Committee backs emergency procurement policy allowing administrator to authorize purchases up to $25,000

The Marshfield Finance Budget and Personnel Committee on April 15 voted to recommend that the Common Council approve draft Policy 4.815, the city's emergency procurement procedure.

Finance Director Jennifer Solinski presented the draft and said the policy is intended to separate emergency procurement rules from the city's standard procurement policy and to define who may declare and act in an emergency. Solinski told the committee that an emergency does not mean a lack of planning but rather an event that requires expedited procurement, and she described a hierarchy of declarations: federal (presidential) emergency declarations, state (governor) declarations, the board of public works or public utility commission under statute 62.15, and municipal declarations under the municipal code. She said municipal proclamations may be made by the mayor, the president of the council or the chairman of the board of public works and that the city would follow its emergency management plan and coordinate with an incident manager when applicable.

Solinski said the draft would allow the city administrator to make or authorize emergency procurements of supplies, services or construction items up to a $25,000 threshold for a "usual-type" emergency; the administrator's purchases would not require immediate council approval but must be reported to the Common Council at the next meeting. "It does not mean I didn't plan ahead or I didn't have time," Solinski said when defining "emergency."

Committee member Natasha asked about a masculine pronoun in the municipal code language; Solinski said the phrase is a direct quote from the statute and that the pronoun is intended to refer to whoever holds the office. The committee moved, seconded and approved the recommendation by voice vote.

The draft policy and the committee recommendation will be forwarded to the Common Council for final consideration.