Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Covina City Council requires council approval for new health‑department expenditures
Summary
The council approved a resolution amending the city’s purchasing policy to require City Council approval before any new expenditures related to establishing a municipal health department are committed.
The West Covina City Council voted 4‑0 on March 18 to amend the city’s purchasing policy to require City Council approval for any new expenditures related to establishing a municipal health department.
Acting Finance Director Maria Luis Olia told council staff have spent roughly $600,000 under an amended contract with TransTech over the past three and a half years while assisting with health‑department planning. Council members said residents had asked for greater transparency about how those funds have been used and for prior approval of any future health‑department purchases or budget allocations.
Maria Luis Olia summarized the proposed change: any proposed purchasing or budgetary allocation related to the health department would require prior City Council approval, and the requirement would be included in the city’s purchasing policy language so it cannot be removed without the council’s direction.
Councilmember Gutierrez moved the ordinance amendment and the motion passed unanimously. After the vote councilmembers said the change ensures transparency and that “not even a penny could be moved without the council’s direction” for new health‑department spending, per council discussion.
Staff told the council that prior expenditures had been drawn from a COVID‑19 federal allocation used in the planning effort and that further steps—state approvals and guidance from the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Finance—remain necessary before a municipal health department could be established.
