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Fortuna council introduces update to purchasing code, adopts new purchasing limits
Summary
City staff led council through an update to Fortuna's purchasing rules that separates procurement of goods from public works and raises department-level approval limits; council introduced Ordinance 2025-777 for first reading and adopted a resolution revising purchasing procedures.
Fortuna city staff introduced changes to the city's purchasing code and the City Council adopted revisions to the administrative purchasing procedures on a motion Thursday, saying the updates will align local rules with state law and reduce staff workload.
City staff told the council the proposed ordinance (No. 2025-777) would amend Chapter 2.5 of the Fortuna Municipal Code, separating procurement of goods from public-works contracting and aligning public-works bidding thresholds with the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act (CUPCA). "The procurement of goods is governed by government code section 54,202," staff said during the presentation, and the change would allow informal quote-and-negotiate procedures for many purchases of goods under $5,000.
Staff said the ordinance also sets CUPCA-based thresholds for public-works contracting: work under $75,000 could be handled by force account or negotiation, contracts between $75,000 and $220,000 would follow an informal bid procedure, and contracts above $220,000 would require formal bidding. For professional services, architectural and engineering services would continue to require selection under the applicable government code provision, while other professional services would generally follow the same $75,000 threshold for requiring an RFP or RFQ.
The council voted to introduce Ordinance 2025-777 and continue the public hearing to Oct. 20, 2025, for a second reading. In a separate action, the council adopted Resolution 2025-21 to revise the purchasing procedures in the City of Fortuna's Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual. The policy changes increase supervisor approval limits from $1,000 to $2,000, department head approval limits from $5,000 to $10,000, and the city manager approval limit from $30,000 to $100,000. The revisions also change the supervisory title list to replace the police office supervisor with police lieutenant among those defined as supervisors.
City staff emphasized that the ordinance and policy changes do not allow purchases outside the council-approved budget. Staff said the move to align the city's code with CUPCA will also reduce the need for frequent future code revisions because CUPCA thresholds are updated automatically every five years.
Council members who spoke during the item said they supported the changes as a paperwork- and time-saving measure and as a way to better align the city with common practices among California cities. One councilmember asked about the sequence of approving the ordinance versus adopting the implementing policy; staff explained that the ordinance (the code change) can be adopted independently and the policy carries out implementation, but the council could choose not to adopt an implementing policy after a code change.
The ordinance was read by title and continued to the Oct. 20 public hearing for second reading. The resolution revising the purchasing procedures was adopted by roll-call vote.
Ending: The council's actions move Fortuna toward CUPCA-aligned thresholds and higher departmental purchasing authority; the public hearing on Ordinance 2025-777 is scheduled for Oct. 20, 2025, when the council will consider final adoption.
