§ 2-104. Open market procedures for purchases of $50,000.00 or less.

(a)

Generally. Any purchases of a good or services, individually or collectively for a project or ongoing need, in which the total expenditure is estimated to be $50,000.00 or less in a fiscal year or calendar year, shall be considered a small purchase and may be made without newspaper advertisement and without observing the procedure prescribed by this division for competitive sealed bids, competitive sealed proposals or other formal procedures. Purchase requirements shall not be artificially divided to avoid the competitive requirements prescribed in this section or for purchases over $50,000.00.

(b)

Purchases over $5,000.00. Any small purchase that is estimated to exceed $5,000.00 shall, whenever possible and reasonable, require solicitation of informal quotations. The director shall solicit written quotations for purchases of $5,000.00 or more using a vendors list that is current and openly available to all interested vendors, except as otherwise indicated in this section. All quotations for purchases over $5,000.00 shall be confirmed in writing. Upon authorization from the director, using agencies may solicit written quotations for purchases less than $25,000.00 utilizing the purchasing quote form supplied by purchasing, a completed copy of which shall be provided to purchasing. Award shall be made to the lowest, responsive, responsible vendor in accordance with the standards set forth in this division.

(c)

Purchases of $5,000.00 or less. All purchases of $5,000.00 or less shall not require competition; however, in the interest of maximizing value and proper stewardship of public funds, competitive informal quotations should be secured whenever possible and reasonable. Whenever deemed to be in the county's best interest, the director, at their discretion, retains and shall have the authority to require the solicitation of written quotations regardless of the purchase amount. Award shall be made to the lowest, responsive, responsible vendor in accordance with the standards set forth in this division.

(d)

Public record. The director shall maintain all purchasing-related public records in accordance with Florida Law.

(Ord. No. 15-26, § 2, 12-15-15; Ord. No. 18-16, § 7, 6-5-18)