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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Revisions to Purchasing Policies and Procedures RESOLUTION NO. 12-546 RESOLUTION APPROVING REVISIONS TO PURCHASING POLICIES TO BE EFFECTIVE NOVEMBER 1, 2012 FOR THE CITY OF AMES,IOWA WHEREAS, a review of the City's Purchasing Policies and Procedures generally is done every two years, and the last major revisions were effective April 1, 2011; and, WHEREAS, instead of a large revision every two years, it is staff s intent to periodically provide revisions to the Purchasing Policies as the need arises; and, WHEREAS, two specific areas of revision are directed at the public improvement bid thresholds and sales tax exemption certificate for construction contracts; and, WHEREAS,Iowa Code establishes horizontal and vertical bid threshold subcommittees that meet every other year to establish the bid and quote thresholds for city and county projects,and the subcommittee has begun to raise the bid threshold for construction projects,and the City would like to follow the statutory limits set by them; and, WHEREAS,to accomplish this,the City's purchasing policy will be modified to allow public improvement bid threshold to be set by this subcommittee; and, WHEREAS, the changes to the bid thresholds become effective January 1 of the year following the year after the adjustment is made;currently,the City's bid threshold is set by the City's purchasing policy at$50,000 for horizontal construction and$100,000 for vertical construction;and, WHEREAS, proposed revisions set the horizontal infrastructure at $67,000 and vertical infrastructure at$125,000 for competitive bids,and competitive quotes for vertical infrastructure is set at $69,000; and, WHEREAS,the City's current procedures requires the contractor to include sales tax in their bid and,upon final completion of the project,the contractor submits a contractor's statement to the City, thereupon, the City then requests a refund of the sales tax paid from the Department of Revenue; and, WHEREAS,the Finance Accounting Division currently processes the Contractor's Statement submitted by the contractors,and under the new tax exempt certificate process,each City department entering into a construction contract will be responsible to provide all the necessary details of the project to the Purchasing Division; and, WHEREAS,by making this change to the Sales Tax Exemption Certificate for Construction Contracts, construction bids are expected to be lower, excluding sales tax, and delays in project close-out and in receiving the sales tax refunds will be eliminated; and, WHEREAS, these specific areas of revision will improve the City's efficiency of the procurement process and administration of construction projects. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Ames, Iowa, that revisions to the Public Improvement Bid Thresholds and the Sales Tax Exemption Certificate for Construction Contracts sections of the Purchasing Policies and Procedures to become effective November 1, 2012, are hereby approved. ADOPTED THIS 23rd day of October, 2012. A. DianR Voss, City Clerk Ann H. Campbell, Mayor Introduced by: Goodman Seconded by: Szopinski Voting aye: Davis, Goodman, Larson, Orazem, Szopinski, Wacha Voting nay: None Absent: None Resolution declared adopted and signed by the Mayor this 23' day of October, 2012.