Council approves large increase to city purchasing thresholds in Ordinance 2025-2

The Ogden City Council on a roll-call vote approved Ordinance 2025-2 to update the city—s purchasing thresholds, aiming to speed procurements while keeping transparency safeguards in place.

Ruby Portellano, purchasing coordinator for Management Services, told the council the municipal code had not been updated for several decades and that the proposed changes "address current market conditions, including inflationary pressures and supply chain disruptions." She said the updates were benchmarked against the Utah state code and neighboring municipalities to improve efficiency.

The ordinance raises the formal solicitation threshold for professional services from $10,000 to $100,000, expands the informal-quote band (proposed) to $10,000–$50,000, and increases the formal bidding threshold for goods and general services from $25,000 to $50,000. Portellano told the council building-improvement thresholds would move from $25,000 to $64,000, and public-works project thresholds would move from $25,000 to $201,000, reflecting state code and CPI adjustments. The proposal also raises bonding requirements from $25,000 to $50,000 and would require written quotes and company letterhead for offers over $10,000.

Council member Mark Graff moved approval; Council member Blair seconded. A roll-call vote was taken: Council member Blair, Council member Choberca, Council member Graff, Council member Hyer, Vice Chair White and Chair Richey each voted aye. The motion passed.

Supporters on the council praised the committee process used to reach the recommendation. Portellano said an ad-hoc policy committee reviewed municipal procedures, relevant state code and a benchmarking survey to guide the draft changes.

The ordinance will take effect per the city—s normal ordinance-adoption timeline unless otherwise specified in the text of the ordinance.