Oxnard council approves introduction of rewritten purchasing ordinance; first reading passes 7-0

The Oxnard City Council voted 7‑0 to introduce and approve the first reading by title only of an ordinance that repeals and replaces Chapter 4 (Articles 1–6) of the Oxnard City Code governing purchasing, contracting and public projects.

The ordinance, presented by city staff and reviewed in the Finance and Government Committee, reorganizes procurement rules to separate public projects, professional services and other procurements; clarifies solicitation thresholds; and centralizes contracting authority. Under the proposed ordinance, the city manager (or a designated designee) would have authority to sign contracts valued at $220,000 or less. Contracts above that threshold would be handled by the council unless the council delegates additional authority. The purchasing agent would execute agreements, review change orders and sign amendments under the clarified structure.

City staff and the committee said the rewrite is intended to simplify a disjointed existing code, reduce confusion about thresholds and authorities, and speed procurement. During committee discussion and in the council meeting, supporters said the changes could shorten some procurements from months to about six to eight weeks.

Jennifer Yates, the purchasing agent, told the council the new ordinance breaks procurements into clear categories and establishes solicitation thresholds for informal versus formal solicitations. Yates said that procurements would be handled on an individual basis rather than being aggregated against a vendor’s total city business for purposes of determining solicitation method.

Councilmembers who served on the governance and finance committee praised the staff work and asked that the city continue periodic reviews to keep the ordinance aligned with state law changes and develop internal procedures to implement the new framework. Ms. McCarran (staff) and committee members said they would prepare internal procedures after ordinance adoption.

There were no public speakers on the item. The motion to introduce the ordinance was made and seconded on the council floor; the council then voted Aye/Yes by roll call: Councilwoman Rodriguez (Aye), Councilman Starr (Yes), Mayor Pro Tem Teran (Yes), Councilwoman Basula (Aye), Mayor McArthur (Yes), Councilmember Perallo (Yes) and Councilwoman Perez (Yes). The motion carried 7‑0.

The ordinance was approved for first reading; no final adoption occurred at this meeting and further readings or adoption steps remain on the council’s schedule.