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Exeter council pauses decision on using BidNet for town bids amid procedural concerns
Summary
Councilors heard a staff demonstration of BidNet, a commercial bid-posting service, but continued the item for research after members raised concerns about pre‑bid Q&A visibility, synchronization with town notices and compliance with state purchasing rules.
The Exeter Town Council heard a staff presentation and initial demonstration of BidNet, a third‑party bid‑posting platform used by many municipal purchasers, and agreed to continue the item for additional research before adopting it as an official advertising channel.
Staff explained BidNet is widely used by school districts and municipalities and that the service is free to the town. Council members welcomed extra notice for solicitations but raised operational and legal concerns: bid addenda and pre‑bid question‑and‑answer threads posted only on BidNet might not be visible to contractors who track the town website or the paper notices required under state law. "Those questions have to be published somewhere that everybody else knows," Speaker 4 said, noting that changes to an already‑advertised bid require council approval and synchronized public notice.
Members recommended staff check with the state purchasing authorities and the town purchasing agent to confirm whether using BidNet as an additional notice is permissible and how Q&A and addenda must be published. The council voted to continue the item to the next meeting and tasked staff with obtaining legal guidance and examples from peer towns.
Next steps: staff will check with state purchasing, confirm how addenda and Q&A must be published to maintain fairness, and return with recommended procedures and sample notices at the next meeting.
