Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager
CC:	Ed Mullins, Finance Director Alan Landis, Purchasing Specialist
DATE:	January 21, 2009
RE:	Vehicle Bidding Procedures

Please place this item on the January 27, 2009 City Commission agenda.

On July 11, 2006, the City Commission directed staff to discontinue the City’s practice of purchasing vehicles through the Mid America Council of Public Purchasing (MACPP) contract in order to encourage participation by local vendors, who had indicated that they are unlikely to bid on the MACPP contract due to the volume of vehicles required. Bidders on the MACPP contract must bid a specific vehicle for all entities seeking that particular vehicle, in the total quantities they are requesting.

Since the decision to discontinue participation in the MACPP purchasing process, the Finance Department has tracked bid prices received under the City’s sealed bids versus prices received by MACPP. Please see the attached memo and spreadsheets analyzing the cost differences. Over the past two years, the City could have saved a total of approximately $10,752.61 on the purchase of 39 vehicles under the MACPP process, but local vendors would have been unlikely to compete for the bids. Local vendors were awarded 5 of the 15 total bids, for 5 out of the 39 total vehicles.

Staff will continue to evaluate the effectiveness of requesting sealed bids compared to purchasing vehicles off the MACPP cooperative contract. At this time, staff recommends that the City continue the current practice of requesting sealed bids, which has encouraged greater local vendor participation.    

ACTION:      Approve continuation of the City’s practice of purchasing vehicles through the sealed bid process, rather than the MACCPP cooperative contract, if appropriate.