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Council agrees procurement ordinance is outdated; schedules work session to update thresholds
Summary
Council members said the town's procurement ordinance (last updated 1996) contains outdated dollar thresholds (example: $500), discussed adopting the municipal association's model ordinance, and agreed to a focused work session to set modern approval limits and emergency purchase rules.
Council members raised the town procurement policy during the Feb. 23 work session, calling the 1996 ordinance antiquated and out of step with current procurement costs.
Councilmember Kathy and others noted statutory references and threshold amounts in the existing code that no longer reflect market prices. Kathy presented a municipal association model ordinance and recommended updated thresholds (one example discussed was raising a low-dollar threshold to $5,000 for routine purchases), while the town attorney and staff indicated there are existing emergency purchase exceptions but that approval-authority levels should be modernized.
Members favored scheduling a dedicated work session to reconcile the model ordinance with the town’s needs, confirm approval-authority levels for department heads and the town manager, and ensure emergency purchase provisions give staff needed latitude while retaining appropriate council oversight.
No ordinance change was adopted at the session; council directed staff and council advocates to prepare materials for the planned procurement work session.
