Procurement Policy

A sample procurement policy template is provided for agencies to use and incorporate into their transit system policy.  TDOT developed this procurement policy template to be used in connection with FTA and TDOT-funded purchases. While this template is intended to assist TDOT’s subrecipients in meeting Federal and Tennessee procurement requirements, its content may also serve as a procurement policy starting point for direct recipients of FTA funding in Tennessee.  As this template may not necessarily meet the needs of every single transit agency in the state, TDOT encourages additions and modifications to properly reflect local procedures and protocols.

In cases where agencies may have multiple programs in addition to transit services TDOT suggests an agency explore separating the transit procurement policy from other programs. FTA procurement rules are specialized and not following federal thresholds for procurement can create problematic compliance issues in day to day operations.  Section 1.5 of the template procurement document gives the context for the issue of separate usage for transit programs.

The procurement policy template is a Microsoft Word document.  Yellow highlighted areas need to have agency personalization of information completed.  In addition to chapter 1, threshold definitions found in chapter 5 contain yellow sections that need personalization to the agency.  Make sure the document is reviewed in full prior to adoption as it does require some operational activities for some types of procurements.  Section 1.4 of the document highlights procurement personnel that will need to be designated and their responsibilities.

Please contact our procurement team for any quesitons.