Inglewood council adopts three ordinances on purchasing, facility use and pay ranges

The Inglewood City Council on Jan. 14 adopted three ordinances that change how the city buys goods and services, clarify rules for renting city facilities and set pay range assignments for fiscal year 2024–25.

The council voted to adopt Ordinance No. 25-01, which updates Chapter 2, Article 5 of the Inglewood Municipal Code governing purchasing procedures. Finance Director Sharon Koike, who presented the item, said the purchasing code has seen "no substantial changes ... since 1980." The ordinance increases multiple authorization thresholds for city officials and revises caps on competitive and noncompetitive procurement.

Council members also adopted Ordinance No. 25-02, amending Article 8, Chapter 2 of the Inglewood Municipal Code to update regulations on use and rental of city facilities, including police community centers and district community centers. Finally, the council adopted Ordinance No. 25-03, which establishes pay range assignments and conditions of employment for fiscal year 2024–25.

Votes at a glance: - Ordinance No. 25-01 (Purchasing procedures): Approved. Council members Gray, Padilla, Morales, Fogg and Mayor Butts voted aye. - Ordinance No. 25-02 (Use and rental of city facilities): Approved. Council members Gray, Padilla, Morales, Fogg and Mayor Butts voted aye. - Ordinance No. 25-03 (Pay ranges FY2024–25): Approved. Council Member Gray abstained; Council Members Padilla, Morales, Fogg and Mayor Butts voted aye (tally: yes 4, abstain 1).

The votes followed motions to waive further reading and move to adoption for each ordinance. No public comments were received during the hearing on the purchasing ordinance, and staff answered no substantive follow-up questions prior to the votes.

Clarifying details in the purchasing ordinance include raised authorization and procurement thresholds described in the staff report: increases to the finance director's authority for goods-only purchases from $50,000 to $100,000 (excluding service contracts); the public works director's emergency purchase authority from $75,000 to $100,000; the city manager's emergency purchase authority from $100,000 to $150,000; competitive procurement limits from $50,000 to $100,000; a new city-manager ratification authority for exceptional purchases up to $15,000; a council-approval threshold raised from purchases over $50,000 to those over $100,000; noncompetitive procurement cap increased from $10,000 to $25,000; and several adjustments to informal and formal procurement caps.

Action notes: all three ordinances were adopted by recorded voice vote. The payroll/pay-range ordinance recorded one abstention by Council Member Gray during the roll call for that item. The staff reports and ordinance texts were referenced during the hearing and are on file with the City Clerk's office.

The council did not attach additional conditions to the ordinances at the time of adoption. The measures take effect according to the timelines and effective-date language set in each ordinance and the Inglewood Municipal Code.