Inglewood Municipal Code § 2-198 Purchasing

(a) With respect to contracts and purchase orders using City funds, the competitive bidding procedures and requirements in this Article may be dispensed with in any of the following instances:

(1) Twenty-five Thousand Dollars or Less. When the estimated amount involved is twenty-five thousand dollars or less, when a good or service is being purchased.

(2) Standardization of Goods and/or Services. When goods and/or services are required to maintain consistent operation or function to an existing technology or public safety system or program already in use by the City, provided such purchases do not exceed the cost of five hundred thousand dollars. Examples of items lending themselves to standardization are computer equipment, computer hardware and software products, public safety equipment such as ammunition, ballistic vests, light bars, mobile radios, camera systems and fire apparatus.

(3) Sole Source Goods or Services. Sole source means those purchases where it would be undesirable or impossible for the City to advertise for a particular work or for patented items, or experimental or unique services or products, or where competitive purchases would be unavailable or would not prove advantageous for the City. No sole-source purchase may be made where to do so would show favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud, or corruption, or result in the waste of public funds, but may be used only to obtain the best economic result for the public.

(4) Emergency Procurements.

(i) By the City Council after a vote of three-fourths of those present upon findings supported by competent information or data that such goods or services is urgently and imminently necessary for the preservation of life, health, property or the protection of the public welfare.

(ii) By the City Manager provided that: (A) the total cost to the City shall not exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars; and (B) the agreement for the emergency goods and/or services is ratified by the City Council at a regularly scheduled meeting held within sixty days after purchase.

(iii) By the Public Works Director provided that: (A) the Public Works Director has established a call out list of contractors available to perform emergency pipeline, electrical or mechanical repair work. The call out list shall be updated annually and consist of contractors known to provide quality work for the City or in other jurisdictions; (B) the total cost to the City shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars; and (C) the agreement for the emergency goods and/or services is ratified by the City Council at a regularly scheduled meeting held within sixty days after purchase.

(5) Cooperative Purchases. Purchases for goods and/or services that are identical or nearly identical in scope to the goods and/or services listed in any valid, current and competitively bid cooperative governmental purchase program. Pricing shall be the same or better than the pricing contained in the cooperative purchase agreement. For the purposes of this Section, the term cooperative governmental purchase program means any combination between the City and any other public agency or public agencies for the joint purchase of goods and/or services.

(6) When the City Council has approved group food purchasing programs for senior citizens and/or youth, eighteen years old and under.

(7) Professional Services. Nothing shall be construed to preclude the city from awarding a written contract for professional type services, as defined by case or statutory law, without complying with the provisions of this Article. The term "professional services" means services entailing a high degree of specialized technical or mental skill. Such services include, but shall not be limited to, attorneys, physicians, appraisers, accountants, collection agency, detective agency, mortuary, hospitals, escrow agency, travel agency, insurance broker, employment agency, advertising agency, real estate, chiropractic's and optometry.

(8) Procurements funded by grants, donations or gifts when the special conditions attached to the grants, donations or gifts require the procurement of particular goods and/or services.

(9) Where competitive bids or proposals have been solicited, and no bid or proposal has been received. In such a situation the Purchasing Officer may proceed to have the services performed or the goods procured without further competitive bidding.

(10) Insurance and bonds.

(11) Public library collection materials and/or services for the provision of public library collection materials or other books or periodicals.

(12) Goods and services provided by another governmental, public or quasi-public entity.

(13) Membership dues, conventions, training, and travel arrangements.

(14) Works of art, entertainment or performance.

(15) Proprietary subscriptions, proprietary publications, and or/technical manuals (manual, law books, technical manuals, technical services related to publications, etc.) regardless of media format, up to fifty thousand dollars per year.

(b) Contracts or purchase orders awarded with non-City funds shall follow the rules of the funding entity (Federal, State, County funds, donations, etc.).

(Ord. 25-01, 1/16/2025)

No purchase or project shall be split or separated into smaller acquisitions or projects for the purpose of evading the provisions of this Article. In estimating the cost of any acquisition or project, City officers shall consider all elements of potential cost in determining whether or not to follow the formal bidding procedure designated in this Article. Purchases and acquisitions shall be made by a written instrument approved as to form by the City Attorney. Collusive or "accommodation" bidding is prohibited.

(Ord. 25-01, 1/16/2025)