Formal Bid A written bid submitted in a sealed format to the City in accordance with the required specifications. This process is required for all commodity purchases of $70,000 or more. The process may also be used for lower dollar purchases when in the best interest of the City.
Informal Bid An unsealed, competitive bid submitted to the City in accordance with the specifications.
Best Value Local Government Code, chapter 252.043(b) allows a municipality to award a bid based on the best value criteria.
the purchase price;
the reputation of the bidder and of the bidder's goods or services;
the quality of the bidder's goods or services;
the extent to which the goods or services meet the municipality's needs;
the bidder's past relationship with the municipality;
the impact on the ability of the municipality to comply with laws and rules relating to contracting with historically underutilized businesses and non-profit organizations employing persons with disabilities;
the total long-term cost to the municipality to acquire the bidder's goods or services; and
any relevant criteria specifically listed in the request for bids or proposals.
All requests for bids should be sent to Purchasing at least two weeks before the first advertising date.
A list of suggested vendors should be sent to the Purchasing Agent; especially if you have worked with vendors in obtaining specifications, or have tested / completed a demonstration of their product.
Bid awards for items exceeding $70,000 must be approved by City Council. Awards that require a formal written contract and are $70,000 or less must be approved by the City Manager.
Bid awards are processed as follows:
Bids will be evaluated by Purchasing and the requesting department(s). Upon completion, the bid recommendation form is completed.
Once authorization is received, Purchasing will issue a Notice of Award to the vendor(s). Contracts will be processed and the bid file closed and the electronic contract file created, if needed.
Work may not be started until a Notice to Proceed is received by the vendor and staff has received notification that the contract can be started by Purchasing.
APPROVED BY: POLICY DATE: REVISED DATE: