Council and City Administration

Bid Opportunities

Effective June 11, 2022, the City has paused vaccination, testing and active screening requirements for Contractors under the COVID-19 Contractor Vaccination Policy.

The City of Burlington is committed to fair and transparent procurement practices to get the best value for our taxpayers.

bids and tenders

We use bids&tenders for digital procurement management and all construction-related bidding. This tool allows bidders to receive notice of bid opportunities and to submit bids and proposals to the City electronically.

The bids&tenders platform uses real-time technology to update information on bid opportunities. It offers many helpful features, including:

Vendor dashboard to track and manage bids
Automated email notifications of bid opportunities
Ability to withdraw, edit changes and resubmit
Built-in calculator to avoid mathematical errors
Compliance checker
Reminder notification if a bid has been started but not submitted

Create a vendor account

You can create an account for either an unlimited annual subscription or a one-time bid opportunity. The unlimited subscription has an annual fee and includes access to all agencies using the program across Canada. For those who choose not to subscribe, there is a one-time fee per bid opportunity.

How to create a vendor account on bids&tenders

If you are a vendor wanting to register for an unlimited annual subscription, follow these steps.

Create account

Start by going to City of Burlington's bids&tenders and click “Create Account” at the top right of the page.

Fill out the Organization Details Form

Fill out the form with your business's information, including full legal name, address and website.

Select your notification categories

Under “Categories”, check off which categories you'd like to receive notifications from.

Select your agency notifications

Under “Agency Notifications”, all agencies will be selected by default. You can remove this by clicking on “All”. Select any organization you'd like to receive bid notifications from.

Enter your contact information

Under “Contact”, fill in your personal contact information and create your account password. You can click on “invite another contact” to add other users to the account.

Subscribe and Register

If you want to register for the annual subscription, check off the “Annual Subscription” box and then click “Register” to submit your payment information. If you do not wish to subscribe, simply click “Register”.

You can also view a video tutorial on how to create a bids&tenders account.

After creating a vendor account, you can select commodity codes for goods and services that you supply. The bidding system will notify you of the bid opportunities matching these commodity code selections by email.

Fees

Use of bids&tenders requires an annual subscription fee or bidders may pay a one-time fee per bid opportunity. City of Burlington document fees a also apply.

Purchasing and technical support

For questions about your account, visit the bids&tenders Vendor Support Portal.

For technical support, please email support@bidsandtenders.ca or call 1-800-594-4798.

If you have questions about a specific bid opportunity, please direct your inquiry to the contact listed in the bid document. You can also contact Procurement Services at procurement@burlington.ca or 905-335-7600, ext. 7710.

Procurement services

The role of Procurement Services is to provide a centralized, corporate-wide procurement strategy. This includes making best value decisions and minimizing risk related to:

Procuring goods and services
The sale of revenue generating rights
Forming and managing contracts between the city and its commercial partners

Procurement Services staff is responsible for:

The Procurement Bylaw (By-law 004-2022)
Setting procurement policies, guidelines and procurement procedures
- Bid Opportunities Standard Terms and Conditions
- Sample Vendor Performance Evaluation Form
Administering all Requests for Proposal (RFPs) and quotes and tenders over $50,000 for all City departments

Procurement services contacts

If you have any questions about our procurement policies or a specific bid solicitation, please contact one of our procurement team members:

Melissa Mordue, CPPB
Manager of Procurement Services
melissa.mordue@burlington.ca
Colleen Selkirk CPPO, CPPB
Senior Buyer
colleen.selkirk@burlington.ca
Rahul Kulkarni MBA, CSCMP, CPPB
Senior Buyer
rahul.kulkarni@burlington.ca
Derek White CSCMP, CPPB, NIGP-CPP
Senior Buyer
derek.white@burlington.ca
Sylvia Gerono
Administrative Assistant, Procurement and Financial Services
sylvia.gerono@burlington.ca

Departmental authority

All City departments have delegated authority to administer their own procurement of goods and services under $50,000. The engineering department has delegated authority to administer quotes and tenders for construction projects over $50,000.

