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Newark council raises qualified purchasing threshold to $53,000; residents press for oversight
Summary
An ordinance to raise the Qualified Purchasing Agent (QPA) threshold and a companion measure for the corporation counsel passed first reading after substantial public comment expressing concern about bypassing competitive bids and reduced council oversight.
The Newark Municipal Council on Sept. 4 advanced ordinances increasing the city’s thresholds for contracts handled by a Qualified Purchasing Agent (QPA) and increasing thresholds for the corporation counsel’s discretionary contracting authority. The measures were presented as necessary to conform the city’s procurement thresholds with state law governing QPAs; council adoption followed public comment and an explanation from the corporation counsel’s office.
Kenyatta Stewart, corporation counsel (appearing in the meeting record as representing the law office), told the council that with a qualified purchasing agent in place the city may raise the threshold for informal quotations: "Before our threshold was 44,000, and it would have been 17,000 if we didn't have a…
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