Coos County adopts resolution delegating limited interdepartmental purchase authority to department heads

Summary

The board approved a resolution amending county rules to allow department heads to purchase goods and services from other county departments when the purchases are reflected in the departments' budgets for that year; staff said higher-threshold spending changes will be discussed separately due to federal spending rules.

Coos County commissioners voted to adopt a resolution amending county procurement rules (read aloud in the meeting under the identifier the presenter spoke as '25-511-28L') to delegate bidding and purchase authority to department heads for intra-county transactions, provided the purchases are already reflected in the purchasing department’s budget for the fiscal year.

County staff clarified that the change applies to planned, budgeted interdepartmental purchases; if a purchase is not in the budget or is out of the ordinary, staff will return to the board for approval. Commissioners asked whether the county should raise the overall spending authority threshold; staff responded that raising that threshold is more complicated because of federal spending limits and would be handled separately.

The resolution was moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The text read in the meeting updates the county rules and table of contents and delegates limited authority to department heads within budgeted amounts.