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City of Alexandria, Virginia
Department of Finance
Laura Triggs Chief Financial Officer
and Director of Finance
http://alexandriava.gov/finance/
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How Does the City Buy What it Needs
Purchasing
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The City consists of 21 departments with an annual budget of about $645 million. These departments purchase a variety of goods and services ranging from pencils to multi-million dollar construction projects.
The Purchasing Division of the Finance Department is responsible for the procurement for City departments.
City departments also have some delegated purchasing authority and responsibility.
All expenditures of public funds must though be made under the authority and procedures of the Purchasing provisions of the City Code and the Virginia Public Procurement Act.
Some City functions and legally independent authorities are exempted from purchasing through the Purchasing Division.
Who Does the Buying
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Under the City’s procurement authority, the City purchases the following:
Goods
Services
Construction
Insurance
Purchases by the City
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The Purchasing Division is headed by a Purchasing Agent.
Mission: To purchase goods, services, construction, and insurance at the request and in support of Departments of the City of Alexandria government in order that those departments may respond to the needs of the citizens of the City in an efficient and cost effective manner. Activities of Purchasing Division personnel shall be performed in a manner that guarantees the integrity of the purchasing process, and that all vendors and City personnel are treated equitably and professionally.
Purchasing Division
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In order to assure efficiency of operations, Department Directors have been delegated the following authority to make certain purchase transactions without prior approval by the Purchasing Division:
Small purchases of less than $30,000 in value, except for computers, vehicles, furniture, and other capital asset items with a useful life of three years or more.
Selected City personnel have been issued Purchase Cards to use for small purchases.
Travel advances and reimbursements. Dues, subscriptions, and books. Insurance claims and payments. Utility and rent payments. Emergency purchases during off-duty hours when the safety, health, and welfare of
the public is threatened, or when vital equipment malfunctions and delays will affect the delivery of essential City services.
Purchases by City Departments
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Generally, the City requires competition when making purchases.
Informal Quotations and Proposals: For goods and services estimated to cost more than $4,999.99 and less than $50,000, the City seeks price quotations and proposals from vendors using techniques that are less stringent than for a formal solicitation. Informal quotations and proposals may be requested and received using telephone, facsimile, or other unsealed methods of expediting the exchange of information between a vendor and the City’s Departments or Purchasing Division.
A department may solicit price quotations and proposals from at least three vendors for purchases that are more than $4,999.99 and less than $30,000.
The Purchasing Division solicits price quotations and proposals for purchases that are more than $29999.99 and less than $50,000. The request for quotations and proposals shall be sent to at least four vendors.
Formal Sealed Solicitations: Whenever the City seeks to procure a good or service estimated to cost $50,000 or more, a formal sealed Invitation to Bid (ITB) or a Request for Proposals (RFP) is required. Notice of all ITBs and RFPs are advertised on the City’s eProcure page at http://eprocure.alexandriava.gov/bso/.
How We Buy
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Invitation to Bid
This method is used when buying goods, non-professional services, insurance, or construction where exact descriptions or specifications of the good or service can be made. The key characteristic is price is the determining factor for contract award.
Request for Proposals
This method is used when buying goods, services, insurance, or construction where the request is of a technical nature and difficult to produce sufficient specifications and an ITB is not practicable or fiscally advantageous. This method is mandatory for the procurement of professional services (accounting, legal, etc.). Also, RFPs can be used for certain construction projects. With RFPs, price is not a determining factor for contract award. Instead, award is based on factors other than price such as expertise, past performance, technical capabilities, time constraints, and client references. However, price may not be used for professional services until contract negotiation of the highest rated proposers.
How We BuyFormal Solicitations Explained
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Purchases under $5,000
Sole Source Procurement: This exception is allowed when there is only one practicable vendor to provide the good or service. This would occur in cases of original manufacturers, non-interchangeable parts, and extremely specialized circumstances.
Emergency Procurements: This exception is allowed to protect the public health, safety, or welfare when there is an immediate and non-recurring event that causes a delay in work, essential services, contracts, or transportation.
Exceptions to competition
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The following City functions and legally independent authorities are exempt from the authority of the Purchasing Division.
1. Alexandria Public Schools;
2. Alexandria Public Library;
3. Alexandria Transit Authority (DASH);
4. Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA);
5. Alexandria Sanitation Authority;
6. Any institution to which the City makes a lawful grant-in-aid and over which it retains no control;
7. Purchases from the State Penitentiary or from the State Purchasing Department Warehouse;
8. Legal services and services associated with actual or potential litigation or regulatory proceedings;
9. Purchases of water, sewer, electric, telephone and other utility services and motor vehicle license plates;
10. Purchases for undercover police work when the items are certified by the Police Chief to the Purchasing Agent of the Purchasing Division as necessary for that purpose; an
11. Purchases for direct use by recipients of public assistance programs.
Exemptions from the City’s Procurement Process
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eProcure is the City’s electronic procurement system where the vendor list is managed, solicitations are issued, bids and proposals are processed, and contracts are awarded and administered. This system is the critical link for vendors to the City procurement activities. In order to get on the vendor list, a vendor must register in eProcure by following these steps:
Register in eProcure by going online at: https://eprocure.alexandriava.gov/bso/.
Complete all registration items. This is critical for the selection of NIGP codes since they determine the solicitations for which the vendor will receive notifications and have the opportunity to respond. Vendors also should include both a “Purchase Order” address and a “Remit To” address.
In order to activate the account, the vendor must email or fax a completed W-9 for the vendor to the Purchasing Division.
Upon activation, eProcure sends an email notification to the vendor’s email address recorded in eProcure.
The Vendor Administrator is available to correct any problems.
Get Ready, Get Set, Get Registered
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The City is implementing a new Enterprise Resources Planning system that will include purchasing and contracting components. Thus, the City will completely transition to Munis.
Not to Worry -- we are still using eProcure for solicitations and thus vendor registration should still be completed. You will have an opportunity to join the Munis system once the City fully implements the new system.
If you are already registered in eProcure, your files have been moved over to Munis. If you have open contracts with the City, you will receive payments through Munis. However, you will still receive notice of solicitations through eProcure.
Key: We are here to help and will make sure you have all the assistance you need to stay connected and have the ability to do business with the City. Also, we will be sending information to all vendors registered in eProcure regarding all changes.
Surprise – Munis Soon to Replace eProcure
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Questions
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Cynthia Robinson, Business/Personal Property Tax Supervisor
703.746.3913
Stephen Taylor, Acting Purchasing Agent
703.746.4944
Christina Wells, Deputy Purchasing Agent
703.746.4944
Contact Information
