Edmonds council adopts amended contracting rules to clarify federal procurement and piggybacking

The Edmonds City Council on Sept. 23 approved amended contracting and purchasing policies and a resolution adopting them after staff and the city attorney revised procurement language related to federal funds.

Why it matters: The changes respond to a 2023 audit finding about procurement of federal funds (ARPA) and clarify that staff may piggyback on contracts entered into by the state or other local governments provided all federal and other legal requirements for doing so are met. The clarification is intended to reduce future audit risk and make the city's procurement process compliant for federally funded purchases.

City attorney Sharon Cates and staff explained the amendment grew out of the 2023 audit's review of ARPA usage and specific past piggybacking on an out-of-state contract. Staff said the policy language and dollar-amount thresholds previously in the policy were not correct for federal procurement, and Cates revised the text to match federal procurement requirements. The memo indicates Fleet manager Carl Rudd was involved in the prior procurement and that the amended language corrects the discrepancy auditors flagged.

Council President Tibbitt said he reviewed the revisions and found them consistent with existing procurement practices. The council moved to approve the amended policies and the accompanying resolution, and the motion passed unanimously.

Ending: Staff said the attorney would be available for follow-up questions and that the change satisfied the auditors' recommendation on the matter.