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Council adopts changes to contract authority and formalizes change‑order thresholds
Summary
Council approved two emergency ordinances amending the administrative code to clarify contract authority (transactions over $20,000 come before council) and set a change‑order escalation protocol: department director approval for <5%, mayor+finance director for 6–10% (reported to council), and >10% requires council authorization.
Council considered legislation to clarify what transactions must come before the body and to set an escalation process for change orders.
"We would be reviewing legislation that is transactions pursuant to which the city will spend more than $20,000," Councilmember Westfall said, summarizing the committee discussion. The change‑order protocol described that department directors may approve increases under 5% (with reporting), increases of 6–10% would involve the mayor and director of finance but still be reported to council, and any increase above 10% would require council authorization prior to commitment.
Councilmembers asked for clarifying language to cover decreases in contract amounts and to remove a questioned subsection (1.10.04); Westfall and administration staff agreed to those edits. The council then introduced and passed ordinance 23‑2026 (amending chapter 1‑21) and ordinance 24‑2026 (amending chapter 1‑29, Finance) as emergency measures by voice vote. No roll‑call vote tally was recorded in the transcript.
