This thesis has examined the language of the various statutes regulating public purchasing by local Governments in the State of Indiana as it applies to non-bid and bid purchasing. The procedures outlined in those statutes were then compared to the purchasing practices observed in various local governments in northern Indiana.Attention was given to intergovernmental cooperation, centralization of purchasing, and to recommendations made by such authorities as the Council of State Governments and the National Association of State Purchasing Officials in an effort to determine if the language of the statutes and the procedures actually practiced by purchasers in Indiana local government provide for the taxpayer's receiving the most for his money.Finally, the thesis has provided a number of recommendations for modification of current law through inclusion of a proposed purchasing statute.