Purchasing

Description

The procurement function is done by the purchasing agent and the accounting generalists. They carry out the city’s purchasing policies and activities.

The purchasing agent also works with our insurance agent to adequately insure all city property at the lowest possible cost. The accounting generalists review purchase orders, invoices, and receiving reports for city purchases and do disbursements to pay for goods and services received.

Doing Business with the City

In order to do business with the City of Norwich, a vendor must:

The city purchasing process can be summarized as follows:

  • Purchases up to $1,000 are usually acquired by purchase card
  • Purchases between $1,000 and $3,000 are usually ordered by purchase order and paid by check or electronic transfer
  • Purchases between $3,000 and $34,999 usually require at least three quotes * from vendors; are ordered by purchase order and paid by check or electronic transfers
  • Purchases over $35,000 ø usually require a formal public bid*; are ordered by contract/ purchase order and are paid by check or electronic transfers.

* There are exceptions for items covered by State of Connecticut Department of Administrative Services, Federal GSA, or other consortium-negotiated contracts as well as single-source items.

ø Effective October 1, 2025, the bid threshold increased from $25,000 to $35,000 pursuant to CT Public Act 25-92.