Vendors

The City of Bridgeport uses a decentralized purchasing system to obtain goods and services. Each department is responsible for developing its unique specifications and contacting vendors to get product information and price quotes. A business that is interested in selling to the city should first determine which department uses its product or service. Contact should then be made directly to that department, as there is no central bid list or purchasing agent.

State Laws

The city is required to follow the purchasing laws found in the Texas Government Code. Generally, the city must advertise for sealed bids or proposals for any service or product that will cost over $50,000. The law requires that we advertise such a purchase in the local newspaper 2 times, 7 days apart with the first advertisement being published at least 14 days before bids are due. The City Council must award the bid to the lowest, most responsible bidder. If the city chooses to skip over the low bidder, it must demonstrate its reasoning behind that decision.

City Policy

The city's own purchasing policy requires 3 written quotes for any item costing more than $3,000 and 3 verbal quotes for any item costing between $1,500 and $2,999.99. The City Administrator must approve purchases over $10,000, and the City Council must approve them if they exceed $15,000.

Accounts Payable

Accounts payable is processed two times per month, on the first and third Tuesday of the month. To ensure the earliest possible payment date, vendors are advised to get their invoices to the department that purchased their product well in advance of a processing date.