Fulton County staff recommend awarding water contract by line items for efficiency

County staff recommended that the board award the water contract by line items rather than as a single, aggregate contract, arguing that line-item awards allow the county to accept the best-priced bids for each individual work item.

The chair said he and staff (Alan, Paula and April, as named in the meeting) had met and concluded that awarding by line item would be more efficient. They discussed state procurement thresholds: if an item is expected to cost less than a statutory threshold (discussion referenced a $30,000 figure and a later $40,000 threshold under state law), the county may be able to procure items individually without invoking higher procurement procedures.

Why it matters: Choosing line-item awards can reduce overall cost by allowing the county to select lower-priced vendors for discrete tasks; it also changes how legal procurement reviews and purchase orders are handled.

The board also noted the county’s law department would have authority to purchase through quotes under certain award structures, and members discussed whether to set a minimum threshold for purchases to avoid unnecessary administrative burden.