To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Resolution Approving the Revised Humboldt County Purchasing Policy
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Adopt the attached resolution (Attachment 1) revising the Humboldt County Purchasing Policy.
Body
STRATEGIC PLAN:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Plan.
Area of Focus: Core Services/Other
Strategic Plan Category: 9999 - Core Services/Other
DISCUSSION:
The Humboldt County Purchasing Policy, in accordance with CA Code § 54202, establishes guidelines for county departments to remain in compliance with federal, state and county code, while benefiting from cost savings resulting from competitive procurement practices under the knowledge and discretion of Humboldt County Administrative Office’s Purchasing Team. Modernization of the professional procurement landscape and the intrinsic demands of procedural evolution have necessitated various updates and revisions to the Humboldt County Purchasing Policy. Following is a non-exhaustive summary of changes to the policy.
The revised policy increases the Small Value Professional Services threshold from $3,000 to $10,000. This allows county departments to obtain small value services without requiring a purchase order or contract.
The revised policy requires Board approval or a formal competitive procurement process for any contract term or renewal exceeding 5 years.
Under this policy revision, requests to the Board for department authorization to execute contract amendments may not exceed a 10% increase over the original contract value, ensuring Board oversight for long-term contracts.
Under the revised policy, implementation of websites, software purchases and/or licensing, and purchases of network and/or security equipment is subject to review and approval by the Humboldt County Information Technology Director.
The revised policy also requires departments to use the county’s centralized contract management software to develop and store contracts, which streamlines the development process and ensures consistency in contract terms, provides a single repository for agreements and increases the ability to track expenditures against contracts.
Under the revised policy, the use of a cooperative purchase agreement may be denied at the sole discretion of the Purchasing Agent if the contract does not comply substantially with county procurement practices and/or is determined not to be in the county’s best interest.
The revised policy increases the authority of the Purchasing Agent to surplus county personal property from $1,000 to $3,000.
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
All county funds.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Financial Impact:
There is no financial impact associated to the adopting of the Humboldt County Purchasing Policy. However, best practices and guidelines set forth in the policy will benefit the county through cost savings and compliance.
STAFFING IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impact:
There is no staffing impact related to the adoption of this policy. However, staff will benefit from the clear procedural guidance and compliance promoted under this policy.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
N/A
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Your Board may choose not to adopt this policy, or alter the thresholds of various types of purchases. Your Board may also choose to allow department authorization to execute or amend contracts indefinitely. However, these are not the recommended as it would leave in place an outdated and inaccurate policy detrimental to county purchasing operations, and out of compliance with various government codes.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution of the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors repealing Resolution No. 14-25 and adopting a new County Purchasing Policy.
2. Humboldt County Purchasing Policy
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Meeting of: 3/18/2014
File No.: 16-0396