ORIENTATION FOR NEW CITY AND COUNTY MANAGERS
Purchasing and Contracting
Local government purchasing and contracting are governed by state laws and policies in North Carolina. See the following articles from the School of Government’s publication, County and Municipal Government in North Carolina.
Article 20: Contracts, Competitive Bidding, and Conflicts of Interest
The statutes that delegate to counties and cities broad corporate powers necessary to govern and conduct their basic activities include a delegation of authority to contract. Other statutes authorize counties and cities to perform particular functions and contain specific contracting powers. These specific authorizations do not limit the general authority to contract. Indeed, parallel statutes for counties and cities authorize them to contract with a private entity to perform any activity the county or city has authority to engage in.
An important legal requirement for local government contracts is that the person or persons who make the contract must have authority to contract on behalf of the entity that will be bound by the contract. A local government is not bound by a contract entered into by an individual who does not have authority to contract on its behalf. North Carolina law provides that the governing board of a county or city is the body that has authority to act for the local government, and this includes the authority to contract. The governing board may delegate its authority to others within the organization unless a statute specifically requires action to be taken by the governing board or by another official. For example, the state competitive bidding laws require the governing board to award construction or repair contracts that are subject to the formal bidding requirements and to approve a contract under certain exceptions to the bidding requirements, so the board does not have authority to delegate authority to award these contracts. For contracts that are not subject to these types of limitations, however, the county or city governing board has discretion to delegate its contracting authority.
This article provides information on local ordinances and state law regarding contracts, competitive bidding, and conflicts of interest.
Article 21: Property Acquisitions, Sale, and Disposition
As business entities, counties and cities need to acquire and dispose of property. In acquiring property, local governments generally are no different than private persons or corporations, although some acquisition procedures are available only to governments. In disposing of property, counties and cities usually must follow detailed statutory procedures.
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