CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI PROCUREMENT POLICIES. Table of Contents

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1 Effective June 1, 2013

2 Table of Contents I General Procurement Polices A. Purchasing Legal Requirements - P B. Local Purchases - P C. Emergency Purchasing - P D. Purchase Specifications/Scope of Work - P E. Vending Machine Policy - P II Competitive Procurement Policies A. Procurement Methods - P B. Decentralized Procurement - P C. Purchase Order Authorization - P D. Procurement Card Program - P E. Procurement of Repairs for Commercial Vehicles & Equipment and Landfill Equipment - P F. Selection of Professional Services - P G. High Technology Procurement - P H. Disposal of Personal Property- P

3 I General Procurement Polices A. Purchasing Legal Requirements - P-1 The procurement activities of the City are controlled by State Statutes, the City Charter and City Policies. Local Government Code Chapters 252 and 271 establish the guidelines and requirements that control the solicitation, evaluation and award of contracts exceeding the level established by State law, currently set at $50,000. The Charter re-enforces the requirements established by the statutes in Article X, Section 2. City policies establish the methods and programs used by the City to carry out the procurement function of the City. The policies and related procedures of the City define the specific requirements for procuring goods and services for the City. All procurement activities of the City will be in accordance with the General and Competitive Procurement Policies as defined herein. The City Manager authorizes the Assistant Director of Financial Services responsible for the Procurement Function of the City to contract for, and on his behalf, in the purchase, rent or lease of equipment, materials supplies and services. B. Local Purchases - P-2 The City Council has determined that awarding contracts to local bidders provides economic benefit to the City and its residents by improving employment opportunities and increased tax revenues to the City. As such, Section 26 of the Council Policies of the Code of Ordinances has been adopted to provide for local preference of awards as allowed under the Texas Local Government Code, Sections (b)(2a) and (b)(2). Section 26, titled, Hire Corpus Christi First, allows for local bidder preference in the amount of 3% for purchases of personal property, Additionally, the section allows a 5% local preference for service contracts which are less than $500,000 and are not for construction or professional services. City of Corpus Christi, Texas Financial SeNices/Purchasing Division Page#1 Revised:

4 C. Emergency Purchasing - P-3 Emergency purchases are identified as purchases that must be expedited due to the unforeseen need to replace or repair equipment, purchase supplies or contract for services. Emergency purchases are generally classified into two categories; those that are less than the limit established by the competitive bidding statutes, currently set at $50,000, and those that exceed the limit established by law. For those purchases that are expected to be less than the limit established by the law, the Assistant Director of Financial Services or designee has discretion in waiving the bidding requirements as provided in policy P-7, Procurement Methods. For those purchases that are expected to be more than the limit established by the law, the City Manager, has discretion in waiving the bidding requirements as provided in the City Charter, Article X, Section 2. D. Purchase Specifications/Scope of Work- P-4 In order to effectively communicate the purchasing needs of the departments, detailed specifications for equipment, materials and supplies and/or a scope of work for services must be developed as part of the requisitioning process. In developing a detailed specification or scope of work, departments should first consider the primary function of the product or service they need and then expand upon that functionality to include quality levels and or service requirements. Care should be taken in order to allow for open competition and multiple bidder participation. On those occasions where a specific product or service is only available from one supplier/provider (sole source), adequate justification must be documented addressing why the sole source is the only product/service that meets the need of the department. Captive replacement parts, proprietary software rights and/or exclusive distributorships may be used to satisfy the documentation requirements of this policy. E. Vending Machine Policy - P-5 Vending machines are authorized in City facilities to serve the snack and beverage needs of employees and visitors. Department heads are authorized City of Corpus Christi. Texas Financial Services/Purchasing Division Page#2 Revised:

5 to allow the installation and operation of vending machines in their respective facilities. Only vending machines that are obtained through a centralized contract established by the Purchasing Division will be allowed on City Property. All commissions earned from the operation of vending machines will be credited to, and reported in the General Fund. II Competitive Procurement Policies A. Procurement Methods - P-6 The procurement methods used by the City of Corpus Christi (City) to purchase goods and services are designed to get the most value for the money spent, to coordinate the City's procurement activities in order to maintain integrity and honesty in City operations and to purchase needed equipment, materials, supplies and services in a timely manner. This policy applies to all employees given the responsibility to procure goods or services for the City. It is the City's policy to follow the pre-described methods of procurement when obtaining equipment, materials, supplies and services. Procurement in government must follow strict guidelines because of the need to operate within narrow legal limits, to reveal pricing information, and to use open bidding. These controls protect the interest of the taxpayers. The City places the highest priority on getting the most value for every dollar spent, maintaining public confidence, and making goods and services available to users when needed. In order to achieve the above referenced outcomes, the City has established the following procurement methods for purchasing goods and services: (1) Purchasing Division Purchase Orders (2) Supply/Service Agreements - Contract Purchase Order (3) Decentralized Purchase Orders ( 4) Procurement cards Competitive pricing is generally required for expenditures exceeding $1,000. Accordingly, various tiers are established by procedure for expenditures that City of Corpus Christi, Texas Financial Services/Purchasing Division Page#3 Revised:

6 Purchases involving more than $50,000 require formal advertising, City Council approval and must be administered or approved by the Purchasing Division. B. Decentralized Procurement - P-7 The decentralized procurement policy provides an economical and expedient method to be used by City departments in purchasing selected materials and services. The policy applies to all departmental personnel responsible for purchasing supplies and/or services for their respective department. It allows designated department personnel to perform procurement duties for their departments. The policy requires separation of duties among the various tasks performed during the procurement cycle to support the internal financial controls of the City. All purchases made under this policy must comply with Policy P-6 Procurement Methods. C. Purchase Order Authorization - P-8 Purchase order authority is required under the City's decentralized procurement policy. This policy establishes authority to departmental personnel to issue purchase orders for their respective departments. When the criteria of this policy is met, City employees will be granted access to the City's Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERPS). Temporary staff may be granted access to the ERPS but only with the approval of the Assistant City Manager with administrative authority over the department. All purchase orders issued in the City's ERPS must be in compliance with Policy P-7, Decentralized Procurement. D. Procurement Card Program - P-9 The procurement card program (program) is targeted at increasing efficiencies in obtaining low dollar goods and services. The program provides a card to designated employees of the City to be used to make transactions on behalf of the City. The rules and procedures that govern the use of the card apply to all City employees, regardless of pay status or level, who have been assigned City of Corpus Chrisli. Texas Financial Services/Purchasing Division Page#4 Revised:

7 a procurement card (P-Card). The program entails approval levels that support the internal controls of the City. All transactions made with the P-card must be in compliance with Policy P-7, Decentralized Procurement. E. Procurement of Repairs for Commercial Vehicles & Equipment and Landfill Equipment - P-10 High volume workloads and operational responsiveness required in fleet maintenance and landfill operations necessitate frequent use of commercial repair services. To ensure that vehicle repairs are performed and completed in an expedited manner, fleet maintenance personnel in direct fleet repair support and landfill equipment repair support are exempted from the requirements contained in Policy P-7 and P-8. Instead, fleet maintenance personnel in direct fleet repair support and landfill equipment repair support will use this policy to expedite repairs of commercial vehicles, equipment and landfill equipment. Generally, no bids are required for expenditures less than or equal to $3,000. F. Selection of Professional Services - P-11 The Selection of Professional Services is excluded from the competitive bidding statutes as an exemption under Local Government Code, Chapter 252, Section , par (4). These services are instead covered by the Government Code, Chapter 2254, Professional and Consulting Services, also known as the Professional Services Procurement Act. Chapter 2254 identifies accounting, architecture, landscape architecture, land surveying, medicine, optometry, professional engineering, real estate appraising and professional nursing as a professional service. Additionally, the Attorney General has identified a professional service as a service that is mental or intellectual, disciplines requiring special knowledge or attainment and/or special technical training that results in a high level of expertise and judgment. Chapter 2254 separates professional services into two categories of procurement. Architect, Engineer or Surveyor professional services are procured first by selecting the most highly qualified provider of these services on the basis of demonstrated competence and qualifications and then negotiating a fair and reasonable price with that provider (Request for City of Corpus Ctvisli, Texas Financial Sorvlces/Purchasing Division Page#5 Revised: 6- t

8 Qualification). All other professional services are to be selected and awarded based on demonstrated competence and qualifications to perform the services and for a fair and reasonable price (Request for Proposal). G. High Technology Procurement - P-12 Due to the specialized nature and integration requirements of high technology type products and services, the procurement of high technology products and services will be coordinated through the Municipal Information Services (MIS) Department of the City. These products and services can either be purchased by MIS personnel or Purchasing Division personnel depending on the expected amount of the expenditure and the complexity of the project. All high technology products and services require the approval of the MIS Department in regards to the technological aspects of the project and by the Purchasing Division in regards to the procurement requirements of the law or policy. The procurement of these type products and services will be purchased as an informal bid, informal proposal, competitive sealed bid or competitive sealed proposal. H. Disposal of Personal Property Belonging to the City - P-13 The disposal of personal property owned by the City is set forth in section 17-6 of the City's Code of Ordinances. The ordinance requires the (1) the director of the department to which such equipment is charged to determine that the property is of no further use to his/her department, (2) for the city manager to determine whether or not the equipment can be used in any other department of the city, whether or not the property is of any further public use, and to determine the value of the property and (3) to notify the Assistant Director of Financial Services, to dispose of the property if it cannot be used by any other department. This policy applies to all personal property belonging to the city, including, but not limited to surplus and salvage items, but excluding (1) the sale of surplus library books and other printed and non-printed materials which are specifically addressed in section 17-7 of the Code of Ordinances and (2) museum artifacts which are addressed by the deassecion guidelines used by the Corpus Christi Museum. City of Corpus Christi, Texas Financial Services/Purchasing Division Page#6 Revised: