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Council to repeal ordinance and adopt comprehensive procurement and P‑card policies; July 1 target
Summary
Finance staff reported plans to repeal ordinance section 7‑11 and replace it with a detailed procurement policy and a purchasing card policy that raises approval thresholds and gives departments more flexibility; staff seeks July 1 implementation to allow training.
Leslie Wilder, finance director, told council the city plans to repeal ordinance section 7‑11 (expenditures and purchasing) and adopt a detailed procurement policy and a purchasing card policy to modernize thresholds and streamline departmental purchasing.
Wilder said the move from ordinance to policy will allow more flexible updates over time and that previous thresholds (e.g., an earlier $1,000 threshold for city administrator approval) had constrained operations. "We moved those thresholds up," she said, and the new policy will give departments more flexibility while centralizing procurement expertise in a procurement coordinator role.
Staff said the procurement coordinator and subsequent hires helped draft the policy and that the final document includes more detailed processes than the current ordinance. Council was told the first reading to repeal the ordinance will be scheduled at the next meeting and that the council will be asked to consider the procurement policy on May 18 with an effective date of July 1 to allow training and transition.
Wilder also described a purchasing card policy with clarified allowable uses and internal controls; the administration plans training and department rollout ahead of the July 1 effective date.
