Cooperative Purchasing Programs

Policy

It shall be the policy of the City that Staff participates in cooperative purchasing programs that are found to provide cost savings to the City.

1. Piggybacking

Definition: A form of intergovernmental cooperative purchasing in which an entity will be extended the pricing and other terms of a contract entered into with another entity. Generally, a larger entity will competitively award a contract that will include language allowing other entities to utilize the contract, which may be to their advantage in terms of pricing, thus gaining economies of scale that they normally would not receive if they completed on their own.

Procedures

The following procedures apply when piggybacking:

a. The vendor must agree to extend the same terms and conditions of the contract, including pricing, to the City in writing to allow the City to piggyback on the Bid, Proposal, or contract.

The City may opt to utilize the Bid, Proposal, or contract if in its best interests, but in every case, the goods or services provided must be the same. In addition, the procurement procedures utilized by the Lead Agency to select the vendor must be substantially similar to the procedures delineated in this Manual.

b. Purchases cannot be made against a contract that has expired.

c. The Department utilizing the piggybacking must obtain the following documentation from the agency that issued the Invitation to Bid, Request for Proposals, or other solicitation:

i. A complete copy of the solicitation

ii. A complete copy of the awarded vendor's response to the solicitation.

iii. A copy of the award letter/ memo/ agenda item to the awarded vendor;

iv. The contract, if any, between the agency and the vendor, including all exhibits, attachments, addenda, and amendments.

d. If a contract between the City and vendor is needed, a contract must be prepared and approved by City Commission unless under the threshold defined in Section 8 for General Authority.

2. State of Florida Contracts

The following procedures apply when using a State of Florida Contract:

a. If the Finance Director or requesting department identifies an existing State Contract that would meet the needs of the requesting department, that contract may be used in lieu of conducting a procurement.

b. It is not necessary to request approval by the Commission to make purchases pursuant to the user of a State Contract so long as the purchase does not exceed the purchase limits under

Section 8 General Authority of this policy.

c. The Department utilizing the State of Florida contract must obtain the following documentation from the Department of Management Services (DMS) Division of State Purchasing:

i. A complete copy of the solicitation

ii. A complete copy of the awarded vendor's response to the solicitation;

iii. A copy of the award letter/ memo/ agenda item to the awarded vendor;

iv. The contract, if any, between the agency and the vendor, including all exhibits, attachments, addenda, and amendments.

d. Upon requisition entry, the requestor shall reference the State of Florida Contract Number.

e. If a contract between the City and vendor is needed, a contract must be prepared and approved by the City Commission unless under the threshold defined in Section 8 for General Authority.