Is a Competitive Bidding process required for purchases other that Public Construction Contracts? The Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act (61 O.S. 101 et seq) applies to public construction contracts and public improvements to public buildings. Those definitions are as follows:
6. "Public construction contract" or "contract" means any contract, exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) in amount, awarded by any public agency for the purpose of making any public improvements or constructing any public building or making repairs to or performing maintenance on the same . . . .;
7. "Public improvement" means any beneficial or valuable change or addition, betterment, enhancement or amelioration of or upon any real property, or interest therein, belonging to a public agency, intended to enhance its value, beauty or utility or to adapt it to new or further purposes. The term does not include the direct purchase of materials, equipment or supplies by a public agency, or any personal property, . . .;
Application the State Competitive bidding act to Oklahoma statutory cities and towns is specific to public construction contracts or public improvements. Charter cities may establish their own competitive bidding processes that relate to public construction contracts or public improvements as a matter of local concern.[i]
For all other contracts for expenditure of public monies, other legal authority should be consulted. For example, many cities and towns have enacted local ordinances to govern the purchase of supplies, materials, professional services, and other contract services such as Codification, publication of Ordinances, purchase of insurance, hiring of consultants, architects, engineers, or attorneys. Some cities require competitive bidding for supplies and materials. Some cities allow the purchase of such items from vendors who are successful bidders on state purchasing contracts.
For professional services, request for qualification processes are often used, or request for proposal processes are used. Some specialized areas such as insurance services, bond counsel, economic development advisors, employee training consultants, etc . . . do not often lend themselves to competitive bidding processes and are more suited toward a staff negotiation and recommendation process in order to be able to match the individual city’s service needs to what can be offered by a particular consultant or service provider.
. . . where some other building might not; and where professional and personal services of a specialized nature are required, the municipality may better safeguard the public interest by negotiation rather than competitive bidding, because the low bidder might cause the municipality untold damage and loss. The problem is to contract with individuals who are best qualified to and who give promise of, best serving the interest of the municipality and the public.[ii]
For city purchases, other than those specifically covered by the Oklahoma Competitive Bidding Act, each city should refer to their local ordinances and consult with their City Attorney to establish the appropriate purchasing process.