County seeks special‑market approval after Ford shortens ordering window for sheriff vehicles

Sheriff’s procurement staff told the Spokane County Board of County Commissioners on June 3 that Ford shortened its ordering window for law‑enforcement vehicles, which forced the county to request approval of a “special market condition” to shorten the county bid timeline and keep the sheriff’s fleet procurement on schedule.

Staff said Ford moved its ordering deadline from a later date to May 23, ahead of the county’s formal bid process (which had an advertised closing of May 27). County civil procurement recommended board approval to accept the shorter turnaround so the county could remain within Ford’s production cycle. Procurement staff said they still solicited bids and received three responses for the order.

The sheriff’s office plans to purchase a reduced set of vehicles for Spokane Valley and other county uses; staff said the Valley reduced its planned order from 14 vehicles down to 12 for budgetary reasons and that roughly $360,000 of the purchase (as presented) would come from county funds. Presenters said the county plans to pay with internal budget reallocation and a budget change request (BCR) moving money from salary/benefit lines—primarily overtime and payroll savings—into capital to cover vehicles and related computer purchases. Staff said the sheriff’s office believes it can cover the planned purchases within its budget lines for the fiscal year but acknowledged the risk that ongoing overtime and equipment needs could change the year‑end projection.

Spokane Valley’s mayor called county staff to say the city was under financial strain and had trimmed two vehicles from its order; county staff said they ordered only the vehicles the Valley requested. Commissioners asked procurement staff if the request was equivalent to sole sourcing; staff said it was not sole sourcing because the county received three bids, but the board needed to approve the shortened competitive window as a recognized “special market condition.”

Staff said the short‑window item was on the commissioners’ regular agenda for formal approval of the special‑market waiver (agenda item M‑3). No final board vote on the short‑window waiver was recorded in the briefing transcript; staff indicated they would proceed to the regular agenda for formal action.

Ending — Staff said they will proceed with the agenda item seeking the board’s approval to treat the Ford bid window as a special market condition and will follow normal budget change request procedures to transfer budget authority into capital lines if needed.