1-8-3. Competitive bid requirements.

(1) When a purchase is made which is expected to be $1,000 or more, but less than $10,000, the Department Head or Elected Officer shall, under the direction of the Auditor or purchasing authority, obtain three (3) bids or proposals for the item or service to be purchased, from separate sources, which bids need not be in writing.  Said bids or proposals shall be recorded by the Department Head or purchasing authority and kept as an official record of the County.  Said official record shall include the name of the person or firm the bid or proposal was obtained from, the date of the bid, the name of the person who gave the bid, the item or service bid on, and the bid amount.

(2) When a purchase is made which is expected to be $10,000 or more, the Department Head or Elected Officer shall prepare written specifications for said procurement and have said specifications approved by the Board of County Commissioners prior to obtaining bids or proposals.  The Commission may also designate the manner in which bids shall be obtained and awarded.  When the County Commission does not require public advertisement for sealed bids, the Department Head or Elected Officer shall, under the direction of the Auditor or purchasing authority, obtain at least three written bids or proposals from separate sources.  The person or firm who submits the lowest bid or proposal that meets the approved specifications shall be awarded the bid, unless the Tooele County Commission authorizes the acceptance of another bid or proposal that it determines to be in the best interest of the County.  The County Commission may waive the foregoing bid procedures if it determines that there is only one source that can meet the procurement requirements, or if the service to be acquired is considered to be professional or technical services.  A summary of the bids or proposals received shall be submitted with each purchase order.

(3) This chapter does not specify the additional requirements of Utah State Law for County purchases of stationery (§17-15-6 et. seq. U.C.A.); construction of buildings or bridges where the expenditure exceeds $25,000 (§17-15-3 U.C.A.); construction of roads exceeding $100,000 in labor and materials (§27-12-108.1 and §27-12-108.2); or other bidding requirements as from time to time may be required by Utah Law.  The County Attorney should be consulted prior to proceeding with procurement of these specified items or other large procurements.

(4) The County Commission will not generally permit a sole source procurement of a particular proprietary item if there is more than one potential bidder or offeror for that item or service.

(5) Purchases shall not be artificially divided so as to avoid the bid requirements of this Section.  (Ord. 2008-07, 2/12/08; Ord. 95-19, 9/12/95; Ord. 92-5, 9/1/92)