Whereas, federal and state grants are a crucial part of funding for public works and community development infrastructure projects and,

Whereas, federal and state grants are used to help defray costs to local taxpayers and,

Whereas, federal and state grants are still taxpayer money and

Whereas, federal and state grant monies should be put to the best use possible and,

Whereas, regular procurement policies should be followed when using federal and state grant money and,

Whereas, open and competitive bidding derives the best services at the lowest cost and highest quality available to the taxpayer.

Therefore let it be resolved, the [insert governing body] calls on its government staff to engage in a regular Request for Proposal (RFP) process for services when using federal and state grant money. Even if the local government has the capability to generate the service in house, it shall be compared to the services provided by private sector.Many local jurisdictions use federal and state grant money to pay for infrastructure related services. Some local jurisdictions skip the RFP process and use grant money to provide infrastructure related services by purchasing equipment to do work that may be cheaper and better quality had the private sector had the opportunity to bid on the service. This resolution forces the government to compete for services with the private sector when using federal or state grant money.

Adopted by the American City County Exchange Task Force on July 16, 2020

Approved by the Board of Directors on August 9, 2020