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Council adopts updated purchasing policy to centralize procurement and clarify thresholds

Berkeley City Council · December 16, 2025

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Summary

City staff recommended and the council approved a comprehensive update to the purchasing policy to strengthen internal controls and align with the charter; the policy names the city manager as purchasing agent and clarifies dollar thresholds (references to $7,500 and $3,000 were corrected in motion).

The Berkeley City Council on Dec. 15 approved a comprehensive update to the city's purchasing policy intended to strengthen internal controls, create consistent procedures across departments and align purchasing authorities with the city charter.

Staff explained the new framework assigns the city manager as the purchasing agent (as the charter anticipates) and standardizes review and approval thresholds across procurement categories. During the presentation staff noted they identified necessary ordinance amendments to fully align code language and said the city attorney will draft those changes for council consideration.

Council adopted the policy with an amendment clarifying dollar‑threshold wording in the text (changing language to "purchases $7,500 or more" and "purchases $3,000 or more") and repealed prior purchasing policies. City attorney Hamami was available for questions and staff said the revisions are intended to enhance compliance and oversight.

Next steps: staff and the city attorney will prepare the ordinance amendment to align the municipal code with the new purchasing framework and return to council as needed.