The City of Castlegar has set a new threshold of $250,000 when seeking council approval for buying things.
Under a new procurement policy adopted this month by council, purchases under that amount can be carried out by staff, provided they are already included in the city’s budget. Previously the minimum amount that required council approval was $50,000.
City manager Chris Barlow told council the city has been working for several years on the revised policy, which covers several other areas as well. He said consultants recommended an even higher amount before seeking council authorization, but city staff suggested $250,000.
As an example, he offered a hypothetical truck worth $175,000. City staff come to council during the budget process and argue the purchase is necessary, at which time council can agree or disagree. If they agree, the truck is added to the city’s budget. However, until now, that purchase would have to come back to council a second time for final approval.
“It’s counterproductive to go back to council and ask, ‘Can we actually purchase the truck for the amount that we already budgeted?’ Why are we coming back to get a second approval for something?”
Barlow said if staff procure the truck in accordance with city policy, there is risk involved by returning to council.
“If we followed procurement rules and our policy and somebody’s submitted a bid that’s in alignment and we come back to council and council says no, then we’re actually opening ourselves up for risk,” he said. “While it’s nice to be feel like we’re coming back to council for authority, really the decision has already been made.”
He said staff wanted a threshold that wasn’t too high but provided enough flexibility to cover everyday purchases and smaller projects. He added that any sole-sourced contracts and any purchases that are over budget will still need to come to council for sign-off.
Staff will also report all purchases between $75,000 and $250,000 to council. Originally, they proposed to do this twice a year, but at council’s request, it will be provided quarterly instead.
Finance director Steffan Klassen said the new policy will result in faster routine purchasing.
Council approved the new policy unanimously.
