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Attorney recommends moving purchasing rules out of code to avoid bidder claims
Summary
The city attorney advised removing detailed procurement procedures from Smithville's code of ordinances and placing them in an internal policy manual or resolution to reduce the risk that bidders gain enforceable property rights and can challenge awards.
The city attorney told the board that internal procurement procedures belong in a policy manual rather than the code of ordinances because embedding procurement steps in law can create unintended enforceable rights for unsuccessful bidders. "That is not something that I necessarily would advocate for," he said when describing the citypurchasing policy currently located in the code.
He explained that when procurement rules are written into law, unsuccessful bidders may claim a property right to challenge awards; moving detailed rules to a policy or resolution preserves staff discretion to evaluate the "lowest and best" bidder on criteria such as integrity, experience and quality rather than price alone. The board asked staff to draft revisions that would preserve oversight while reducing exposure to legal claims.
