Jacksonville procurement chief outlines code changes, higher thresholds and new award committee

Dustin Freeman, the City of Jacksonville chief of procurement, told the Community Planning Advisory Committee on an unspecified date that changes to the city's procurement code and a new procurement manual have sped up awarding processes and moved solicitations entirely online.

Freeman said the procurement manual, which went into effect the previous July, incorporated feedback from agencies and is now posted on the city's website. "We increased the formal threshold for supplies, professional services, and contractual services from 65,000 to 150,000," Freeman said, and added that the one-quote informal threshold was raised to $10,000. He said the single-source advertisement period was extended from seven to 14 days and that procurement now reports quarterly to the mayor, council auditor, inspector general and council secretary on single-source and emergency procurements.

The changes matter because they alter the city's buying rules and the workload for procurement staff. Freeman said the revisions were intended to streamline procurement and increase transparency, including new ethics and public contracting language and a plan to publish active contracts on the mayor's web landing page. "The point of this revision was to streamline procurement," he said.

Key changes described

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