Hubbard County discusses raising department purchase limits in procurement policy update

County staff on Monday opened a work‑session discussion on updating Hubbard County’s procurement policy, proposing higher delegated purchase limits for department managers and clearer language to match recent state contracting thresholds.

The presenter told commissioners the county’s 2017 policy is out of date and that the state uniform municipal contracting law was revised in 2019 to change dollar thresholds. According to the presenter, the state threshold that previously required competitive bidding at $100,000 is now $175,000, and purchases between $25,000 and $175,000 require obtaining two or more quotations; purchases under $25,000 may be made by quotation or on the open market. The presenter said the county can adopt stricter rules than the statute but cannot adopt rules that are less strict.

Why it matters: Commissioners were shown examples of how inconsistent departmental expectations have caused operational delays. The presenter recommended giving department managers greater authority so routine repairs or replacements do not need to wait for a board meeting. One example cited was a public‑works garage door replacement that cost about $14,000 and required board action under current practice.

The specific recommendation discussed would set a $25,000 authority level for budgeted items and $10,000 for non‑budgeted items for department managers. Participants discussed keeping separate, higher delegated authority for major operational units such as highway and public works; the draft policy includes language allowing the highway department to approve contract change orders up to 10% of a contract’s value for projects already authorized by the board.

The presenter emphasized that any delegated authority would be limited to current and available budgeted funds and that department managers could not exceed budgeted amounts without returning to the board for approval. The update would also include topics flagged in model policies — such as delegation of signing authority, ethics and conflict‑of‑interest language, and cooperative purchasing options. The presenter said a draft modeled in part on Stearns County’s policy was included for commissioners to review.

Commissioners agreed the change would reduce routine delays for operations such as highway and solid‑waste repairs, while noting the board should be informed when significant unbudgeted expenditures occur. The presenter said commissioners would continue to receive financial reports through SharePoint and that the auditor’s office could provide quarterly updates and an audit trail showing items moved from commissioner warrants to auditor warrants under the revised policy.

Next steps: Staff said it will revise the draft language, check it against the current statute language, and return the updated procurement policy to a future meeting for formal consideration. No formal action or vote was taken at the work session.