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Vienna council advances ordinance to raise competitive-bid threshold to $25,000
Summary
On first reading the council adopted an ordinance to raise the city—s competitive-bid threshold from $17,500 to $25,000 to align with state and county standards and reduce administrative burden.
The Vienna City Council on April 24 passed the first reading of an ordinance that raises the city—s competitive-bid trigger from $17,500 to $25,000.
City staff and councilmembers said the change aligns the city with state and neighboring jurisdictions, reflects inflation and reduces the number of small procurements that require lengthy public bidding. Under the proposed amendment department heads would still be required to obtain three price quotes for purchases above a lower administrative threshold; staff described other internal safeguards to preserve checks and balances on city spending.
Council members discussed practical issues such as bid bonds and the administrative time vendors now need to prepare bids. Staff said the procurement change should make it easier to find vendors willing to bid on smaller projects and reduce situations where only one or two bids are returned.
The ordinance passed on first reading and will be posted and read again at the next regular council meeting for final adoption. One council member noted a drafting omission that will be corrected before the ordinance returns: the lower three-quote threshold appears in two sections and one cross-reference will be updated in the next posting.
