§ 18.90. Acceptance of bids.

No bid shall be accepted as a whole unless it shall be the lowest bid or best bid. If a purchase is made from the bids submitted, the award for each item of supplies or materials shall in all cases be made to the lowest bidder therefor, unless the purchasing agent on account of the quality of the supplies or materials or the nature of the work proposed to be furnished or done by the lowest bidder, or the financial responsibility and reputation of said bidder, deems it advisable that such bid be rejected. In such case the purchasing agent shall present to the city council or board for which the purchase is intended, as the case may be, a written statement of the reasons why such lowest bid should not be accepted, and may advise the city council or said board which, in his judgment, would be the best bid to accept, irrespective of whether it be a higher bid or not, and the city council or said board may thereupon order the purchasing agent to accept that bid or such other bid as it deems best. Provided, that no such bid shall be accepted unless there shall have been filed as provided in section 18.60 the written approval of the head of the department for which materials and supplies are to be purchased. The purchasing agent shall have the right and power in all cases to reject any and all bids and waive technical defects, reporting such rejections to the city council or the various boards, as the case may be. (Code 1960, As Amend., § 471.090)