Council approves first reading of retooled procurement ordinance, debates thresholds and protest bond

At the April 21 meeting the City Council conducted the first reading of a proposed replacement of Chapter 2 Article 1 Division 3 of the Palm Coast Code — a comprehensive update to the city’s procurement ordinance intended to streamline purchasing and align approval thresholds with operational needs.

Senior contracts and procurement coordinator Natalie Garcia told the council the draft increases informal quote thresholds, formalizes cooperative purchasing participation, defines blanket purchase orders at the department level (≤ $10,000), strengthens sole‑source posting requirements (15 days) and adds a suspension and debarment process for non‑responsible vendors. Approval limits were proposed as: deputy director ≤ $9,999; department head ≤ $50,000; city manager ≤ $99,999; council > $100,000.

Council members extensively debated thresholds and transparency. Council member Ponti said she preferred lower informal thresholds and asked that the $49,999 informal quote cap be reduced back toward $29,999 to preserve public access to procurement records. Several council members asked staff for better reporting of awarded purchases and asked that a confusing paragraph about delegated authority be removed; staff agreed to remove the language and clean up purchase‑order implementation language to specify that purchase orders implementing council‑approved contracts (within approved budgets) would proceed through the city manager’s office.

Protest bond and local preference: Council also discussed the protest/bid bond (currently $10,000). Some councilmembers said $10,000 can deter small businesses from filing legitimate protests; others argued the bond deters frivolous challenges. The council directed staff to consider a scaled or percentage‑based bond (for example, a percent of contract value not to exceed $10,000) that preserves deterrence while reducing disproportionate impact on small local firms. Council examined local‑preference language and asked staff to confirm historic usage (staff said local preference has been claimed rarely).

Council outcome: After debate and a single agreed wording removal the council approved the ordinance on first reading and directed staff to return with refined language where noted; the first reading passed unanimously at the business meeting. Staff will bring the ordinance back for second reading and adoption on May 5, 2026.

What this means: If adopted as proposed (with the directed edits), the ordinance will raise the purchase thresholds that can be handled administratively, codify cooperative purchasing, add formal protest and debarment procedures, and shift some administrative protest responsibilities to the deputy city manager.