Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council directs administrator to draft updated purchasing thresholds and CPI‑linked annual adjustments
Summary
Staff will prepare legislation to modernize Wildwood’s municipal purchasing rules, raising and indexing RFP/threshold limits to reflect inflation since 1995 and codifying procedures for bids, RFPs and RFQs; council asked for proposal to appear at the May meeting.
City staff and the Administration & Public Works Committee told Wildwood’s council on April 14 that the city code’s purchasing thresholds—set in 1995—have been outpaced by inflation and rising costs, and asked permission to prepare updated thresholds and an automatic annual adjustment tied to the Consumer Price Index.
The city administrator presented a draft direction: set clearer thresholds for informal quotes (under a stated dollar amount), written quotes at intermediate levels, and formal public bids above a specified threshold; explicitly codify procurement types (Request for Bids, Request for Proposals, Request for Qualifications) and establish a CPI‑based annual indexing mechanism so thresholds adjust each Jan. 1 based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI‑U change.
Staff emphasized that adjustments would preserve formal public bid requirements for larger projects while simplifying procurement for smaller routine services. The city attorney reviewed the concept and asked for draft language to ensure consistency with exemptions for professional services (licensed firms) and other statutory obligations.
Council member Dodwell moved to have the city administrator prepare details and return at the next council meeting; council member Marshall seconded. The motion passed by voice vote. Staff said the proposed ordinance and an implementation schedule will be presented at the May meeting for council action.
