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Board adopts contract policy manual and allows higher JOC contract caps with justification
Summary
Supervisors adopted a 2026 Contract Policy Manual that sets a default $3 million threshold for many contracts but allows departmental justification for exceptions, including higher caps for general contracting job order contracts (JOC) to preserve low-bid pricing.
The Board adopted a revised 2026 Contract Policy Manual (CPM) and related changes to procurement procedures that shift selection of RFP/RFQ candidates earlier in the process so the board can authorize negotiation before final award.
Maria Grama, the county procurement officer, told supervisors the manual is silent on the ASR procedural steps but that guidance updates and ASR background language will be revised to reflect the new workflow. "They will now come one time for selection earlier on in the process, asking for authority to then negotiate an award," Grama said.
Supervisors debated whether staff should still provide evaluative recommendations as part of the ASR background. Supervisor Sarmiento pressed to retain staff guidance in the ASR so the board sees how panel scoring and technical evaluations led to rankings. Grama agreed to include procedural background and suggested staff could provide a recommendation in the ASR background for the board’s consideration.
On a related procurement item, Kevin Alluma of OC Public Works explained job-order-contract (JOC) work often requires higher per-contract dollar amounts to attract low-bid contractors for general contracting projects; departments will be required to justify larger amounts in ASR background. The board approved the policy changes and related contract delegations.
Supervisors asked staff to draft standardized ASR template language to ensure consistent justifications when requests exceed the manual’s default thresholds.
