The City of Saint John recognizes that

• The taxpayers of this City expect and have the right to receive a high level of service at the lowest possible cost.
• Increased competition results in lower costs.

Therefore, the following policies apply to the procurement of all goods and services for the City of Saint John:

• Goods and Services with a total cost of $500.00 or less shall be obtained by way of a "City of Saint John Purchasing Card" or a Purchase Order.
• Goods and Services with a total cost in excess of $500.00 shall be obtained by way of a competitive bidding system, and by the following methods:
• If greater than $500.00 and less than $25,000.00, through invited bids.
• If greater than $25,000.00, Public Tenders will be called.

Section 1 Spending Authority
Common Council:

• Any expenditure in excess of $25,000.00 shall be awarded by Common Council.

Staff:

• Class 1) City Manager
• Up to $25,000.00
• Class 2) Mayor, Common Clerk, City Solicitor, Assistant City Manager, Commissioner, Director and Fire Chief
• Up to $5000.00
• Class 3) Deputy Fire Chief, Budget Control Officer
• Up to $3500.00

Section 2 Purchases with a Value Less Than $500.00

• All purchases in this category shall be obtained by way of a "City of Saint John VISA Purchasing Card" or a Purchase Order.
• The City will not be held responsible for payment for goods and services supplied by way of this form which exceed $500.00
• These processes are monitored by the Materials Management section.

Section 3 Purchases with a Value from $500.00 to $25,000.00

• All purchases in this category will be made as a result of invited competitive bids.
• Depending on the value of the goods and the urgency to obtain them, bids may be obtained by telephone, fax, e-mail or written invitation.
• Whenever possible and practical, a minimum of three bids will be obtained.

Section 4 Purchases with a Value in excess of $25,000.00

• All purchases in this category shall be obtained by way of Public Tender.

Section 5 Vendors List

• Materials Management maintains a list of bidders who have expressed a desire and ability to compete for City business.
• Vendors on this list will be notified of quotations and tenders for goods and services in which they have expressed an interest.

Section 6 Emergency Purchases

• True emergencies generally occur as a result of fire, flood, water breaks or equipment breakdown.
• There may also be other situations where it is not possible to comply with normal procurement procedures.
• Emergency purchases require the approval from the Director level or above.
• Emergency requirements are given priority treatment by the Materials Management.

Section 7 Price Agreements

• In order to guarantee a continuous supply of the various goods and services required by the City on a day to day basis, while at the same time assuring the competitive bidding system is adhered to, Materials Management establishes Price Agreements
• A price agreement is an arrangement between the City and a Vendor which commits the latter to provide, and the City to purchase, goods and/or services at a specified price over a specified period of time.
• User departments may draw from these agreements in accordance with their level of signing authority. Directors and Budget Supervisors may authorise drawdowns up to the maximum amount approved by Common Council for a particular agreement.

Section 8 Inviting Bids

• The following procedure is to be used for all purchases with a value in excess of $500.00:

1) Requests for goods and services, complete with sufficient detail to allow for competitive bidding, are forwarded to Materials Management .

2) Materials Management prepares the bid documents.

3) Bid documents with an estimated value less than $3500.00 are sent to a minimum of
three bidders from the Vendors List.

4) Bid documents with an estimated value greater than $3500.00 are sent to all registered bidders having expressed an interest and ability to supply.

5) Public Tenders are advertised on the Materials Management Web Site and in the Telegraph Journal and Evening Times Globe newspapers.

6) Bids will be opened publicly at the time and place designated, and referred to staff for evaluation.

7) Proper authorization and documentation are obtained.

8) Purchase Order or Price Agreement is issued.

Section 9 Public Tendering

The City of Saint John, as a means of obtaining maximum competition for City business, has approved the following procedures for all expenditures in excess of $25,000.00

These procedures apply to all publicly opened tenders. They do not apply to invited bids or to
request for proposals.

Tendering Procedures

1. The following shall be stated in the Tender Advertisement:

• The tender number and description
• The closing time for receipt of tenders.
• The location of the box for receipt of tenders.
• The location of the public tender opening
  Immediately following the closing time, the box shall be sealed by the Common Clerk and moved to the tender opening room.

2. Responsibility for deposit of tenders in the tender box lies with the tenderer.

3. Common Council shall appoint a tender opening committee, which shall reject tenders for the
following reasons:
A) Absence of, insufficient or incorrect bid bond or security deposit
B) Unsigned tender
C) Failure to bid a single item when specifications require all items to be bid
D) Submission of more than one tender by the same tenderer
E) A change in the written bid on a tender form which has not been initialled by the tenderer
F) Absence of required documentation or non-compliance with any special provisions of the specifications
G) Tender received after the specified closing time

4. Tenders shall be considered even in the event the following errors are present:

A) Error in mathematics, where unit prices do not equal the total price. In all cases the unit prices shall prevail.

B) Conflict between the written bid and the numerical bid. In all cases the total bid is corrected to reflect the written bid.

C) Omission of "provisional sum" amounts that are established by the department and do not affect the competitive nature of the tender.

Withdrawal of Tender

1. Correction or withdrawal of tender before tender opening:

Correction or withdrawal of tenders already placed in the tender box will only be permitted where a sealed envelope, properly identified, is also placed in the tender box prior to opening, specifying the correction or withdrawal of a tender.

2. Correction or withdrawal of tender after tender opening:

No tenderer shall be permitted to correct an alleged error in his bid and be awarded the contract. If a tenderer finds an error has been made in the tender, the tenderer's only alternatives are to leave the tender as is or, request from Common Council permission to withdraw the tender.

Council will not necessarily allow the correction or withdrawal of a tender and may require the bidder to perform the contract, or forfeit the bid deposit.

General

Public tenders are opened in a room where the public and those submitting tenders are welcome. Tenders are opened, checked for content. The name of the tenderer and amount of the tender are announced.

Following this:

A) Tenders rejected as incomplete will be reviewed with the representative of the company concerned during the bid opening. If the presiding officer is shown to be in error, the tender will be accepted and the bid price announced. However, if a tender is rejected and a representative of the company is not present at the opening, no later consideration will be given to accepting the tender.

B) The city will not divulge the names of those who have taken out tender documents to any other tenderer or organization.

C) Tenders received by fax will not be considered.

Section 10 Preferential Treatment of Vendors

The City of Saint John does not have, nor does it support, a policy which gives preference to any vendor based on their geographic place of business

The City of Saint John always reserves the right to award bids in the best interest of all taxpayers, after considering all factors.