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Council adopts revised procurement policy to raise approval thresholds, change on‑call/task‑order rules and require RFPs for professional services
Summary
The council approved amendments to City Policy 4.01 on procurement that raise department and city manager approval thresholds, remove a dollar cap on on‑call contracts (introducing task‑order thresholds), allow greater use of cooperative agreements and change solicitation practices for professional services (RFPs required).
The Camarillo City Council voted on Jan. 22 to adopt revisions to City Council Policy 4.01 (procurement) that increase dollar thresholds for purchasing approval, revise on‑call and task‑order procedures and require requests for proposals (RFPs) for professional services.
Finance Director Mark Scribe and Budget and Purchasing Manager Rayna Robertson detailed the recommended changes after a multi‑month review and a consultant survey of neighboring agencies. The new tier structure raises manager‑level approval thresholds for supplies and services, and establishes the following task‑order thresholds for on‑call service contracts: department director approval up to $25,000; city manager approval for informal solicitations between $25,000 and $200,000; and formal solicitation and council approval for task orders exceeding $200,000. The committee also requested quarterly reporting to council for task orders over $100,000 while the process is new.
The revision also changes blanket purchase order thresholds in line with inflation and provides expanded use of cooperative or piggyback agreements. For professional services, the city will default to RFPs that include scope, cost and timeline so selection can consider cost alongside qualifications; an RFQ may be used initially but must be followed by an RFP when a scope is available.
Council members and the finance committee reviewed the recommendations in multiple sessions; council discussed the benchmarking methodology and the rationale for the higher thresholds. Council Member Tremblay thanked staff for extensive work and signaled support for the changes. The council voted to adopt the amendments.
Vote: Council Members Martinez Bravo, Santangelo, Tremblay and Mayor Kildee voted yes; motion passed 4–0. Staff was directed to implement new procedural checks and return periodic task‑order reports as described.
