Sedona council debates overhaul of purchasing rules; staff to revise code and return on consent

Sedona City Council members spent a substantial portion of the meeting discussing proposed revisions to Sedona City Code Chapter 3.05, the city’s purchasing rules and procurement procedures.

The proposed ordinance would add a procurement officer role and formally recognize a procurement manual, raise several purchasing thresholds and clarify types of purchases and solicitations, including goods, services, professional services and construction professional services. Monique, a staff presenter, told the council the draft aligns city practice with state law and modern procurement practices and recommended returning a cleaned-up ordinance on a future consent agenda.

Why it matters: the changes would shift when purchase decisions come to council, how departments document selection of consultants or vendors, and how the city handles construction procurements and contract change orders.

Staff presentation and main proposals Monique, the staff presenter, said the code has had no major overhaul since 2007 and that the draft would codify current practices and add definitions and a procurement manual. She told council the city manager’s signature authority would increase from $100,000 to $150,000, department heads would remain at $50,000, and purchases below $25,000 would not require written quotes though departments would still need to document reasonable pricing and follow the procurement manual. Monique said, “we're proposing to increase city manager signature authority to $150,000.”

Procurement officer, procurement manual and thresholds Procurement officer Ian Cubrow described the manual as…