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County Commission waives purchasing policy to approve up to $400,000 blanket order for 2025 legal services
Summary
The County Commission voted to waive its purchasing policy and authorize a blanket purchase order not to exceed $400,000 for 2025 legal services, prompting public concern about competitive bidding and use of outside counsel.
The County Commission voted to waive the county purchasing policy and authorize staff to issue a blanket purchase order for 2025 legal services not to exceed $400,000.
Commissioners approved the waiver and blanket order after staff said the county counselor is a political appointment and thus constitutes a sole-source legal relationship once appointed. The item drew public comment questioning the exemption from competitive bidding and whether the firm would be paid in addition to outside counsel.
The county presented the item as an administrative request. Sarah Plinske, county staff member, told the commission the matter had been discussed previously when the county counselor changed firms and that the appointment is governed by county code rather than the competitive-bidding process. "Because this is a political appointment, ... it is not put up to bid from that perspective," Plinske said.
Commissioner Reed defended the arrangement, saying the $220 hourly rate in the county agreement had not changed in 10 to 12 years and that a competitive bid likely would raise the hourly rate. "If we go out for bid, my guess is the rate per hour is gonna go up," Reed said, also noting that multiple attorneys at the law firm perform county work and some fees are covered by the county's liability insurer.
Public commenters criticized the exemption and asked for transparency on fees. A member of the public reading the county finance policy argued that purchases greater than $100,000 must be competitively bid and said it was a transparency issue for political appointments to be exempt. Dr. Justin Spies, a member of the public, questioned whether the contracted firm represented the county in specific lawsuits and asserted that outside counsel also handled litigation in many cases. "John Bullock doesn't appear as your guys' representation, as your defense counsel on those on that lawsuit," Spies said, arguing the county would pay both the firm and other outside lawyers.
Commissioners responding to public concerns said the annual budget for attorney services and the makeup of work across firm attorneys and outside counsel explain apparent differences in who appears in litigation files. One commissioner said the 2025 budget for attorney services was $550,000 and that the Bullock contract was capped at $400,000; another commissioner said last year's expenditures were about $363,000 for the same services.
Motion and vote: Commissioner Reed moved to waive the purchasing policy and authorize staff to issue a blanket purchase order; Commissioner Kelly seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Why it matters: The county's decision affects how legal work is procured and paid for in 2025 and has budget implications for the county attorney line and for possible outside counsel expenses. Public commenters framed the decision as a transparency and cost question; commissioners framed it as a relationship-driven sole-source arrangement tied to a political appointment.
Votes at a glance: The Commission approved the waiver and blanket purchase order for legal services (motion: waive purchasing policy; mover: Commissioner Reed; second: Commissioner Kelly; outcome: approved).
