Explanation
Background: The Fleet Management Division has been purchasing vehicle tires through a State Term Contract (State Bid STS 260) for many years. On November 2nd Fleet Management received notification from the State that this contract had not been renewed and had officially expired as of November 1, 2012. The City of Columbus had no prior notification from the State or any other entity that this contract would not be renewed or renegotiated prior to its termination.
Pursuant to this contract termination, a Mayor’s Emergency Letter was issued by the Department of Finance & Management, on behalf of the Fleet Management Division. This letter was subsequently approved by Mayor Coleman and authorized the expenditure of $150,000 for the purchase of various automobile, truck and vehicle tires from WD Tire Warehouse, Inc. and Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems LLC. The expenditures authorized by this Mayor’s Emergency Letter was to serve as bridge funding in hopes that the state term contracting dispute was successfully resolved.
At the time of this ordinance, contract negotiations between the vendors and the State of Ohio remains unresolved. This situation offers the potential for severe disruption of tire procurement for the City of Columbus and other governmental units that also purchase from this contract. Though Fleet Management has been notified by the State that negotiations continue with certain tire vendors, there is a possibility that the current State Contract may not be renewed. This notwithstanding, the Fleet Management Division respectfully requests the authority to continue the purchase of vehicle tires, using current vendors under previously approved State-Term pricing and/or best pricing from these same vendors -under the same general terms and conditions. As such, this ordinance respectfully requests that the competitive bidding provisions of the City Codes be waived in order to participate in this contract arrangement with the vendors. F...
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