Resident and commissioners press review of professional services procurement and sole‑source practices

A Redondo Beach resident and several commissioners urged the Finance and Budget Commission on Sept. 11, 2025, to review the city’s professional‑services procurement, contract administration and sole‑sourcing practices and to update administrative policies to reduce favoritism and strengthen oversight.

Jim Mueller, a resident who addressed the commission, said professional services procurement and related contract administration warrant closer inspection because the municipal code and an internal administrative policy allow many “professional” categories (engineers, architects, accountants, attorneys, doctors and other classes) to be procured noncompetitively. “There should be some review of these contracts because what tends to happen is people in the city get used to working with a specific engineer or accountant,” Mueller said.

Mueller outlined three areas of concern:

- Professional services procurement: He said the municipal code’s noncompetitive exemption for specific professions can produce long-term sole relationships that allow rates to climb and reduce opportunities for other firms.

- Contract administration: He recommended clearer performance goals, periodic reviews and remedies for missed deliverables, especially for multiyear contracts that cross fiscal years.

- Sole sourcing: He called sole sourcing “a giant loophole” that can encourage favoritism and suggested sampling sole-source contracts to assess whether true alternatives existed. He identified the city’s FM3 contract for a cannabis survey as an example lacking written sole-source justification.

Staff response and next steps

Finance staff and the commission noted the purchasing procedures Mueller reviewed are administrative policies tied to the municipal code rather than charter provisions. Staff told the commission the city manager’s office already has an internal process underway to review contracting, including contract management and lifecycle procedures, and staff is updating administrative policies and procedures.

Commissioners agreed the item should remain on the commission’s agenda for further discussion and benchmarking; no formal action or vote to change procurement rules occurred at the meeting.

Ending

Commissioners asked staff to bring procurement review work back to the commission at a future meeting when more commissioners are present to discuss potential policy or code changes.