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Oconee County board reviews updates to fiscal ordinance, raises procurement threshold to $15,000
Summary
County staff proposed revisions to the fiscal ordinance that raise certain procurement thresholds, formalize a three-business-day deposit rule and clarify RFP authority; commissioners agreed to place the item on the consent agenda with one requested insertion for clarity.
Oconee County staff presented updates to the county fiscal ordinance that would raise procurement thresholds, add a three-business-day requirement for depositing receipts and clarify which staff may initiate requests for proposals.
Melissa, a county staff member presenting the changes, told the Board of Commissioners the review was prompted by rising costs and feedback from departments and vendors. "We had a need to look at Table 1, which is the table at the end of the document, that describes our purchasing limits and authorizations," she said.
The revisions would remove two sections — one reiterating state tax law and one governing salary deductions, which staff said belongs in human resources — and update Section 13 so finance and procurement may initiate requests for proposals for banking services and then return to the board with recommendations for final approval. The update also removes inconsistent references to "contracts and agreements" and relies on the table in the ordinance for approval routing.
On procurement specifics, Melissa said the proposed summary table (Table 1) would change how many quotes are required: purchases up to $15,000 would require one verbal quote (previously a lower threshold), $15,001 to $25,000 would require two written quotes, and $25,001 to $100,000 would require three written quotes. Purchases above $100,000 would continue to require a formal competitive sealed-bid process and board review. "We are proposing that up to $15,000 require 1 verbal quote," she told commissioners.
The draft adds a definition and process for sole-source procurements and tightens requirements for multiyear contracts so renewal options go through a competitive bid process rather than automatic renewal without market checks. Section 28 would require receipts to be deposited within three business days.
A commissioner asked whether approvals at the $10,000–$15,000 band require one official or both; Melissa replied that purchases over $5,000 require both the procurement officer's review and the finance director's review, and she agreed to insert clarifying language to make that explicit in the ordinance.
Commissioners signaled they would place the ordinance updates on the consent agenda after that insertion; no roll-call vote on the ordinance text is recorded in the transcript.
The county clerk or staff said a marked-up document showing all edits and a final draft were available for commissioners' review.
Ending
Staff said they could provide the board with the full change log and that the ordinance updates would return for approval as part of the consent agenda after the requested clarification was added.
