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Willacy County approves up to $70,000 in ARPA interest to buy IT equipment after procurement questions
Summary
After staff presented three quotes, the Willacy County Commissioners approved purchase of IT equipment to be paid from ARPA interest with a not-to-exceed cap of $70,000. Commissioners debated whether quotes were solicited under a $50,000 expectation and directed staff to record invoice/back-up.
Willacy County Commissioners on Dec. 11 approved the purchase of information-technology equipment to be paid from accrued interest on the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, setting a not-to-exceed cap of $70,000.
County staff presented three vendor quotes: Data Center Warehouse (DCW) for $49,998.54, PC Nation for $61,427.17 and CDW for $65,715.12. Staff explained that freight was inadvertently omitted from one quote, which raised the total for that vendor.
Commissioners noted a recent legislative change raising the local procurement threshold to $100,000 and asked whether vendors were told to submit quotes under a $50,000 cap. One commissioner proposed limiting the purchase to the lowest quote (DCW); others recommended approving a single motion with a higher not-to-exceed amount to cover the highest quote and freight so the court could move forward without rebidding. The recommended motion selected DCW as the vendor but set the cap at $70,000 to accommodate the highest total and shipping.
The motion to purchase technology and equipment from Data Center Warehouse, paid from ARPA interest (fund 114), not to exceed $70,000, was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. Staff said the purchase requisition will be processed under the county judge’s administration and that documentation (three quotes) will be provided to the court.
No roll-call vote with member names was recorded in the transcript. Commissioners asked staff to report remaining ARPA interest balances and to confirm license renewals tied to purchased equipment.
