Council debates new procurement ordinance language to give members a larger role on evaluation committees

Council members spent a portion of the meeting discussing proposed changes to the county procurement process and the RFP evaluation committee structure. Speakers said the intent of the proposed language is to allow more council “eyes in the room” during vendor evaluations for larger or more consequential contracts and to give council earlier input when the administration drafts RFPs. One council member said that for major projects, including IT or building work, council should be able to increase the number of members on an evaluation committee. “Having more eyes in the room, ears in the room that can bring back to council as the contract amounts go up” was cited as the rationale. Members debated whether the number of council participants should be fixed by dollar thresholds (for example $100,000–$300,000) or decided project-by-project. Concerns raised included member availability for committee meetings that can require multiple hours and that some routine contracts may not need council participation. Examples discussed included a prior parking garage procurement and planned disaster recovery IT work; one speaker said disaster-recovery upgrades should not require multiple council members to sit on the evaluation committee. The proposed ordinance language included options for up to three council members on an evaluation committee, but several council members asked for wording that permits flexibility tied to project significance rather than strict dollar bands. There was no formal vote; the group directed council members to submit suggested language edits to staff (Ms. Shafnisky) by Friday for inclusion on a subsequent agenda. No formal changes were adopted during the session; members agreed to continue refining the ordinance and to circulate edits for staff review.