Rowlett council signals support for modest local‑vendor preference in city procurements

Wendy Badger, finance director (speaker 17), and January Calhoun, purchasing manager (speaker 15), briefed council on the city's procurement thresholds, award methods and a new e‑procurement system implemented in February 2025.

Calhoun said small purchases under $3,000 do not require competitive quotes, purchases between $3,000 and $100,000 require written competitive quotes (three vendors when possible) and formal solicitations over $100,000 require legal notices and use of the e‑procurement system and bid networks. She emphasized compliance with Texas HUB rules for historically underutilized businesses and explained the system can publish Q&A and broaden visibility; she noted BidNet lists over 26,000 vendors and the city's e‑procurement has increased bid responses.

A local business owner who spoke during public comment said she did not receive bid notice for the city's embroidery/screen‑printing contract. Councilmembers discussed whether to adopt a formal Rowlett‑based preference or a small set of scoring adjustments (for example, awarding a few extra points or using a local vendor tie‑breaker when proposals score closely). Several councilmembers favored a modest approach—a small point benefit or a tie‑breaker—rather than a broad statutory preference that could reduce competition.

Action: Council gave staff direction to draft a Rowlett‑based vendor preference or tie‑breaker scoring option and to improve outreach to local businesses (including working with the Chamber of Commerce and encouraging HUB registration). Staff said past vendor registrations were migrated to the new system when contact information was accurate, but acknowledged outreach to local vendors and the chamber could be improved.

Next steps: Purchasing staff will draft criteria and weighting for a local preference/tie‑breaker and return with recommended language and implementation details.