Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears proposed purchasing-policy updates raising competitive bidding threshold to $40,000
Summary
Interim Director Robec briefed the Milton City Council study session on proposed updates to the city's purchasing policy, including raising the competitive-bid threshold to $40,000 to reflect new statutory purchasing requirements effective July 2024.
Interim Director Robec briefed the Milton City Council study session on Jan. 13 on proposed updates to the city's purchasing policy to reflect recent statutory changes that took effect in July 2024.
"One of the biggest changes in this purchasing policy is in the increase of the threshold for competitive bidding," Interim Director Robec said, noting the previous threshold had remained at $15,000 for several years and the proposal moves it to $40,000 to reflect rising material and labor costs. Under the proposed policy, department directors would have increased approval authority (up to $10,000) and the mayor's approval limit would increase up to $40,000; purchases above that amount would require council approval, Robec said.
Council member Whelan said she supports the change and called the increase to $40,000 reasonable given inflation and administrative burden. Council members asked whether there were downsides; Robec said the change should increase efficiency and reduce audit vulnerabilities and that much of the increase reflects a statewide change in statutory thresholds.
The presentation closed with staff saying the resolution (Resolution 25-1982) will return to the council the following week for formal action. Milton took no formal vote at the Jan. 13 study session.
