Procurement working group seeks faster reviews, higher sole‑source threshold and four more buyers

Working Group Chair (chair of the Budget & Finance procurement working group) told members at a regularly scheduled working‑group meeting that the group had met with seven city departments and compiled recommendations to shorten procurement timelines and improve transparency.

The group recommended streamlining contract approvals, clearer thresholds for what requires council sign‑off, better vendor and department training, a centralized contracts management approach and additional procurement staff. The working group also proposed raising the current $250,000 sole‑source approval threshold, and asked staff for data comparing alternatives (a roughly inflation‑adjusted $340,000 threshold, a $500,000 option, or elimination of the threshold).

The recommendations respond to repeated concerns from departments about speed and visibility. “Not everybody was at every meeting. So I hope you guys had the opportunity to watch those,” the Working Group Chair said as the meeting began, noting the subgroup had met with ITS, Metro Action Commission, General Services, Metro Parks, Library, Metro Animal Care and other departments to build the report.

Why it matters: procurement affects the city’s ability to deliver services and manage contractors across a roughly…