Committee reviews contract ratification policy; questions raised about $70,000 threshold and vendor risk

County staff and commissioners discussed the county’s contracting authorization and ratification process, focusing on the policy that allows certain contracts to be signed and later ratified by the board when the contract amount falls below established thresholds.

Staff explained that the county uses a post-ratification process for contracts under the current $70,000 threshold: contracts are reviewed by corporate counsel and fiscal services, signed by authorized staff, and then brought to the board for ratification at a subsequent meeting. The process was designed to allow operations to proceed without delaying services when statutory approvals or timing could prevent immediate board consideration.

Commissioners asked how many times contracts are reviewed before reaching the administrator for signature; staff said corporate counsel and fiscal services both review them. County corporate counsel read the standard contract language used in recent agreements: if the board refuses to ratify a contract after it is signed, the contract is null and void but the county will compensate a contractor for any services performed and reasonably relied upon prior to non-ratification. Several commissioners said they would like to see the contracting policy and the $70,000 threshold reviewed and asked staff to provide the contracting policy location and its last review date (the presenter said the contracting policy is documented under Legal Policies and last reviewed Oct. 28, 2024).

Discussion points included whether the $70,000 threshold remains appropriate, whether the board should see some contracts earlier, whether ratification exposes the county to vendor liability when signed contracts proceed before board ratification, and whether the board should consider more frequent committee review or delegate approval authority to the finance committee with safeguards. County counsel told commissioners the board may delegate contracting authority to a committee if it chooses, and cautioned that committee meetings are not equivalent to board action unless the board delegates authority by policy.

Ending: Commissioners asked legal and fiscal staff to return with the contracting authorization policy, the resolution establishing the $70,000 threshold, and options for more frequent review or delegation (including a costs/benefits analysis and a recommendation on whether to change the threshold or move to a bimonthly review cadence).