Purchasing

Responsibilities

The City Controller manages a number of services for the City:

  • City accounts payable
  • Coordinates all City bidding procedures
  • Manages all City contract executions
  • Manages all City asset sales
  • Assists in the coordination of grants and City improvement projects with other departments
  • Assists the Finance department to insure all City insurance and risk management procedures are followed

The Controller also has other duties, as requested by the Mayor and City Council.

Vendor List and Bidding

The City is committed to providing the residents the best value for its tax dollar. Guided by the City’s Charter our, policies strive to find the best strategic vendor partners to guarantee the best price possible. It is our duty to reduce the spending for goods and services without sacrificing the quality and efficiency of our local government.

In this regard, the City utilizes government cooperative purchasing contracts, like MITN and GSA, whenever possible along with its own bidding process.

Find information on how to become a City vendor.

A list of current bid opportunities are available online at:

Goods & Services Purchasing Guidelines

The City of Westland purchases goods and services under the following guidelines:

  1. The City may contract for the performance of any public work or may perform the same itself through its departments, officers, and employees; provided however, that it shall not itself make any new public improvements exceeding an estimated $5,000.00 until it has first advertised for sealed proposals.  The City shall have the right to reject any or all such proposals.
  2. No public improvement or for the purchase of any materials, tools, apparatus, or any other thing(s) costing more than $5,000.00 shall be contracted for, or public improvement commenced, until:
    1. All drawings, profiles, estimates, and contracts for the same are reviewed by the Mayor before submission to the City Council.
    2. All drawings, profiles, estimates, and contracts for the same are submitted to the Council and approved by a majority of the Council elect.  A copy thereof shall thereafter remain on file in the office of the Clerk subject to inspection by the public.
  3. No contract shall be entered into by the City for the purchase of any materials, tools, apparatus or any other thing(s) wherein the consideration or cost of which shall exceed $750.00 until after an opportunity for competitive quotes.  The City shall reserve the right to reject any or all quotes.

Accounts Payable

One of the primary functions of the Purchasing Department is to manage the payment of invoices to vendors.  The City's payment process is:

  1. Invoices are received by the appropriate department or the Purchasing Department
  2. Invoices are reviewed for accuracy and approved by the appropriate department
  3. Invoices are then sent to the City Council for approval in the next available City Council meeting as part of their City vouchers.
  4. Once the voucher is approved, payment is sent to the vendor.

The process can take up to thirty to forty five days to complete.