitive purchasing requirements for the service/product sought
Verify that the City has a current agreement with the cooperative purchasing organization by checking the Interlocal/Cooperative Agreement Listing on the Finance intranet page If the organization is not on the list, please contact Finance to determine if the City can enter into an agreement The Department attaches the following to the requisition: • Vendor quote with Cooperative Agreement number on it • Current cooperative contract summary page • If available, contract pricing schedule • Minutes from the City Council meeting approving the purchase • Other documentation that supports the purchase such as the City Council Memo, if applicable
A formal sealed bid/proposal is required when the City plans to make purchases of more than $50,000 with a vendor in a fiscal year unless competitive purchasing requirements are met through an Interlocal or Cooperative Agreement or is exempt under State law
The process starts when the Department and Finance decide the best way to purchase the product/service is through a formal bid/proposal process. The timing of the process, including the final award by City Council, depends on the complexity of the service/product sought and the response rate of both the Department and Finance throughout the process Departments should plan on the process taking 2 to 3 months, consisting of the following steps: 1. The Department creates and submits to Finance the specifications of the product/scope of services sought 2. Finance reviews the product specifications/scope of service, creates the Request for Bid/Proposal draft, including the Best Value criteria, and returns the draft to the Department for review 3 The Department and Finance work on revisions and determine how long to leave the Request for Bid/ Proposal open based on the complexity of the bid/proposal requirements 4 The Department and Finance select the Bid/Proposal evaluation committee, consisting of a minimum of 3 people. Finance sets up and coordinates the evaluations in Bonfire, if applicable. 5. Finance posts the final Request for Bid/Proposal on the City’s electronic bidding platform, Bonfire, which vendors access from the City’s website. Bonfire automatically notifies applicable vendors registered on Bonfire. 6 Finance creates the required newspaper advertisement and sends it to the City Secretary for publication 7 As part of competitive purchasing requirements, the City advertises a formal request for bid/proposal for a minimum of 14 days before the day of opening The City usually posts the Request for Bid/ Proposal for a minimum of 21 days to allow vendors to ask questions and create quality submissions Vendors shall direct all questions to Finance If a Department is contacted directly by a vendor, the Department directs them to Finance 8. Finance opens the bids on Bonfire and reads aloud the vendor name and bid amount for Request for Bids at the time and place published in the notice Finance reads aloud only vendor names for Request for Proposals
9 Finance determines if the submission follows the required elements stated in the Request for Bid/ Proposal. If a submission does not, Finance disqualifies the submission and the evaluation committee will not score it 10. Finance releases the bids/proposals through the Bonfire system to the evaluators. 11 Assigned evaluators score the submissions based on pre-established Best Value criteria in the Request for Bid/Proposal 12 Once scoring is completed, Finance, with the Department’s input, creates an award recommendation Finance then creates the Contract Award Letter and the award packet, which is then given to the City Secretary for signatures 13 The Department presents the recommendation to City Council for award approval 14. Once approved by City Council, Finance or the Department notifies the awarded vendor and the Department coordinates contract implementation and compliance The City Secretary stores the finalized contract on Laserfiche. 15 Finance enters the contract into the Munis Contract program 16. Finance files the bid/proposal tabulation form, all bids/proposals submitted and any other documentation in the bid folder Finance posts the bid/proposal tabulation and the contract award letter to the City’s external purchasing web page The Department attaches the following to the requisition: • Signed current City contract/renewal • Vendor quote for the purchase, if applicable • Minutes from the City Council meeting approving the purchase • Other documentation that supports the purchase such as the City Council Memo, if applicable
Construction Projects
Construction project bids/proposals are coordinated through Public Works Administration and follow a different process, that follows State purchasing laws for construction contracts Architects and engineers create the documents with the Public Works Department and Public Works oversees the process When requested, Finance posts the information to the City website and assists Public Works Administration
Emergency Purchase Exemption
Under State law, emergency purchases are exempt from competitive purchasing requirements when made for: • A public calamity that requires immediate action, including preserving City property; • Preserving or protecting the public health or safety of residents; or • Unforeseen damage to public machinery, equipment, or other property
When an emergency purchase occurs during normal business hours, the Department immediately notifies Finance to assist in locating and arranging the delivery of the product/services required The Department creates a requisition as normal to authorize the payment for product/services but can proceed with the emergency purchase before the requisition is processed and approved
When an emergency purchase occurs outside of business hours, the authorized Department official may take necessary steps to procure required supplies, services, or equipment to relieve the emergency If possible, the Department should only procure those products/services required during the evening, weekend, or holiday On the next business day, the Department Director or designee certifies, in writing, that the emergency purchase was necessary because of one of the three reasons listed above The Department also creates a requisition as normal to authorize the payment for product/services
If this exemption is applicable, the Department attaches the following to the requisition: • Emergency purchase memo explaining the circumstance requiring the purchase • If available, vendor quote • Other documentation that supports the purchase such as the City Council Memo, if applicable • Minutes from the City Council meeting approving the emergency purchase Under Ordinance No 888, the City Manager may approve emergency purchases, but the City Council must ratify the expenditure within 30 days Departments may attach minutes to the PO after requisition approval and invoice payment
