St. Joseph County updates procurement policy to require competitive quotes, raises PO threshold for recurring invoices

The Saint Joseph County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved an updated county procurement policy that tightens requirements for competitive pricing, clarifies public-works procurement under state code, and establishes new thresholds and controls for purchase orders.

Bray Roberts, director of Physical Assets, presented the update and said the policy — initially approved in 2021 — had gaps the revision aims to close. "This clarifies that no matter if it's goods or services, that we want competitive quotes," Roberts said. The revision also adds public-works guidance tied to Indiana code, clarifies requisitioning for invoice payments and includes new language on unauthorized commitments of funds.

Key changes noted by staff: the policy now treats goods and services uniformly for competitive pricing; it adds guidance separating public-works procurement consistent with Indiana code; it sets a $5,000 threshold below which a purchase order will not be required for recurring invoice payments (excluding fixed-asset or new orders); and it adds a provision allowing procurement to substitute a lower-cost comparable house-brand item for a name-brand purchase in most cases.

Commissioners praised the update. "For years, I've never understood why goods and services were not included as far as getting bids," said Commissioner Morton, who thanked staff for closing that gap. The board approved the policy by recorded vote; the motion carried with aye votes from the commissioners.

Discussion vs. action: The item was presented, discussed briefly about professional services procurement routes (RFQ) and statutory flexibility for services under Indiana code, then adopted by the board as the county's updated procurement policy.

Ending: The board voted to approve the updated procurement policy; staff said the change should improve competitive purchasing and reduce unauthorized commitments.