Purchasing & Public Works Finance

The Finance/Purchasing division is responsible for the Public Works budget preparation and oversight during the year including the processing of all insurance claims for the department, oversight for all contract administration and safety strategies for the department. This division is also responsible for the strategic purchasing of goods and services for the entire City staff by combining the needs of all city departments to assure the best overall pricing possible.

Bids

View a list of projects and/or equipment that the city is currently accepting bids on, or recently completed the bidding process.

Contracts

Contract administration for the Public Works Department is a diversified area for staff to work on. Contracts and lease agreements can mean anything from a cell tower lease on one of the City's water towers to oversight on the expenses for the new bandshell in Central Park. The term of a lease agreement can be anywhere from six months to twenty years. The amount of a contract can be for several thousand dollars or several million dollars.

The number of contracts and leases being administered each year would typically be between 40 and 60. Staff is responsible for the monthly billing on some leases and making sure that the terms of the agreement are being followed on other contracts. A computerized database has been developed to help staff maintain billing, contact and length of term information for most major lease agreements on City property.

Public Works Finance

Each year, an annual budget for operating expenses and capital improvement expenditures for the Public Works Department is prepared for review and approval by the City Council. This is typically a six to nine month process, which currently represents approximately $18 million for operating expenses and $10 million for capital expenses each year.

Within this budget there are separate components that cover building maintenance, parks, recreation, street maintenance, street lighting, street signs, cemetery maintenance, parking ramps, storm water, airport, refuse & recycling, water utilities, sewer utilities, Red Wing Airport and internal operations.

The finance division is also responsible for oversight on the current year's budget to assist the Public Works Director in planning the overall activities in the department while staying within the budget that has been approved by the City Council.

Purchasing

Government Purchasing

The City of Red Wing follows purchasing guidelines as identified in the Federal Model Procurement Code. The Model Procurement Code for State and Local Governments is issued by the State of Minnesota's Procurement Policy Office and establishes policies, procedures and guidelines relating to the procurement, management, control and disposal of supplies, services and construction. These regulations are designed to achieve maximum practicable uniformity through the State of Minnesota.

The City's purchasing staff is responsible for preparing bid specifications and overseeing the entire bid process for all goods and services used throughout the City that exceed $100,000.00 in value. Staff also works on smaller purchases to assure that the City is getting the best value for the products needed by each department. The purchasing staff is fully certified by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and continues to train in the best practices for government procurement in order to assure that the Citizens of Red Wing are receiving the greatest value for the public funds being spent.

Purchasing Manual (PDF)

Strategic Purchasing

The City's purchasing staff works closely with other governmental agencies to lower the city’s overall cost of operations even further. A member of multiple cooperative purchasing groups, the dollar volumes of many agencies can be combined to lower the overall cost of goods and services for each agency. The State of Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing Venture is the joint contract that is used most frequently. Annually, the City of Red Wing saves $50,000 to 100,000 from the purchases made under this agreement.

Safety

It is the goal of all City departments to make sure that we are providing quality services to our citizens in a safe manner. Keeping up with the changes in the OSHA Safety Standards, Americans with Disabilities Act, Indoor Air Quality, Confined Space Requirements, Vehicle Operations Safety Standards and other regulations that guide our daily operations is a continuous process. Training for all workers and supervisors in safe way to get the job done is ongoing for this department.