Columbia Bidding process; contracts for twenty-five thousand dollars or more ordinance (§ 2-466)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this article, the purchasing agent shall not contract for the purchase of any supplies, materials, equipment or services costing twenty-five thousand ($25,000.00) or more unless the sealed/formal, competitive bidding process of this section has been followed.

(b) The purchasing agent shall issue an RFB by solicitating for sealed/formal bids by using an advertising method that is determined by the purchasing agent to be the most advantageous based on the item being purchased. An invitation to bid may be issued by newspaper advertisement, magazine publication, vendor list solicitation, or through an official government procurement portal. A summary of all active invitations to bid shall be posted on the city website. All bids must be sealed and addressed to the purchasing division and must be received by the purchasing division the time and date set out in the RFB. The bids shall be opened by the purchasing agent at the time, date and location set out in the RFB, if practicable. If not practicable, then the bids shall be opened on the earliest day thereafter that the

purchasing agent is able to open the bids. The purchasing agent may require bidders to deposit a cashier's check or a certified check drawn on a solvent financial institution or a surety bond in an amount not less than five (5) percent of the bid. The bid deposit shall be forfeited to the city if the successful bidder fails or refuses to execute the contract.

(c) The purchasing agent may use an electronic bidding system which meets the minimum bidding requirements of this article.

(d) The purchasing agent, after consulting with all affected departments and subject to the provisions of subsection (e), may reject any or all bids, may award the contract to the bidder that is, in the judgment of the purchasing agent, the lowest and best, responsive and responsible bidder, or may split the award between two (2) or more bidders if, in the judgment of the purchasing agent, it is in the best interest of the city to split the award.

(e) Before taking any action on bids, the purchasing agent shall inform all affected departments of the purchasing agent's proposed action. The head of any affected department who disagrees with the purchasing agent's proposed action may inform the purchasing agent and the head of any other affected department of the disagreement. If, after conferring on the matter, the purchasing agent and the heads of all affected departments are unable to agree on an appropriate action on the bids, the matter shall be referred to the city manager for final decision.