Minnesota Statute 471.345 and the City of Saint Paul's purchasing procedures are formal procedures and guidelines for controlling purchasing of the department's supplies, equipment, and contracts for service. The City of Saint Paul's purchasing procedures can be accessed on the City of Saint Paul's intranet web site.
Purchases of supplies and equipment and contracts for services will be accomplished in accordance with the city's purchasing procedures and Minnesota statutes. All purchases of supplies, equipment, and contracts for services from grants must be in accordance with federal and/or state grant rules, policies, and procedures.
Food cannot be purchased until a council resolution is approved. The unit commander or unit head must contact the fiscal affairs unit at least one month prior to food purchases. All unit commanders or unit heads must complete a professional service contract before any catered food is purchased.
Requests for supplies and equipment must be authorized by the unit commander or unit head on the appropriate procurement card, master contract, purchase requisition, or travel request form. Unit commanders or unit heads are responsible for insuring sufficient funds are available for their requests and are responsible for providing all information and specifications required to properly order the merchandise.
Operating supplies and/or equipment costing $2,500 or less may be ordered by the unit commander or unit head with a procurement card as the authorization for purchase unless a City vendor is being used. Unit commanders or unit heads must check with Fiscal Affairs on whether a vendor is considered a City vendor.
The appropriate state sales tax and shipping cost must be included in the total cost. The unit commander or unit head must insure that the best price has been obtained on all items ordered.
Operating supplies and/or equipment exceeding $2,500 must be ordered by using a master contract or a purchase requisition. If a master contract does not exist, a purchase requisition input form must be completed by the unit commander or unit head, signed by the division head, and then submitted to the fiscal affairs unit for approval. The unit commander or unit head is responsible for providing all the necessary specifications and information on the purchase requisition input form. Suggested vendors may be provided by the unit commander or unit head. Requests for sole-source vendors must be justified as the only provider of the supplies and/or equipment needed.
Requests for travel and training must be submitted to the chief of police on the appropriate travel request forms after receiving approval from the unit commander or unit head, training commander, and division commander. Travel request forms approved by the chief of police are submitted to the training unit for processing. All requests for travel and training expenses must be made in accordance with the City of Saint Paul's travel policy.
Travel expenses cannot be reimbursed to or paid for a non-city (Saint Paul) employee until a council resolution is approved. The unit commander or unit head must contact the fiscal affairs unit at least one month before the non-city employee travel date.
Professional services (i.e. one-time instructors) must not be ordered until a professional service contract is completed. The City of Saint Paul's policies for professional services must be followed for all contracts. The unit commander or unit head must insure the best price has been obtained for the services provided. Professional service contracts for more than $2,500 must be done through the City of Saint Paul's purchasing department. All professional service contracts must be processed through the fiscal affairs unit for signature routing.
Vendors must send an invoice to the unit commander or unit head for all items purchased. Upon receipt of the merchandise or services, the unit commander or unit head must verify that the invoice is correct by signing and dating the invoice and indicating the budget code and purchasing authority number used for the purchases. The signed invoice is then sent to the unit commanders or unit heads accounts payable person for payment. Invoices for grant purchases must be submitted to the fiscal affairs unit for payment.
The unit commander or unit head may submit reimbursement requests that are under $75 to the chief's office by using the appropriate petty cash form. Original receipts will be required for all reimbursements under the department's petty cash fund. The budget code(s) must be included on the original receipt. It is the unit commander's or unit head's responsibility to verify that funds are available in the appropriate budget code(s) used for all petty cash reimbursements.
Updated January 14, 2019