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It is the purpose of this purchasing policy and purchasing procedures to provide a uniform <br />and systematic method in the procurement of goods and services required by the city in <br />order to secure the best balance of quantity, quality and price. These policies and <br />procedures will define the responsibilities and the authorities of the purchasing <br />requirements and limitations imposed by local, state and federal law. <br />1.2 POLICY <br />Considerable authority has been delegated to departments and employees to make <br />purchasing decisions. This requires that employees involved at every step of the <br />purchasing process take full responsibility for understanding the city's policies and <br />procedures regarding purchasing and vendor relations. Purchasing decisions are business <br />decisions made on behalf of the city and therefore should be made with the utmost <br />consideration for what is in the best interest of the city. The city should purchase and use <br />materials, products and services that are economically responsible and reduce resource <br />consumption and waste within federal, state and local laws. Beyond the conventional <br />purchasing decision-making process, this policy identifies the need to include <br />economic, environmental and social factors. These are all components that may be <br />included to determine what the best value is for the city. Purchases should reflect the <br />general impact on the environment and economic factors: best value, leveraging our <br />buying power, staff time/labor and technological advances. <br />This policy applies to all purchasing activities within the city. This policy and the <br />procedures associated with it apply to all city departments, employees and authorized <br />users and encompass all purchases using city funds providing for the limitations, <br />exceptions and exemptions described herein. <br />Purchasing authority is granted to the employee or authorized user and is subject to <br />all city purchasing policies and procedures and must be made in accordance with all <br />federal, state and local laws. For the purpose of this policy the individual delegated to <br />make purchases on behalf of the city will be referred to as the `purchasing agent.' The <br />purchasing agent has the authority to make most purchases pursuant to the requirements <br />and limitations of the policy and take advantage of savings through bulk purchasing, <br />systematic procedures, and effective expenditure controls. The purchasing agent is <br />responsible for ensuring that city purchasing is in compliance with all <br />Page l of 8 <br />City of Lake Elmo Purchasing Policy <br />Adopted Jude 5, 2012 <br />