Oxnard committee backs overhaul of city purchasing code, sends ordinance to council

The Oxnard Finance and Governance Committee on Feb. 25 voted 3-0 to recommend the City Council approve the first reading by title only of an ordinance that would repeal and replace Chapter 4, articles 1 through 4, of the Oxnard City Code covering purchasing, contracting and public projects.

The ordinance is intended to modernize the city's purchasing system, align local thresholds and procedures with state law and clarify delegation of contracting authority and procurement methods. Committee members asked detailed questions about state-law cross-references, internal controls and how the ordinance would affect routine maintenance and small procurements.

City Attorney's Office and finance staff told the committee the draft borrows some language from state law and that the city should periodically review the ordinance to remain consistent with state changes. A city attorney's representative suggested a review cycle of about every five years, noting major state changes are infrequent.

Committee members pressed staff on how the city will detect and prevent project "splitting"—dividing a single large public project into smaller contracts to avoid formal solicitation. A City Attorney's Office representative said project splitting risks a complaint under the Uniform Construction Cost Accounting Act and could force the city into a different procurement regime. The representative described the act as allowing different solicitation methods for public projects under certain dollar thresholds and warned that if the city lost eligibility it could be subject to formal public contracting rules, which the representative said require formal solicitation for larger contracts.

The draft ordinance sets specific procurement paths and delegation points. Staff explained that some routine designs and traffic or street plans will not come to council when they are below specified thresholds; the ordinance would preserve a design-immunity defense when a public works director or a registered engineer signs off on plans. Staff identified a $220,000 threshold in the draft related to council-level approvals for some projects and said change orders or amendments that push an agreement above the delegated authority would be brought to council for additional funding approval.

Committee members also questioned how the city will ensure adequate contractor participation under informal bidding procedures. Public works staff said the city maintains and annually notifies a list of interested contractors, posts solicitations on an e-procurement site and places notices in relevant trade journals, including regional Ventura County outlets.

On brand-specific or proprietary procurements, staff said the draft allows brand-specific references only when a product is truly proprietary and no reasonable equivalents exist; staff used an example of specialized light bulbs used at an advanced water purification facility that have no practical substitute. The draft also retains procedures for sole-source findings and directs staff to develop clearer internal policies and a practical contracting manual to accompany the ordinance.

The draft includes a small local business purchasing preference (section 4.52). Committee members said the new language appears easier to apply than the prior rule and could modestly benefit local small vendors that come in close to the low bid.

After discussion, Committee member Starr moved and the motion was seconded to forward the ordinance to the City Council for consideration. The committee voted unanimously in favor. The ordinance was presented without an ordinance number in the committee staff report; the motion recommends first reading by title only and waiving further readings.

The item will go to the full City Council for consideration and first reading.