Council asks staff to draft local‑vendor scoring option after purchasing office briefs e‑procurement rollout

Rowlett’s purchasing manager presented an overview of the city’s procurement thresholds, the new e‑procurement platform and vendor registration on Oct. 13, and council asked staff to prepare a Rowlett‑based vendor preference or scoring methodology and to improve outreach to local businesses.

Purchasing Manager January Calhoun explained thresholds: purchases up to $3,000 are informal; $3,000 to $100,000 require competitive written quotes (with HUB requirements for Texas vendors); and purchases over $100,000 use sealed bidding, proposals or other competitive methods. The city implemented an e‑procurement system (BidNet / e‑procurement) in Feb. 2025 to improve distribution to vendors and allow suppliers to self‑register and receive solicitation notifications.

Councilmembers raised local‑vendor concerns after one local business owner said she did not receive a bid notice for an existing embroidery/screen‑printing contract; staff said vendor records transferred to the new system but advised vendors to self‑register to ensure contact information is up to date. January said the new system widened visibility (BidNet reports tens of thousands of registered suppliers) and that formal solicitations over $100,000 also run legal notices in the city’s official paper.

After discussion, council gave staff direction to return with a proposed way to award a small local preference or tie‑breaker (examples discussed included modest point additions for Rowlett‑based firms or chamber members) while preserving competitiveness and fair procurement practices. Councilmembers asked that staff also work with the chamber and other business advocates to ensure local firms know how to register and respond to solicitations. No ordinance or procurement policy change was adopted at the work session.