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Yuma County officials approve consent items despite county attorney warning about EX Squared contract authority
Summary
Yuma County approved two consent-agenda items after a representative of the county attorney’s office warned that one item would allow the County Administrator to authorize modifications to EX Squared’s contract without board oversight or legal review. The board voted to approve the items and then adjourned.
A meeting of Yuma County officials approved two consent-agenda items after a representative of the county attorney’s office warned that one item would let the County Administrator authorize changes to a vendor contract without legal review.
Speaker 1 moved to approve consent items 1 and 2; Speaker 1 also said they would second the motion. Before the vote, Speaker 5 interrupted and said the county attorney’s office had not been given an opportunity to review item 1. "The county attorney's office was not given an opportunity to review this agenda item," Speaker 5 said. Speaker 5 added that approving the item would "remove all board oversight, public action, and transparency regarding this project" and would allow the County Administrator to "designate any person in the County to modify EX Squared's contract in any manner without review ... which also includes no requirement for legal review."
Presiding officer Speaker 4 called for the vote, received an "Aye," asked if any were opposed and declared, "Motion carries." The meeting adjourned immediately after the vote.
The exchange raised a procedural concern from the county attorney's office about delegation of contract-modification authority for EX Squared’s contract. The transcript does not record further discussion, a formal response from the County Administrator, or a roll-call tally of the vote; the board's approval was announced verbally as "Motion carries."
