1999 Minnesota Statutes

     383C.334 Purchases; contracts; limitations. 

    All purchases of, and contracts for, supplies, materials, 
 equipment, or contractual services, and all sales of personal 
 property which has become obsolete and unusable, shall be based 
 wherever possible on competitive bids.  If the amount of the 
 expenditure or sale is estimated to exceed $1,000, sealed bids 
 shall be solicited by public notice inserted at least once in a 
 newspaper of general circulation and at least five calendar days 
 before the final date of submitting bids.  Such notice shall 
 include a general description of the commodities or contractual 
 services to be purchased, or personal property to be sold, and 
 shall state where bid blanks and specifications may be obtained 
 and the time and place for the opening of bids.  The county 
 purchasing agent shall also solicit sealed bids by sending 
 requests by mail to prospective suppliers and by posting notice 
 on a public bulletin board in the purchasing agent's office. 

    All purchases or sales of less than $1,000 in amount shall 
 be made in the open market without newspaper notice, but shall 
 wherever possible be based on at least three competitive bids.  

    Sales shall be made to the highest responsible bidder.  

    The purchasing agent shall accept the lowest bid and award 
 the contract to such lowest bidder unless the agent on account 
 of the quality or character of the goods, materials, or supplies 
 proposed to be furnished by the lowest bidder or because of the 
 financial responsibility and reputation of said bidder, deems it 
 not to the best advantage of the county to accept such bid, and, 
 in the case of capital expenditures, the agent shall present to 
 the county board, or to the interested board or commission, as 
 the case may be, a written statement of the reasons why such 
 lowest bid should not be accepted and shall advise the 
 appropriate body which bid in the purchasing agent's judgment is 
 to the best advantage of the county, and the county board or 
 such interested board or commission, may thereupon concur with 
 the agent to accept the recommended bid or reject all bids.  All 
 bids may be rejected and new bids solicited if the public 
 interest shall be served thereby.  If all bids received on a 
 pending contract are for the same unit price or total amount, 
 the county purchasing agent shall have authority to award the 
 contract to one of the tie bidders by drawing lots in public, or 
 to reject all bids and to purchase the required supplies, 
 materials, equipment, or contractual services in the open 
 market, provided the price paid in the open market shall not 
 exceed the lowest responsible bid.  It shall be the duty of the 
 purchasing agent to discourage uniform bidding and to endeavor 
 to obtain as full and open competition as possible on all 
 purchases and sales.  Each bid, with the name of the bidder, 
 shall be entered on a record, and each record with the 
 successful bid indicated thereon, shall, after the award of the 
 order or contract, be open to public inspection.  

    All contracts shall be approved as to form by the county 
 attorney and a copy of each contract shall be filed with the 
 county auditor of any such county. 

    HIST: 1943 c 237 s 5; 1961 c 304 s 2; 1967 c 563 s 1; 1986 c 
 444; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 40