MOTION-- The City has many standing contracts for the purchase of goods used by City staff,
including contracts for office supplies, equipment and furniture. In general, these contracts are
intended to ensure that the City gets the benefit of efficiencies of scale and therefore a lower price
for goods that it frequently purchases.

However, especially in situations where such contracts are exclusive, there have been
situations in which goods purchased by the City pursuant to such contracts are higher priced than
identical or similar items that are advertised and freely available on the market.

The City should never pay more for goods than the price for which those goods are
advertised to the public. The General Services Department, with the assistance of the City
Administrative Officer and City Attorney, should report on best practices in procurement in order
to ensure the City is getting the most competitive pricing on the goods it purchases, including but
not limited to "most favored nation" clauses in contracts, price match guarantees in contracts,
mandates that City agencies purchase goods at the lowest advertised price regardless of exclusive
procurement contracts, changes to the procurement process itself to ensure the lowest available
process and other potential changes in purchasing practices.

I THEREFORE MOVE that the General Services Department, with the assistance of the
City Attorney and the City Administrative Officer, be directed to report on best practices in
procurement and potential changes to the City's procurement and contracting practices to ensure
that the City gets the best advertised price for purchased goods.