Purchasing Organization
Each department in the city has unique needs and are therefore has primary responsibility for their purchasing decisions. We do not maintain an approved vendor list. Instead, each department should make their purchasing choices based on price, availability, quality and overall value to the city. The Purchasing Division is part of the Finance Department and helps coordinate purchasing activity and review department purchasing activity for compliance to procurement procedures.
Purchase Requirements
Purchasing procedures are governed by Boulder Revised Code (Purchasing Ordinance). In general, the following requirements apply to City purchases:
| Amount | Purchase Requirement |
|---|
| Up to $9,999 | Comparison shopping by the user department is recommended |
| $10,000 - $49,999 | Minimum of 3 informal bids or quotes managed by the user department is required |
| $50,000 and over | Formal bidding required and managed through the Purchasing Department |
All formal solicitations will be posted and managed through Bidnet (also known as Rocky Mountain E-Purchasing). To access our solicitation documents on Bidnet, you will be required to register as a user using either a free or fee-based subscription. A notice of formal bids will also be posted in the Legal Notices section of the Daily Camera newspaper.
Bid Plans and Specifications
Official, updated, and accurate plans and specifications for formal bids are only available through the Bidnet website. In most cases, vendor responses to solicitations must also be submitted through the Bidnet website.
Plans and specifications received through third-party “plan-rooms” are not official specifications. Plans and specifications obtained via “plan-rooms” may not be current, accurate, and should not be used to formulate a response to a solicitation.
Payment
Vendors should submit invoices directly to the department that received the goods/services. Payments to new vendors will not be made until the vendor has submitted a completed W-9 Form and a vendor information form to our Accounts Payable department.
Invoices must:
- include the vendor's IRS address for remitting
- indicate the purchase order number,
- detail the good and/or service that was provided
- indicate the designated department
- be only for goods delivered or services rendered
- not be combined with two or more orders
The City will pay on partial shipments if invoiced for a good or service that has been previously delivered.
For information on payment of invoices, contact the department that received the good/service. If problems cannot be resolved with the user department, then contact the Accounts Payable Department.
Shipments
All shipping costs are to be paid by the vendor or prepaid and added to the invoice. If a purchase order initiated the shipment, shipping documents should include the purchase order number.
Tax-Exempt Status
The City of Boulder is exempt from federal, state and local taxes. Pricing on bids should allow for this status unless stated otherwise. The primary exception to this standard is construction contracts where the contractor is considered to be the purchaser for tax purposes. Therefore, City taxes should be included in construction bids. The City's tax-exempt numbers are as follows:
| Taxing Agency | Tax Exempt Numbers |
|---|
| Federal | A-138553 |
| State of Colorado | 98-03489 |
| City of Boulder | 20225997 |
| Federal Employer Identification Number | 84-6000566 |
Digital Accessibility for Vendors
Recycled and Environmentally Preferred Products
The City of Boulder encourages departments to use recycled and environmentally preferable products whenever possible, and requires certain products be purchased in recycled form.
