The City of St. Cloud welcomes the opportunity to do business with interested vendors. The City recommends that you become familiar with our purchasing policies and procedures. The contents of this publication are intended to be a very general guide. For any questions not answered, please contact the Purchasing Division.
HOURS OF OPERATION
Office hours are from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Should you wish to meet with personnel within the Purchasing Division, you are encouraged to set up an appointment, although walk-ins are always welcome.
The City of St. Cloud has implemented a procurement card program to streamline our procurement process. By making purchases with the procurement card, we will be able to more effectively control our purchasing activities and achieve a significant cost savings over the current purchasing/payment system.
BID NOTIFICATION
All bid information is available through DemandStar.com or by calling the Purchasing Division at (407) 957-7212.
HOW THE CITY OF ST. CLOUD PURCHASES
Rules governing purchasing and contract procedures were established under the concept of open competitive bidding. The City of St. Cloud purchases in accordance with applicable laws, statutes, and ordinances. Purchase awards are made to the most responsible and responsive bidder whose bid is reasonable and otherwise in the best interest of the City of St. Cloud.
All purchases less than $3,000.00 are made on the open market after establishing that prices are competitive. Purchases valued between $3,000.00 and up to $25,000.00 are made on the open market on a competitive bid basis without newspaper advertisement.
All City Purchases with an estimated value of $25,000.00 or more are normally purchased by a “Formal Sealed Bid”. These requirements are incorporated into a bid package that includes the City’s standard terms and conditions. The formal sealed bids are advertised in local newspapers and are broadcast through Demandstar.com. Formal sealed bids are opened publicly at specified dates, times, and places. The award of Formal Sealed Bids is to the lowest, most responsive and responsible bidder.
Formal Requests for Proposals are used when the City has no detailed specifications and solicits the vendor community for solutions to a particular requirement. These solicitations have specific award criteria that include price, but with the understanding that price may not necessarily be the determining factor in award.
Professional services (Engineers, Architects, Land Surveyors and Landscape Architects) are selected in accordance with Florida State Statute 287.055, the Consultant’s Competitive Negotiations Act.
WHAT IS EXPECTED OF THE VENDOR
All vendors will be afforded equal opportunity to quote and will compete on equal terms.
The City expects the vendor to deal with honesty and integrity and to deliver a high quality product/service on time and as ordered. The vendor shall be a team player, have good communications, and have the necessary facilities, equipment, materials, and labor force to meet their obligations.
TABULATIONS
Bid results are made available after all bids have been tabulated and analyzed. Information on results may be mailed or faxed to vendors upon request or accessed through Demandstar.com.
All vendors are encouraged to include their signed W-9’s when submitting their vendor application.
CONCLUSION
This publication is an attempt to ensure that the experience of doing business with the City of St. Cloud is a good and positive one. It is hoped that this effort will provide all parties with sufficient information.