Commissioners discuss amending bid‑opening rules and a proposed facilities/IT reorganization; both items tabled for further work

Burke County commissioners discussed two administrative proposals — an amendment to the county purchasing policy that would change where public bid openings occur, and a reorganization plan to consolidate facilities, IT and broadband responsibilities into a new director position — and agreed to further review both items before taking final action.

On purchasing policy, staff proposed removing routine bid openings from finance committee meetings and instead having staff publicly open bids when advertised, with final award authority retained by the board for purchases over the manager’s approval threshold. Commissioners debated whether the finance committee should continue to convene for bid openings and whether a quorum requirement should be retained. The item was tabled pending staff redraft and additional discussion.

On reorganization, staff proposed merging facility maintenance with IT and creating a director of broadband and IT by eliminating some vacant positions and staying within the current budget. Commissioners requested a work session for a fuller briefing and scheduled time to discuss the reorganization alongside a planned solid‑waste work session. No formal motion to adopt the reorganization was made at the meeting.