Goodyear staff propose procurement-code updates: raise formal bid threshold to $100,000, allow larger job-order contracts

The Goodyear finance department presented proposed updates to the city’s procurement code that would raise the formal procurement threshold, set a higher cap for job-order contracting, and adopt a new process for expenditure authority tied to the annual budget.

Finance Director Jared Askelson told the council the procurement code had not been updated since 2008 and that the proposal would modernize definitions, formalize processes for electronic procurement, and adjust procurement thresholds. Askelson said the city currently requires formal procurement for purchases of $50,000 or more and recommended raising that threshold to $100,000 to align with peer cities.

Deputy Finance Director Kevin Custer described formal procurement as a managed process — public advertisement, selection panels and scheduled evaluation windows — and said it typically takes 30 to 60 days. He said the city currently follows state statute guidance for job-order contracting at $1 million per job order but proposed setting a city code cap at $5 million to expand the delivery methods available for certain construction projects.

Custer said job-order contracting operates like an on-call construction contract (a qualifications-based master agreement) that lets the city use prequalified contractors for less-complex or time-sensitive jobs without running a full selection for each task. He said the city's historical data shows an average job size around $650,000, and the city currently uses four contracts with values above $1 million.

On expenditure authority, staff said council previously set a $500,000 threshold for budgeted items and $75,000 for unbudgeted items. The recommended change is not to alter those dollar thresholds but to change the approval process so items above $500,000 would be included as a schedule with the budget adoption, giving staff immediate expenditure authority for those projects once the budget is approved.

Council members generally supported increasing the formal procurement threshold from $50,000 to $100,000 but several voiced concern about raising the job-order contracting limit to $5 million without additional guardrails. One councilmember asked whether internal procedures and multi-person oversight would control selection of delivery methods; staff replied the procurement manager would have authority but decisions are not made by a single individual and procurement will coordinate with departments. Multiple councilmembers noted that an internal auditor joining the organization would provide additional oversight and audits of procurement processes.

Other cleanups in the proposed code include clarifying surplus-property procedures so police-specific disposition (firearms, K-9s, abandoned property) follows the police code article for disposition, and aligning definitions across code and procurement regulations. Staff also said the procurement team will run trainings on the updated regulations and recommended vendors register in the city's e-procurement system (Bonfire) to receive notices of formal solicitations.

There was no formal council vote during the presentation; staff will return with code language to consider in future meetings.