Purchasing Guidelines

Approved Purchasing Process

All purchases for the Town of Putnam shall be made in accordance with the Town of Putnam Charter and in concert with the annually adopted budget.  The use of Purchase Orders for goods and/or services in excess of $1000 is strictly enforced (with certain emergency situations and prior approval).  Purchase orders should be generated for the purpose of encumbering departmental regularly occurring expenditures for the approved budget in the current Fiscal Year by the end of July in that budget year. 

The purpose of encumbering known pending expenses is for proper accounting practices and for accurate report generation, fund level tracking and general ledger maintenance.  When spontaneous or urgent expenses are incurred, a Purchase Order for already expended funds is not required but this should be the exception and not the rule.  A Purchase Order is expected when the pending expense is known within a (30) day window.

For additional direction please refer to the Town of Putnam Charter regarding Bid Awards and the Bid Processing Policy.