The Queenstown Lakes District Council is overhauling its procurement system, aiming to ensure its ratepayers benefit from high quality services at the ''best possible price''.
Professional service providers are being invited to register their interest for selection as a ''preferred supplier'' - those who were successful would either be appointed the sole preferred supplier, or appointed to a panel of preferred suppliers for a fixed period of two years, with renewal options.
The requests for proposals, to be progressively advertised on the Government Electronic Tenders Service next month and in November, would cover a range of commercial and professional services across engineering, insurance, banking, legal, planning and property management services.
Council chief executive Adam Feeley said the immediate goal was to balance quality of service with value for money.
''Tendering every piece of work can, in fact, increase costs for council.
''Aside from the time cost of the exercise, service providers do not always offer best prices where there is no prospect of continuity.
''This arrangement aims to secure best prices by offering some level of certainty, while still maintaining competitive tension by having a panel to select from for any one piece of work; and by the fixed period for the arrangement.''
Mr Feeley said price would be important but would not be the only determining factor. The quality of the proposal and reputation would also be considerations.
The council already benefited financially from access to the all-of-government contracts, which established a single supply agreement between the Crown and approved suppliers for the supply of selected common goods and services purchased across central and local government.
