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RELEVANT LINKS: <br />League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 10/15/2018 <br />Expenditures, Purchasing, and Contracts Chapter 22 | Page 17 <br /> <br /> <br />National Institute of <br />Standards and Technology, <br />100 Bureau Drive, Stop <br />2100, Gaithersburg, MD <br />20899; (301) 975-4000. <br />The department requiring the item (the city engineer or architect in the <br />case of major items) and the purchasing agent should jointly develop the <br />specifications. Sample standard specifications exist for many items, and <br />cities also cans check with neighboring cities and various state and federal <br />agencies for examples. <br /> When two or more departments use similar items, the city should consider <br />developing one set of specifications that can meet the needs of all <br />departments, possibly reducing future purchasing costs. <br /> B. Making purchases <br />Minn. Stat. § 471.345. <br />Minn. Stat. § 412.311. <br />Rochester City Lines, Co. v. <br />City of Rochester, 868 <br />N.W.2d 655 (Minn. 2015). <br />Part VI, Competitive bidding <br />requirements. <br />Cities generally must follow a more detailed process when making larger <br />purchases. Under the uniform municipal contracting law, a city must use a <br />competitive bidding process for certain contracts that exceed $175,000. <br />State law defines what types of agreements amount to a “contract” for <br />purposes of applicability of the uniform municipal contracting law and <br />provides cities the option to use the “best value alternative” for certain <br />types of contracts, including those for construction, alteration, repair, or <br />maintenance work. <br /> 1. Regular purchasing procedures <br /> Regardless of whether the competitive bid process applies, most <br />purchasing should adhere to the following: <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Minn. Stat. §§ 412.721-.741. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Part III-A-2, Authority for <br />purchasing. <br />• The person (or department) needing an item should prepare a <br />requisition form. The form should include a description of the product, <br />quantity, applicable specifications, and any other relevant information. <br />The form should go to either the purchasing agent or the clerk for <br />presentation to the council. <br />• The purchasing agent or the clerk should see whether the budget has <br />authorized the purchase and if sufficient funds are available. The clerk <br />or purchasing agent should cancel the requisition if the budget does not <br />allow for the purchase or if funds are not available. The council may <br />modify the city’s budget to make funds available, but may not increase <br />the total amount already levied. Only optional Plan B cities must <br />follow this step, but other cities may choose to follow it as well. <br />• After completing the first two steps, the purchasing agent may then <br />proceed to acquire the requested item. The council must approve the <br />purchase unless the person has the proper authority to make the <br />purchase. <br />• If the city has no purchasing agent, the purchase exceeds the agent’s <br />authority, or the city needs to get bids for the proposed purchase, the <br />requisition should go to the council for further action.