City of Bonney Lake

Doing Business

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Doing Business with the City of Bonney Lake

General Information
The purchasing system in the City of Bonney Lake is a decentralized system of procurement whereby authorized employees are responsible for purchasing goods and services under the following principles:

Buying competitively and wisely to obtain maximum value for the City.
Promoting good, continuous vendor relations, as well as reliable alternate sources of supply.
Purchasing locally whenever feasible and cost-competitive.
Keeping inventory losses at a minimum.
Training and developing employees to make sound purchasing decisions.

The City Administrator serves as the Chief Contract Officer of the City, and oversees the procurement and award of all City contracts.

The City has both formal and informal procurement procedures. Informal procedures are used when the City purchases materials and supplies less than $15,000 and formal procedures are used when purchases exceed $15,000.

As a general rule, City staff do not meet with sales persons or vendor representatives unless they are actively soliciting price quotes or bids for a given solicitation. The website lists upcoming and current bids and requests for proposals.

To view current opportunities for proposal and bid solicitations, use the following resources:

City of Bonney Lake Legal Notices -
View currently posted requests for bids, proposals, and qualifications on this page and in the City's official newspaper.
Small Works Roster -
The City utilizes the MRSC Roster Program for the small works roster. See below for more information.
Current City Projects and Bid Information -
The City posts all city jobs that are out for bid and all the bid documents.
Builder's Exchange of Washington -
Find RFP e-Purchasing system websites for additional locations where City RFPs, RFQs, and bid solicitations may be posted online.

Informal Purchases - Small Purchases
The purchase of materials, supplies, or construction under $7,500 may be made by authorized purchasing agents as the City deems to be in its best interest. Small Purchases between $7,500 and $15,000 may be procured through telephone and/or written quotations, proposals or bids, and require 3 documented bids.

The City has two ways of handling informal purchases, either through the issuance of a purchase order or with a city credit card. Purchase orders are approved and issued by the Finance Office. Each purchase order indicates what is being purchased, the price and terms and conditions. For purchase orders, the standard payment terms are net 30.

There are certain restrictions on the use of a City credit card for purchasing. There are certain dollar limits and merchant category restrictions that apply. City staff must check out a credit card from the Finance Office prior to usage.

Formal Procedures
There are two types of formal procedures: Competitive Bidding and Competitive Selection. Competitive Bidding is used to procure materials and supplies in excess of $15,000, and construction in excess of $20,000 for a single craft, or $30,000 for a multiple craft project. The major features of Competitive Bidding include:

Use of Specifications which include standard "boilerplate" & technical requirements.
Contract award is based on the lowest responsible bidder.
Bid Security usually in the amount of 5% of the bid price is required.
No negotiation of contract terms is permitted.
City Council approval is required if the contract is greater than $15,000.
Contractor may be required to provide Performance and/or Payment Bonds.
General liability and workers’ compensation insurance will be required.
Must have a City of Bonney Lake business license.
All work is subject to prevailing wage requirements.

Competitive Selection
Competitive Selection is used for professional architectural or engineering services. The major features of Competitive Selection include:

Use of Request for Proposals/Request for Qualifications.
Contract award is based on a variety of factors e.g. experience of firm, experience of project team, references, etc.
Negotiation of contract terms is permitted.
City Council approval is required if the contract is greater than $15,000.
Professional Errors & Omissions Insurance as well as general liability and workers’ compensation insurance will be required.

Contracts approved by a Resolution of the City Council are available to search and view on the Resolutions page.

Per RCW 39.04.155, the City need not comply with formal sealed bidding procedures for the construction, building, renovation, remodeling, alteration, repair, or improvement of real property where the estimated cost does not exceed three hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($350,000.00), which includes the costs of labor, material, equipment and sales and/or use taxes as applicable. Instead, the City may use the small works roster procedures for public works projects as set forth herein. The breaking of any project into units or accomplishing any projects by phases is prohibited if it is done for the purpose of avoiding the maximum dollar amount of a contract that may be let using the small works roster process.

The small works roster(s) consists of all responsible contractors who have requested to be on the roster(s), and where required by law are properly licensed or registered to perform such work in Washington State. The City of Bonney Lake participates in the statewide shared Small Works Roster service administered by the Municipal Research Services Center (MRSC).

To be eligible to apply for small works projects with the City of Bonney Lake, companies must be registered with MRSC Rosters. Registration may be completed online at www.MRSCrosters.org. Contact MRSC Rosters with questions at 206-625-1300.

The City uses the MRSC Rosters program as its consultant roster. Consultants must subscribe with the MRSC Roster service to be eligible to provide consultant services to the City, unless said engagement is the result of a separately issued request for proposal (RFP) or statement of qualifications (SOQ).

Registration may be completed online at www.MRSCrosters.org. Contact MRSC Rosters with questions at 206-625-1300.

Locate City Contracts
To find information on current and past City contracts, please use the resources available on this website (see links below) or submit a Public Records Request to the City Clerk:

View the Resolutions page to locate a contract approved by a resolution of the City Council.
View the Interlocal Agreements page for a list of interlocal agreements (with other cities, agencies, or the State).
View the Public Records page for a detailed list of pages and records available on this website.

Additional Information

The Purchase Order Conditions are legally-binding conditions which describe the responsibilities of the vendor and the City.
The Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) must be on file with the Finance Office before any invoice will be processed.

Please view the Economic Development page for information on development activity and other helpful links and information.

Sales Tax Rate in the City of Bonney Lake
The rate is 9.5% (as of 7/1/2023) .

For information on Sales and Use Taxes and rates, please see the Department of Revenue's website.

Effective July 1, 2023, the Sales & Use Tax Rate for the City of Bonney Lake was adjusted to 9.5% due to Housing and Related issues in Pierce County.