Attempted changes to city purchasing code fail after heated debate over manager authority and transparency

The Pompano Beach City Commission voted down a proposed amendment to Chapter 32 of the city code that would have revised procurement procedures, limited certain manager-level authorities and added new review and reporting requirements.

City Attorney Jeff Berman introduced the ordinance as a response to commission direction at a prior meeting. Berman said the draft aimed to balance operational flexibility with additional fiscal controls: it proposed returning the city manager’s contract authority toward a lower ceiling (he suggested $150,000 in the draft presented), required that non-construction contracts authorized under manager-level thresholds be reviewed by the city attorney’s office for form, and called for quarterly reporting to the commission on contracts. The draft also included a 25% threshold that would trigger notification to the commission where a purchase exceeded its budget by that margin and…