West Covina council lowers city manager purchase limit to $50,000

The West Covina City Council voted 4-0 March 4 to reduce the city manager's single-purchase authority from $200,000 to $50,000.

Council members said the change was intended to increase oversight of city spending and better align authority with the city's budget size. Councilmember Gutierrez moved to adopt the lower threshold; Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Viado seconded the motion and the council approved it with Mayor Tony Wu, Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Viado, Councilwoman Diaz and Councilmember Gutierrez voting in favor. Councilman Cantos was absent.

Supporters of the change argued the larger $200,000 authority had been adopted during the pandemic to speed emergency purchases but is no longer necessary. Mayor Pro Tem Lopez Viado praised the city manager for supporting the measure and framed the vote as part of routine fiscal oversight. "So I commend you for doing that, Paulina, because you're showing that you as well support accountability for this community," Lopez Viado said during the discussion.

City Manager Paulina Morales and staff had prepared a report comparing West Covina's manager-level thresholds with those of other cities. The report included a range of current practices and presented option 2'the $50,000 threshold'as the council-preferred alternative. Finance staff noted that larger cities typically set higher thresholds and that differences often reflect total annual budgets.

The council's vote revises the spending limit the city manager may approve without returning to the council; other procurement policies and competitive-bidding requirements remain governed by the city's purchasing policy and municipal code.

What happens next: staff will update administrative procedures and purchasing documents to reflect the new $50,000 threshold and return any implementing policy changes to the council as needed.