Purchasing Policy

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Consolidated Governments and Local Governmental Functions and Entities
  4. Utility District Law of 1937
  5. Utility District Purchasing Procedures
  6. Purchasing Policy

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The board of commissioners of each utility district, whether created pursuant to this chapter or any public or private act by the general assembly, shall adopt a policy governing all purchases, leases, and lease-purchase agreements of the district, which shall contain the following provisions:

  1. Provisions requiring competitive bidding in appropriate circumstances;
  2. Provisions establishing appropriate competitive bidding procedures, which procedures need not require public advertisement for bids; provided, that a vendor list shall be developed by the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts (TAUD), and bids for capital expenditures or purchases in excess of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) not otherwise excepted from competitive bidding requirements shall be solicited from vendors on such list if public advertisement is not used, or, in the alternative, each utility district may develop and maintain its own vendor list according to procedures established by the district, so long as the district publicly advertises for additions to the list at least annually in a newspaper or other publication of general circulation in the grand division in which the district has its principal office;
  3. Provisions establishing appropriate exceptions to the competitive bidding requirement, including, but not limited to, establishing dollar purchase amounts for individual items or groups of items below which competitive bidding shall not be required; contracts to provide a continuous work force through independent contractors for maintenance, installation and repair of system facilities or items sold at retail by the district; purchase of goods or services for which there is a single source of supply; purchases or leases for immediate delivery in actual emergencies arising from unforeseen causes; purchases, leases, or lease-purchases of real property; purchases, leases or lease-purchases from any federal, state or local government unit or agency; purchases in the open market, including fuel and fuel product purchases; and purchases of items for resale;
  4. Provisions establishing procedures for open-market purchases; and
  5. Provisions establishing procedures for documentation of compliance with purchasing procedures, whether competitive, negotiated or open-market purchases.


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