Doing Business with Miami Springs

Welcome to the City of Miami Springs’s Purchasing Department. We realize that for many of you, Purchasing is your initial contact with the City. This guide has been prepared to acquaint you with the City’s policies and procedures in an effort to make your business and visits with us pleasant and mutually beneficial.

• Purchasing’s Role
  Our responsibilities are dictated by Code and include the acquisition of materials, supplies, equipment and services for all City departments, including Utilities and Police Departments. We strive to acquire the quality, quantity and delivery required by departments at the least overall cost to the City.
  
  The City operates a centralized purchasing department and we ask that when calling on the City, you make Purchasing your first point of contact. We will arrange contacts for you with various departments when appropriate. Unauthorized visits to individual departments are discouraged and may be counter productive.
   
• Interviews / Appointments
  Though not required, appointments are preferred and will help you to complete your business with a minimum of lost opportunity. We suggest that initial visits be somewhat general, giving us an introduction to you and product lines. Subsequent visits are ideal opportunities to explain in detail a single item or service that you provide. Line cards, catalogs and price lists are always helpful.
   
• Vendor / Bidder List
  The Purchasing Department maintains a list of prospective vendors and bidders classified by commodity or service. You may be placed on this list by completing the City’s vendor application and commodity listing detailing the items or services that you provide. To assure that you are included under all of the appropriate categories, we ask that you be specific about the items or services that you provide. The City provides three ways to obtain a vendor application:
  
  1) Download from this website
  2) Request by Fax - 305-805-5018
  3) Request by Mail
  • City of Miami Springs
    Finance Department
    201 Westward Drive
    Miami Springs, FL 33166
     
• Quotations
  It is the policy of the Purchasing Department to seek verbal quotations whenever possible, within the scope of efficient operation. In the normal course of events, we will seek to get at least three quotations for materials or services up to $4,999.99; three written quotations on $5,000.00 to $10,000.00. Anything in excess of $10,000.00 must be a sealed bid. These rules may be effected by such things as time factor, single source items, previous purchase information, etc.
   
• Bids
  All Formal Bids are advertised in the “Daily Business Review,” a newspaper published every working day.
  
  Public sealed bids are required for any item whose price exceeds $10,000.00 and must be submitted in accordance with the terms of the Invitation to Bid.
  
  The Purchasing Department has been authorized to utilize bids awarded by Metropolitan Dade County, State of Florida, the Federal Government (GSA), and other Florida agency bids without the requirement of local bidding.
  
  All sealed bids advertised to be received by the City shall be opened and read publicly. All bids received after the posted opening date and time shall be returned, unopened, to the bidder submitting same.
  
  Vendors are invited to attend bid openings. Upon submission of the bid tabulation and recommendation to the City Council, the City council shall either award, reject or refer for additional review the bid tabulation and recommendation.
   
• Purchase Authorizations
  All purchases made on behalf of the City must be supported by an authorized Purchase Order. Under no circumstances should a vendor fill an order for any City department without a Purchase Order number.
   
• Taxes
  The City of Miami Springs is exempt from all federal excise and state sales taxes. Exemption certificates will be executed by the Finance Department upon written request by the vendor.
   
• Invoices / Payments
  All invoices must be addressed to the Department that received the order.
  
  Invoices must indicate the department who received the material and the Purchase Order number. Invoices without Purchase Order numbers will be returned to the vendor and will unnecessarily delay payment.
  
  Packing slips and / or delivery receipts must accompany every delivery. Purchase Order number must be included on every packing slips and / or delivery receipts. The City makes payments against properly documented invoices in a maximum of thirty (30) days.
   
• Samples
  Samples may be requested by the City for the purpose of product evaluation. All samples should be submitted to the Purchasing Department unless we instruct otherwise. Samples should be clearly marked “Sample” and be clearly labeled with complete instructions for use. It is understood that samples will be provided at no charge to the City.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT – 201 WESTWARD DRIVE – FAX NO. 305-805-5018