§ 2-227. Preference among municipal bidders.

(a)

The following words and phrases shall for the purpose of this section have the following meanings:

City means the City of Siloam Springs.

Commodities means all property, including without limitation, equipment, printing, stationery, supplies (to the extent not purchased pursuant to section 2-182(d)), and capital improvements, but excluding leases on real property, real property, or a permanent interest in real property, and exempt commodities and services.

Firm resident in the city means any individual, partnership, association, or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, that:

(1)

Maintains at least one staffed place of business located within the corporate limits of the city;

(2)

For not less than two successive years immediately before submitting a bid, has paid taxes to the county that benefit the city on either real or personal property used or intended to be used in connection with the firm's business; and

(3)

Has a valid business registration/license with the city.

Lowest qualified bid means the lowest bid that conforms to the specifications and request for bids.

Nonresident firm means a firm that is not included in the definition of a firm resident in the city.

Services means labor, time, or effort furnished by a contractor.

(b)

In the purchase of commodities or services by competitive bidding, a reference of five percent shall be granted to the lowest qualified bid for a bidder that qualifies as a firm resident in the city.

(1)

The maximum monetary amount of any preference granted, regardless of the bid amount or percentage of preference, shall be $500.00.

(2)

In calculating the preference to be allowed, the total amount of each bid of each firm resident in the city who claims the preference shall be reduced by five percent, up to the maximum allowed as described above, from the total amount of each bid.

(3)

If after making the deduction, the bid of any firm resident in the city claiming the preference is lower than the bid of the nonresident firm, then the award shall be made to the firm resident in the city that submitted the lowest qualified bid, whether or not that particular firm resident in the city claimed the preference.

(c)

The preference provided for in this section only applies in comparing bids when one or more bids are by a firm resident in the city and the other bid or bids are by a nonresident firm.

(1)

The preference provided for in this section does not apply to competing bids of firm residents in the city after preferential rejection of the bids of nonresident firms, nor to the situation where all bidders are firm residents in the city.

(d)

If any provision or condition of this section conflicts with any provision of federal or state law or any rule or regulation made under federal or state law pertaining to federal grants-in-aid programs or other federal or state aid programs, the provision or condition shall not apply to the state-supported or federal-supported contracts for the purchase of commodities or services to the extent that the conflict exists. However, all provisions or conditions of this section with which there is no conflict apply to contracts to purchase commodities or services to be paid, in whole or in part, from federal funds.

(e)

The provisions of this section shall apply, without limitation, to public works projects, capital improvements, commodities, materials, equipment, and services procured by the city.

(f)

When circumstances arise to which this section and A.C.A. § 19-11-259 (regarding preferences among bidders) apply, both the preference provided under this section and the preference provided under A.C.A. § 19-11-259 shall also apply.

(g)

To the extent that federal purchasing laws or bidding preferences conflict, this section does not apply to projects related to supplying water or wastewater utility services, operations, or maintenance to a federal military installation by a municipality of the state.

(Ord. No. 16-02, 2-16-2016)