SR 06:172 - Laserfiche WebLink

As part of the City's annual purchasing process, individual vendors are provided with purchase orders authorizing departments to make numerous as-needed purchases on a regular basis throughout the year. These purchases range from office supplies to automobile parts to fertilizers and computer equipment. The products purchased from the vendor vary. As an example, a firm operating in accordance with a purchase order for office supplies may, in fact, have many individual sales with the City, all of which are valued at less than a few hundred dollars. Because the individual purchases have values that are within approved purchasing limits, they are generally authorized by mid-managers or line staff in one department. Further, many of these are purchases are from sole source vendors or tied to a particular purchasing contract. As an example, copier supplies are purchased from the product dealer/vendor based on the equipment or the product lease agreement in place with the City. In addition, collectively, the value of the purchases on an annual basis does not exceed $50,000, which is the amount that could require City Council approval. In reviewing this year's listing of open purchase orders, staff identified a number of vendors that, based on previous activity, will provide products that collectively may be in excess of $50,000. As a result, staff determined that it is appropriate to forward these to the City Council for approval prior to issuing a purchase order. As indicated, because it is uncertain what the total value of the purchase will be, Council approval may not be necessary. Further, the individual purchases are generally less than $5,000, which does not require competitive bidding. Attachment A includes a listing of the vendors, products, projected purchase amount and the justification for purchasing in this manner. The attachment does not include products that are part of a previously approved purchase agreement. As an example, because the City is required by agreement to utilize Xerox supplies and services on Xerox copy machines, Xerox is not on the list. Competitive Biddinl!: Last year, after reviewing the annual listing of open purchase orders requested by departments, staff determined that it would be necessary to conduct a competitive bid for all collective purchases in excess of $50K. To date not all competitive purchases have been completed and as a result, Staff is recommending approval of four contracts on Attachment A for a period of only 90 days to complete the process. Staff anticipates a report regarding a longer-term purchase agreement for these services in October. FINANCIAL IMPACT No significant fiscal impact results from this action, as these are budgeted items. SR06:172 Page 2