Title
Incorporated County of Los Alamos Code Ordinance No. 02-346: A Code Ordinance Amending Chapter 31, Procurement, to Increase the Threshold Amounts for Certain Approval Authority; and Amending Chapter 40, Utilities, to Remove the Incorrect Reference to the State Procurement Code
Recommended Action
I introduce, without prejudice, Incorporated County of Los Alamos Ordinance No. 02-346: A Code Ordinance Amending Chapter 31, Procurement, to Increase the Threshold Amounts for Certain Approval Authority; and Amending Chapter 40, Utilities, to Remove the Incorrect Reference to the State Procurement Code, and ask staff to assure that it is published as provided in the County Charter.
County Manager's Recommendation
The County Manager recommends that Council introduce this Ordinance.
Body
The County of Los Alamos adopted its own procurement code as found in Chapter 31 of the Los Alamos County Code of Ordinances. This procurement code was last substantially amended in 2020, however, the threshold amounts for certain approval authority has not been reviewed or amended since 2008. Since the adoption of this procurement code, there has been a substantial rise in inflation resulting in rising costs. The revision to the procurement code would adjust these authority levels in an amount similar to inflation over the same period and is needed to meet the changing needs of the County, improve the efficiency of the procurement process, and ease administration.
The proposed changes include:
1) delegation to the County Manager or designee, the authority to execute contracts in the amount of $ 300,000 or less (previously was $ 200,000 or less)
2) for utilities department, delegation to the utilities manager or designee, the authority to execute contracts in the amount of $ 300,000 or less (previously was $ 200,000 or less)
3) for utilities department contracts, the authority granted in 2 above is subject to the Board of Public Utilities approval when the amount is $100,000 or more (previously was $ 50,000 or more)
4) small purchase thresholds are also adjusted to $20,000 (previously $10,000) and $60,000 (previously $50,000) and these guidelines are also proposed to be consolidated for all purchase types (both goods and services) for consistency and simplification.
The last change is a clerical clean up item which would remove an obsolete reference to the State procurement code in Chapter 40.
Public Hearing Schedule: July 11, 2023
Alternatives
Council could choose to not introduce this ordinance or ask for revisions.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Unplanned Item
There is minimal fiscal and staff impact due to this ordinance.
Attachments
A - Code Ordinance 02-346