Springfield staff propose major updates to municipal procurement code, council asks for guardrails and more reporting

Jessica Mummy, the city’s budget and procurement manager, told the Springfield City Council at a Sept. 15 work session that staff is proposing a series of updates to the Springfield Municipal Code governing public contracts to reflect recent state law and to streamline city purchasing.

Mummy said procurement in Springfield is “subject to the state of Oregon laws and regulations” and that the city’s public contracting code—enacted in 2005 and last updated in 2015—has become “outdated” and is creating “an inefficient process for council, staff and our vendor community.” She identified Senate Bill 1047 (2023) and the League of Oregon Cities model policy as two influences on the proposed revisions.

The proposed thresholds in the draft code would set small procurements for goods and services at $25,000 or less (direct appointment or informal quotes), intermediate procurements from $25,000 to $250,000 (formal quotes), and large procurements at $250,000 and above (formal RFP/RFQ and sealed process). Under the draft, small public-improvement procurements (construction, reconstruction or major renovation) would also move from a current $5,000 small-work threshold to $25,000.

Mummy said these revised thresholds are “consistent with state law and what similar and other jurisdictions in Oregon have enacted.” She showed a tentative schedule: staff would return for a council public hearing and first reading on Oct. 6 and, if advanced, a second reading on Oct. 20, with implementation of the revised code planned for winter and spring.

Council members broadly signaled support for adjusting the dollar thresholds but repeatedly asked for clearer internal procedures and reporting so the change would not reduce oversight. Councilor Rodley and Councilor Blackwell both said they were comfortable with the amounts but wanted more structure for the small procurement process so smaller and emerging businesses would receive fair notice and opportunity. Councilor Stout and Councilor Watley expressed concern that raising thresholds and expanding direct appointment authority could reduce competition and weaken fiscal oversight.

On signature authority, staff proposed increasing the city manager’s contract-signing limit from the current $100,000 to $250,000. Mummy listed examples of recurring contracts that fall in the intermediate range (actuarial services, annual financial audit, insurance broker agreements, police patrol vehicle purchases and the animal shelter contract). Council members indicated they were generally comfortable with raising the city manager’s limit but asked for details about internal signature-authority limits for directors and consequences or checks if a contract were misclassified.

On classification of “personal services,” staff proposed replacing a long enumerated list of job titles with a definition focused on the characteristics of a service (specialized skill, discretion, technical expertise), aligned to the League of Oregon Cities model policy. The draft would leave professional-services definitions (architectural/engineering/land surveying) unchanged.

Staff also asked whether council wanted to delegate to the city manager authority to determine whether a contract is a personal-services contract. The draft would allow the manager to classify contracts that meet three specified parameters; staff warned that reserving the authority to council could slow contract processing.

Regarding emergency procurement, staff proposed removing the required 30-day council update for procurements made during a declared state of emergency, reasoning that council already receives regular situational updates in those declared events. Councilors asked for clearer language or action verbs in the code to ensure council receives “ongoing updates” during declared emergencies and requested that standalone emergency procurements (not tied to a declared emergency) retain the 30-day update requirement.

Finally, the draft would prohibit city employees from competing with the public to buy surplus city property and would require a bill of sale for all purchasers of surplus items; staff said the changes were drawn from the League model code and are consistent with other jurisdictions.

Council direction and next steps: staff will return Oct. 6 for a public hearing and first reading with edits reflecting council feedback; staff said they will prepare the revised municipal code and related internal policy documents in coordination with the city attorney, finance and human resources. Councilors asked staff to provide more detail before final adoption on (a) the small-procurement informal-quote workflow and how vendors are notified, (b) the internal signature-authority matrix for directors and the potential effect of increasing the city manager’s authority, and (c) a clearer reporting approach for emergency procurements during declared emergencies.

Quotes in this article are taken directly from the Sept. 15 council work session transcript.