Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement And Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consortium directs staff to draft procurement policy and clarifies budget committee role; members discuss consultant selections
Summary
The Clean Water Consortium directed staff to draft a procurement policy and agreed a budget committee process that includes advisory members, while debating whether to sole-source short-term consulting work or issue an RFP for larger contracts.
At its meeting the North County Clean Water Consortium moved to direct staff to develop and present a procurement policy at the next meeting, and the group also agreed on a budget-process approach that brings advisory members into review and approval of the consortium’s annual operating budget.
On procurement, staff and members discussed options for securing engineering and grant-writing services. Consultants already engaged with county or regional projects included GSI Water Solutions and Dakota Consulting (grant-writing). Staff noted Oregon’s model procurement rules and a $25,000 single-year threshold for awarding personal-services contracts without an RFP under state guidance; board members and staff said they could either make short, single-year awards under that threshold or issue an RFP with a higher ceiling to secure longer or larger contracts.
Several members suggested adopting an in-house procurement policy that would allow more flexible personal-service awards; others recommended issuing an RFP to document a competitive process and remove challenge risk. The consortium agreed by motion to direct staff to prepare a procurement policy for adoption at the next meeting; the motion passed. Members also asked that sample procurement policies be circulated to Matt Johnson, managing director, ahead of the next meeting.
On consultant contracting, board members discussed that GSI’s prior work in the study area gives it specific value for the road map; several members and staff said a sole-source determination could be justified on the basis of prior, specialized knowledge. Staff noted that a direct award under the state $25,000 threshold cannot be extended beyond the single-year procurement limit without a formal RFP.
Budget process: The managing director asked for direction on which group should formally review and approve the consortium’s annual operating budget. After discussion the consortium adopted a budget approach (option 1 as discussed in the meeting) in which the managing director prepares the recommended budget for review and approval by the board and advisory committee; members said they will continue to post public notice for budget meetings and provide public outreach.
Other procedural items: The consortium approved minutes from its May 20 meeting in a motion recorded on the transcript; the chair noted the motion carried. Members also agreed to adopt an initial meeting schedule of monthly meetings for the first six months (second Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.) to allow budget work and project startup; that scheduling direction was moved and seconded and advanced without a recorded roll-call tally in the transcript.
Ending: Staff will produce a draft procurement policy for the next meeting, circulate sample policies in advance, and continue to develop scopes and short-term consultant agreements consistent with whichever procurement approach the board adopts.
