Purchasing and Bids

The City strives to ensure that taxpayers receive the maximum value of each dollar spent by purchasing quality goods and services at the lowest possible cost. All qualified vendors are encouraged to bid.

In addition to complying with all federal, state and local requirements concerning ethical conduct, all City employees involved in the procurement process also subscribe to a Code of Ethics.

Visits by sales representatives to the Procurement Services Team are welcomed. In order to ensure that someone will be available to meet with you, it is recommended that you schedule your visits in advance by using the City's Help Center to contact the team.

The Procurement Services Team is open for business between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Questions should be directed to the team through the City's Help Center. 

Vendor Self-Service

Vendor Self-Service (VSS) is a web portal that provides easier and more convenient access to your account, including 24/7 access to recent and historical information. The portal will allow you to:

• Check the status of invoice payments and review processed invoices
• View up-to-date processed purchased orders 
• View up-to-date contract information

How Do I Register?

To begin the registration process, please visit the VSS portal. The registration process includes these three steps:

1. Find your Vendor ID and FIS/SSN (PDF)
2. Register for a VSS Account (PDF)
3. Link your Vendor ID to your VSS Account (PDF)

Once you have completed the registration process and linked your vendor account, please allow one to two business days for the City to activate your account.

If you have any questions or issues registering, please contact us through the City's Help Center.

How does the City of Naperville purchase goods and services?

The Procurement Services Team contracts or buys equipment and services related to the operation and maintenance of all City departments and their facilities in accordance with the City’s Procurement Ordinance and the statutes of the State of Illinois.

• Purchases under $25,000 require a minimum of three quotations with award recommended to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder.
• Purchases $25,000 or greater:
  • Formal Bid Process: All purchase orders or contracts of whatever nature, except as otherwise directed by the City Council, will be subject to the open competitive bidding process for amounts in excess of ($25,000). The award of the bid shall be to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder, unless otherwise directed by City Council to be in the best interest of the City of Naperville.
  • Request for Proposal/Request for Qualifications: The Request for Proposal (RFP) is the document used to secure offers when the procurement is of an estimated value of $25,000 or more and when competitive sealed bidding is not practical or advantageous. In some instances, a RFP is used when precise specifications cannot be developed and price is not the major factor to be evaluated by the Procurement Services Team. The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is the document used to obtain a statement of qualifications from bidders before the final bid document is issued. After eliminating respondents who do not meet the criteria of the RFQ, the bid document is issued to those certified as qualified.

Advertising of Bids shall include a general description of the articles, materials and/or services to be purchased or sold, and shall state the time and place of bid opening.

• DemandStar: All bids/RFP/RFQ are posted on DemandStar.com, the City’s online bidding service provider. Visit DemandStar to view what is currently advertised and for more information about how to subscribe.
• Newspaper: A legal notice inviting vendors to submit bid proposals shall be published in the legal section of the Wednesday Chicago Tribune at least (10) days prior to the bid opening date for all formal contracts over twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), except where otherwise provided for in the Purchasing Policies and Procedures.

For help with bidding online, please view the online bidding guide.

Award of City Procurements

Once the procurement process is complete, the purchase must be approved by the person noted in the table below.

Awarding Entity	Award Threshold
Chief Procurement Officer	Less than $25,000
City Manager	$25,000 to less than $100,000
City Council	$100,000 and greater

City Council award recommendations are currently available for viewing by the public on the City's website under Watch City Meetings. (Use the Board and Commissions drop-down menu to select City Council).

Please note the following procurements do not require formal award recommendations for approval. These items are approved administratively by the Chief Procurement Officer and documented in the City's financial software.

• Purchases under $1,000
• Purchases based upon quotes under $25,000
• Purchases from approved cooperatives under $25,000

Prevailing Wage Notice

Pursuant to Section 130/9 of the Illinois Prevailing Wage Act (820 ILCS 130/0.01 et seq.), the City of Naperville hereby gives notice of its determination of prevailing wages for laborers, mechanics and other workers engaged in public works for the City of Naperville as set forth in Ordinance  No. 18-061 passed at the regular City Council meeting held on June 19, 2018, ascertained to be the same as the prevailing rate of wages for construction work in DuPage and Will counties as determined by the Illinois Department of Labor. Click the link to access the Illinois Department of Labor prevailing wage rates.

Purchase Order Terms and Conditions

The City's purchase order terms and conditions apply to all purchase orders issued by the City of Naperville unless specifically provided otherwise.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2018, the terms and conditions provided on the last page of the purchase orders issued by the City of Naperville will be abbreviated due to space constraints. A general note following the last line item on the purchase order will indicate the type of terms and conditions that apply to the particular purchase (general, work or services). It is the vendor's responsibility to read and understand the terms and conditions that apply to each purchase order.

Links to the full terms and conditions are provided below. (Note: As the City updates the terms and conditions over time, revised terms and conditions with their associated effective dates will be added to this webpage.)

General Terms and Conditions: Terms and conditions for a general purchase order are applicable for the purchase of a commodity.

• General (Effective Date: 1/1/2018) (PDF)

Work Terms and Conditions: Terms and conditions for a work purchase order are applicable for the purchase of work-related services including, but not limited to, construction, janitorial, landscaping, snow removal, and building maintenance.

• Work (Effective Date: 8/28/2019) (PDF)
• Work (Effective Date: 1/1/2018) (PDF)

Services Terms and Conditions: Terms and conditions for a services purchase order are applicable for the purchase of professional services including, but not limited to, accounting, architecture, consulting, engineering, land surveying, legal, medical, and real estate.

• Services (Effective Date: 8/28/2019) (PDF)
• Services (Effective Date: 1/1/2018) (PDF)

Cooperative Contracts

Below is a list of current City of Naperville contracts that have been awarded for use by other jurisdictions in Illinois pursuant to 30 ILCS 525. 

• Cooperative Job Order Contract: The City of Naperville awarded a cooperative job order contract to Robe Construction, Inc., for use by other jurisdictions in Illinois pursuant to 30 ILCS 525. This contract can be used to quickly order repair or alteration construction services, making Robe your on-call contractor at competitive prices. The contract is available to public entities across the state including cities, counties, colleges and universities, municipalities and public school systems.

How do I get started: Please reach out through the City's Help Center for additional information regarding the contract and/or to execute a participation agreement to begin using the contract

To start a project, visit ezIQC and specify Robe, Inc. as your preferred contractor. Once we receive your request, a representative will contact you for more details.

Surplus

When supplies, equipment, and materials are no longer used, have become obsolete or are worn out, the City is responsible for the sale or disposal of these surplus items through a variety of methods, including but not limited to:

• Request for quotes for surplus items with an estimated value of less than $25,000.
• Competitive sealed bidding for items with an estimated value of $25,000 or greater.
• Public auction 
  • The City uses Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (IAA) and Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (Ritchie) to auction cars, light and medium trucks, heavy vehicles and heavy equipment.
  • Auctions are typically held twice a year.
  • Interested bidders can view IAA and Ritchie websites.
  • Bids can be submitted via the website or in person at the live auction.
• Electronic auction
  • The City utilizes GovDeals, an online government surplus auction, similar to eBay, to auction cars, light/medium trucks, specialized vehicles, and other municipal items such as computer equipment, and furniture.
  • Items can be viewed at the GovDeals website
• Trade-in
• Disposal/Recycle

For additional information regarding City surplus, please reach out through the City's Help Center.