Code of Alabama

Title 11. Counties and Municipal Corporations

Chapter 102. Common Service Contracts by Counties and Municipalities

ALA. CODE §11-102-1. Joint exercise of powers or services authorized.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or as otherwise prohibited by law, any county or incorporated municipality of the State of Alabama may enter into a written contract with any one or more counties or incorporated municipalities for the joint exercise of any power or service that state or local law authorizes each of the contracting entities to exercise individually. For purposes of this chapter, it is sufficient if each of the contracting entities has the authority to exercise or perform the power or service which is the subject of the contract regardless of the manner in which the power or service shall be exercised or performed, provided that at least one of the contracting parties has the authority to exercise the power or service in the manner agreed upon by the parties. The joint contract may provide for the power or service to be exercised by one or more entities on behalf of the others or jointly by the entities.

ALA. CODE §11-102-2. Contract specifications.

Any contract entered into pursuant to this chapter shall be in writing. The contract shall specify the duration of the contract, which shall not exceed three years. The parties may renew the contract for another term of not more than three years on the same or amended terms by the same method by which the original contract was adopted. Any party to the contract shall have the power to refuse to renew the contract. The refusal shall not affect the authority of the remaining parties to enter into a contract with each other with the same or similar terms of the original contract as provided in this chapter. The contract shall also specify the purpose of the contract; the method to be used to partially or completely terminate the contract; the method to be used to dispose of any property belonging to the parties as a result of the contract upon termination of the contract; the manner of financing the joint undertaking and of establishing and creating a budget for the undertaking, except that no party to the contract shall have any power to incur any debt which shall become the responsibility of any other contracting party; and any other matter necessary and proper to jointly exercise the contract.

ALA. CODE §11-102-3 Approval of contract.

No contract entered into pursuant to this chapter shall take effect until the contract has been approved by the governing body of each of the contracting municipalities or counties. Approval by a county governing body shall be by adoption of a resolution and approval by a municipal governing body shall be by adoption of an ordinance of general and permanent operation.

Title 41. State Government

Chapter 16. Public Contracts

ALA. CODE §41-16-51. Contracts for which competitive bidding not required.

(a) Competitive bids shall not be required for utility services, the rates for which are fixed by law, regulation, or ordinance, and the competitive bidding requirements of this article shall not apply to:

(16) Subject to the limitations in this subdivision, purchases of goods made as a part of the purchasing cooperative sponsored by the National Association of Counties, its successor organization, or any other competitive bid nationwide cooperative purchasing program, or other national or regional governmental cooperative purchasing program. This subdivision shall not apply to goods for which a service or service contract, whether subject to competitive bidding under this article or not, is necessary to utilize the goods. Such purchases may only be made if all of the following occur:

1. The goods being purchased are available as a result of a competitive bid process conducted by a governmental entity and approved by the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts for each bid.
2. The goods are either not at the time available to counties on the state purchasing program or are available at a price equal to or less than that on the state purchasing program.
3. The purchase is made through a participating Alabama vendor holding an Alabama business license if such a vendor exists.
4. The entity purchasing goods under this subdivision has been notified by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts that the competitive bid process utilized by the cooperative program offering the goods complies with this subdivision.

ALA CODE § 41-16-50. Contracts for which competitive bidding required.

(a) With the exception of contracts for public works whose competitive bidding requirements are governed exclusively by Title 39, all expenditure of funds of whatever nature for labor, services, work, or for the purchase of materials, equipment, supplies, or other personal property involving fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more, and the lease of materials, equipment, supplies, or other personal property where the lessee is, or becomes legally and contractually, bound under the terms of the lease, to pay a total amount of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or more, made by or on behalf of any state trade school, state junior college, state college, or university under the supervision and control of the State Board of Education, the district boards of education of independent school districts, the county commissions, the governing bodies of the municipalities of the state, and the governing boards of instrumentalities of counties and municipalities, including waterworks boards, sewer boards, gas boards, and other like utility boards and commissions, except as hereinafter provided, shall be made under contractual agreement entered into by free and open competitive bidding, on sealed bids, to the lowest responsible bidder. Prior to advertising for bids for an item of personal property, where a county, a municipality, or an instrumentality thereof is the awarding authority, the awarding authority may establish a local preference zone consisting of either the legal boundaries or jurisdiction of the awarding authority, or the boundaries of the county in which the awarding authority is located, or the boundaries of the Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) in which the awarding authority is located. If no such action is taken by the awarding authority, the boundaries of the local preference zone shall be deemed to be the same as the legal boundaries or jurisdiction of the awarding authority. In the event a bid is received for an item of personal property to be purchased or contracted for from a person, firm, or corporation deemed to be a responsible bidder, having a place of business within the local preference zone where the county, a municipality, or an instrumentality thereof is the awarding authority, and the bid is no more than three percent greater than the bid of the lowest responsible bidder, the awarding authority may award the contract to the resident responsible bidder. In the event only one bidder responds to the invitation to bid, the awarding authority may reject the bid and negotiate the purchase or contract, providing the negotiated price is lower than the bid price.

(b) The governing bodies of two or more contracting agencies, as enumerated in subsection (a), or the governing bodies of two or more counties, or the governing bodies of two or more city or county boards of education, may provide, by joint agreement, for the purchase of labor, services, or work, or for the purchase or lease of materials, equipment, supplies, or other personal property for use by their respective agencies. The agreement shall be entered into by similar ordinances, in the case of municipalities, or resolutions, in the case of other contracting agencies, adopted by each of the participating governing bodies, which shall set forth the categories of labor, services, or work, or for the purchase or lease of materials, equipment, supplies, or other personal property to be purchased, the manner of advertising for bids and the awarding of contracts, the method of payment by each participating contracting agency, and other matters deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of the agreement. Each contracting agency’s share of expenditures for purchases under any agreement shall be appropriated and paid in the manner set forth in the agreement and in the same manner as for other expenses of the contracting agency. The contracting agencies entering into a joint agreement, as herein permitted, may designate a joint purchasing or bidding agent, and the agent shall comply with this article. Purchases, contracts, or agreements made pursuant to a joint purchasing or bidding agreement shall be subject to all terms and conditions of this article.