05-12-26 City Council Workshop Packet

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14 | Page Purchasing Guidelines & Information Under City Charter and Ordinance, it has been determined purchasing will follow the Uniform Municipal Contracting Law, Minnesota Statutes Chapter 471.345. This allows the City Manager the authority to incorporate changes to our purchasing limitations in accordance with MN Statutes. City Manager may develop a process which may be more restrictive than State Law but may not be less restrictive. A "contract" (general purchasing) means an agreement entered into by a municipality for the sale or purchase of supplies, materials, equipment or the rental thereof, or the construction, alteration, repair or maintenance of real or personal property. Capital item purchases that have been authorized by the City Council through either the budget process or the Capital Improvement/ Capital Equipment Plan approval may be made using these guidelines. If an item has not been specifically approved during these annual processes, then they must be taken back for explicit approval. General Guidelines These general guidelines will be adhered to as closely as possible by all departments in the procurement of goods and services. Based on the nature of the purchase, individual departments may wish to use more stringent requirements to further protect the public goods. •Local Buying: It is the desire of the City to purchase from Brooklyn Park vendors and Minnesota vendors when cost effective. This can be accomplished by insuring that local and state vendors who have goods or services available are included in the competitive shopping process that will precede most purchases. •Paper Procurement Policy: Council adopted a Paper Procurement Policy in 1990 and committed to purchasing recycled and recyclable products whenever possible and feasible. (See Resolution 1990- 124) •Planning: Planning for purchases will be done on both a short-term and long-term basis. •Small orders and last-minute purchases will be minimized thereby increasing the capability of each department to purchase its goods and services in larger quantities in order to obtain the maximum discounts possible. Planning will also cut down on the number of trips required to obtain materials and minimize the amount of clerical and supervisory time spent on documenting purchases. In planning it is critical that you begin the process by accurately estimating the total cost. Failure to follow this step could jeopardize the purchase. There are specified thresholds where different processes and procedures apply. In order to avoid violating these thresholds, if the estimated cost is close to one of the thresholds you will follow the requirements for the higher threshold. •Sustainable Products: All departments will use, where practicable, reusable products, recycled content products and recyclable products. City bid specifications will provide for optional pricing of sustainable products whenever possible. •Cooperative Purchasing: When available, the City will take advantage of cooperative purchasing agreements with other entities (e.g. State of Minnesota, Hennepin County, ISD#279 (Osseo) & ISD&11 (Anoka), other cities, etc.). Minority (People of Color) & Women-Owned Business Development The City of Brooklyn Park contracts for and procures a wide variety of goods and services. Minority (People of Color) and Women-Owned Businesses are encouraged to respond to requests for bids and proposals directly as prime contractors. The City will also recognize The Central Certification (CERT) Program; which is a small business certification program recognized in addition by Hennepin County, Ramsey County,