The purpose of this information is to promote understanding and good will between the City of Brandon and organizations wishing to, or presently, conducting business with the City.

This document only gives a quick overview of key procedures and operations and is not to be taken as the complete purchasing procedures of the City. It is meant to help facilitate doing business with the City.

Procurement Services is located at the following address:

City of Brandon - Procurement Services
Finance Department
Main Floor – City Hall
410 - 9th Street
Brandon, Manitoba R7A 6A2

 

Our contact information is:

Procurement Clerk - Bid Opportunities (204) 729-2251 purchasing@brandon.ca
Procurement Clerk – Purchase Orders (204) 729-2261 purchorder@brandon.ca
Accounts Payable Clerk (204) 729-2224 payables@brandon.ca
Procurement Manager (204) 729-2252 purchasing@brandon.ca

 

Procurement Services is responsible for purchasing most goods, services and construction, for all departments of the City of Brandon which include:

Police, Fire, Engineering, Transit, Airport, Community Services (including Cemetery), Central Garage, Public Works, Corporate Services, Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants, Finance, Innovation, Technology & Communications, Clerk’s Office and various sub-sections.

There is a designated person in each department who purchases the stationary items for their area.

The City of Brandon operates on the competitive bid procedure and as such, welcomes your bids. The function of Procurement is to obtain goods, services and construction in the most cost effective manner possible and to control the issue, usage and disposal of these items on behalf of the City Council of Brandon, in the best interests of the citizens of Brandon.

The City of Brandon has an extremely high ethical standard and is guided by:

Rules of conduct for Procurement Personnel forbids them from accepting gifts, bribes or gratuities from any businesses dealing with the City.

 

I Wish To Do Business With The City. How Do I Go About This?

Bid Opportunities are available for download (free of charge) on the City of Brandon website https://purchasing.brandon.ca. It is the responsibility of prospective bidders to view the website on a regular basis to ensure opportunities aren’t missed. Depending on the projects budget, Bid Opportunities may be advertised (an advertisement only, not the complete documentation) on MERX (electronic Tendering system.)

 

Who Can Do Business With The City?

Any individual person, partnership, corporation or firm, in most cases, are eligible to do business with the City, provided that they conform to City rules and regulations and when called for, can provide the necessary Bid Bonds and Performance Bonds. Many of the awards require contracts and agreements, and in some cases security checks be administered on persons being employed by contractors (such as in the case of the cleaners). Bonding on contractors’ employees is also required in some cases.

 

When Can The City Terminate A Contract?

The City has the right to terminate a contract for any failure of the Contractor to perform the work or to adhere to specifications, for the use of sub-standard equipment or items, or for the failure to commence work or deliver the goods by a specified date.

 

Can The City Impose Penalties?

Yes, the City can impose a penalty for failure to perform or complete by a certain specified date or for failure to deliver the complete order by a specified date, as indicated in the Bid Opportunities Specifications and/or Contract.

 

How Do We Find Out The Results Of The Competition?

“Unevaluated” Bid Results are posted on the City website purchasing.brandon.ca after the item has been opened. This will indicate the company names of the Bidders and Total Bid Price (Tenders & Quotes) or the company name only (Proposals.) If you have submitted a bid the City Procurement Services will forward a Letter of Notification advising of the accepted successful bid. If you have not submitted a bid but wish to know to whom it was awarded, contact Procurement Services for the information or go to the City’s website purchasing.brandon.ca.

NOTE ON TENDERS: Subsequent to the tender opening where the total prices have been read out to all present, Procurement will only divulge the same information that was read out at the opening, eg. Bidders names and total price of their bid. Purchasing will not share the break down of prices as this information is given in confidence and if divulged to a competitor could be used to the detriment of the company in future competitive bids.

Bidders are reminded not to take action until notified by the Procurement Manager in writing and not to assume they are the successful bidder. Many factors must be considered, eg., did all of the bids have the proper support documents such as bid bonds, performance bonds, etc.? Did all the bidders tabulate their bids properly? Were all taxes and delivery charges taken into account? Do all of the bids meet the required specifications? Is the project within budget?

 

Summary:

We hope that this information will help you and reduce the chance of conflict due to a misunderstanding of the process. We must look after the interests of the departments we support, but most of all, we must look after the interests of the citizens of Brandon. When we can achieve this, and at the same time keep an excellent working relationship with our suppliers, we feel our efforts are mutually rewarded. Honesty, fairness and effective use of tax dollars are our goals.