Green procurement

The City also has a Green Procurement Policy and has incorporated green procurement principles into its procurement practices, including:

Making bulk purchases where possible to reduce packaging.
Installing lighting retrofits at City facilities to improve energy efficiency
Reusing concrete and asphalt for road work.
Using recycled oil in vehicles.
Upgrading the former print shop to the Digital Copy Centre which minimizes the use of chemicals
Using environmentally-friendly cleaning products in City facilities

We have also developed a Green Procurement Checklist and Green Procurement Guidelines to help City staff align with our green principles.

Green Procurement Checklist

Project Description

This checklist is meant to be a quick reference to assist staff when proceeding with a purchase of a good or service (including payment cards, invoices, etc.) on behalf of the City of Burlington.

For additional information on how to implement the Green Procurement Policy, staff should refer to the Green Procurement Guideline. The guideline provides more detailed information on green procurement terms, environmental certification programs, department roles and responsibilities, and tips to avoid greenwashing.

General Life Cycle Considerations When Purchasing Goods Or Services

Confirm the Need to Buy

In order to confirm the need to buy, ensure that:

The good/service is necessary and other options for meeting the need have been explored. For example, is there a comparable good available internally?
The good cannot be shared between offices/departments, borrowed from another office/department or rented on a short term basis.
quantity of the service or good is appropriate, required, and sure to be utilized.
Can the good or service be consolidated with other similar projects?
All elements and features of the good or service are necessary.
The good or service will be required until the end of its useful life. If not, can the good be easily reallocated to another municipal use or donated to an appropriate community group or agency? For reallocation or donation Purchasing Services will need your Manager’s approval and if the value of the good or service is over $50,000, your Director’s approval will be required.

Environmental Attributes

Ensure that wherever possible, goods procured by the City of Burlington have as many as possible of the following environmental attributes:

The good has a recognized environmentally related certification or label from an independent third party organization (e.g. ENERGY STAR®, Green Seal^TM, EcoLogo^TM)

The good is free from or has minimal hazardous ingredients and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Consult the good’s MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for more information.
The good is Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified
The good can be reused or recycled using an existing collection program or technology
The good minimizes waste
The good is made of recycled content
The good is energy efficient and has achieved ENERGY STAR certification
The operation and maintenance required for the good is not environmentally damaging
The good minimizes emissions where possible
The good is designed to reduce consumption (i.e. rechargeable batteries; has a longer lifecycle, etc.)

Packaging

Consider the good’s packaging as part of the purchasing process to comply with the City of Burlington’s waste reduction objectives:

There is minimal packaging
The good is packaged in bulk, where feasible
The good packaging is made of recycled content and is accepted in the Region’s existing recycling program, where possible
If the packaging material cannot be recycled or reused, the vendor should be requested to take it back
Avoid styrofoam packaging where possible
Consider the most environmentally friendly packaging available when evaluating goods
In the purchasing process bidders should be made aware that the City will give due consideration to reduced packaging to minimize waste

Good Disposal

Consider the end of the good’s life cycle at the time of purchase:

The good can be reused or refurbished for further use (e.g. furniture)
How easily the good can be re-sold or re-allocated
The vendor will take the good back at the end of its lifecycle and re-use parts where possible or dispose of it in an environmentally friendly way. Check to see if there is an additional cost.
Recycled materials are used to make replacement parts, where available

Co-operative procurements

The City may participate in co-operative procurements with various buying groups. These include, but are not limited to:

The Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace (OECM)
The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS)
The Halton Co-Operative Purchasing Group (HCPG)
The Association of Municipalities of Ontario's (AMO)
Local Authority Services (LAS)
Metrolinx
Other municipal and public sector partners

Ethics Statements

Procurement Services is guided by the following codes of ethics:

Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) Professional Code of Ethics

Members in the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) and its affiliated Institutes and Corporation shall abide by the Constitution and the Rules and By-Laws of the Institute or Corporation as outlined in the SCMA Code of Ethics.

National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) Code of Ethics

The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) Code of Ethics governs the conduct of every person employed by a public sector procurement or materials management organization.

Ontario Public Buyers Association (OPBA) Code of Ethics

Staff associated with the city's purchasing process subscribe to and practice their professions according to the five tenets outlined in the Ontario Public Buyers Association (OPBA) Code of Ethics.