Procurement Policies and Procedures

1.0 General

1.01 Basis and Purpose

These procurement policies and procedures are established under the authority of the City Charter, Article IX (City Manager) Section 2(h), Article XVII (Budget and Appropriations) Section 4, City Code Title 1, Chapter 4 (City Manager) 1-90 to 1-93, and Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 6-56-301 et seq., known as the Municipal Purchasing Law of 1983. These local charter and code provisions along with state laws provide the legal foundation to guide city departments in planning for and acquiring goods and services needed by the city. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that goods and services are purchased at competitive prices with high quality and standardization, where appropriate, from reliable vendors in an economical, efficient, and transparent manner, thereby maximizing the value of public resources. This policy aims to formalize, simplify, clarify and improve the purchasing and contracting process as well as encourage effective, fair, open, legal, and impartial competition to the maximum extent possible among vendors.

1.02 Applicability

This policy applies uniformly to all departments of the City of Athens. This applicability ensures that all city purchasing activities are consistent, legally compliant, and conducted under a common set of guidelines.

1.03 Procurement Authority

The city will maintain a centralized procurement process where all city departments’ purchasing activities are coordinated and tracked by the Finance Department and its Purchasing Division for effective and efficient accounting. The City Manager, as established by city charter, has the ultimate responsibility for these Council approved purchasing policies and procedures. The City Manager delegates the day-to-day administration and interpretation of these policies and procedures to the city’s Finance Director and the full-time Purchasing Assistant.

1.04 Budget Authority

Budget authority is a crucial aspect of the procurement process. In accordance with TCA 6-56-303, no procurement of any goods or services shall occur unless a budget appropriation is available in the current year’s Council approved budget. Each department head or their designee has the responsibility of reviewing their approved budget to ensure funds are available prior to starting the procurement process. Department heads or their designee can move funds from one line-item to another within their approved budget with the assistance of the Finance Director but cannot exceed the approved departmental budget total. If an additional budget appropriation is needed that exceeds the approved departmental budget total, a budget amendment may be requested from the City Council in a public meeting.

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