Milton moves to overhaul purchasing policy and create dedicated contract-administration role

City staff presented a comprehensive revision to Milton’s purchasing policy intended to address a state-audit finding that city contracting procedures needed improvement and to comply with federal grantors’ requirements.

Sandy, who led the procurement review, told council the update will remove geographic local-preference language where federal grants apply, add written standards of conduct to the procurement policy, and provide clearer internal controls and a procurement process grid matching dollar thresholds to procurement methods. The revision also reflects recommendations from the Florida Department of Emergency Management relating to pre-award disaster costs and recommends an annual policy review rather than the current three-year cycle.

Separately, staff asked the council to reclassify an existing, budgeted vacant position to create a contract-administration role to handle bidding, move approved bidders into contracts, negotiate and finalize contracts, and manage contract deliverables and pay‑request reviews. The position is budgeted in the current year and, if approved, would be advertised at a salary range roughly $23–$28 per hour ($48,000–$58,000 annually).

Councilmembers thanked procurement staff for the overhaul and asked for a side-by-side comparison of the current and proposed policies before final action. “This is probably the best internal control is by each of you reviewing every 1 of those items,” Sandy said. Staff said they will return a final draft with a table of contents and a cross-reference chart showing changes along with the job description and associated documentation at the next council meeting.

No formal vote was recorded; council consensus favored returning the marked-up purchasing policy and bringing the job description forward for approval and hiring authorization.