AgdaPkt 2002-11-04 - Laserfiche WebLink

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approval of purchases that represent substantially less than $10,000 in 1982 dollars. Staff is recommending these changes in an effort to operate more efficiently. Under the currentprovisions of the City's pumhasing ordinance, much time and attention is being focused on securing Council approvals for very routine business items. In an effort to operate more like a business, staff recommends that the City Manager be vested with more flexibility to conduct the day-to-day business operations of the City. These recommended changes will also benefit the City Council as the number of items in each agenda package will decrease which will allow Council members more time to focus on important policy issues that are presented to the Council. We recognize that the Council has limited time to prepare for Council meetings and believe that asking the Council to devote their time to high "value-added" policy issues is a more effective use of your time. The process involved in obtaining Council approval, including preparation of staff report~ by the initiating department, preparation of resolutions by the City Attorney or minute orders by the City Clerk, and inclusion of staff reports by the City Clerk on the agenda and in Council packages, requires significant staff time. When sealed bids are required the process is even more time consuming since advertised solicitation for bids and bid openings are added to the process. Moreover, observing this process may, in some situations, impair our ability to respond quickly to customer needs. The City Council, in turn, must read and analyze the staff reports for each such purchase. In the 1999-2000 fiscal year, 108 pumhases for amounts greater than $10,000 but less than $60,000 required council action. In 2000-2001 there were 136 such pumhases, and in fiscal year 2001-02, there were 169 purchases exceeding $10,000, but less than $60,000. One City Department has estimated that 1.75 employee hours are required to prepare a standard, boilerplate staff report for equipment purchase. This equates to $107 dollars per staff report, or an estimated year-to-date cost of $14,445. Staff in the City Manager's Department undertook a survey to determine purchasing limits utilized by other cities. In their survey of other Bay Area cities, they found that many had increased their purchasing limits substantially. The City of Burlingame has a $75,000 limit; San Mateo, $100,000; Mountain View, $36,000; Palo Alto, $65,000; Sunnyvale, $50,000; and Daly City, $50,000. Significant efficiency gains will be obtained by this action. We believe this change will significantly shorten the time between when Council formulates policies and when these policies are implemented. The change will provide more flexibility to City staff and relieve the City Council of the need to approve these purchases. The City Council has already approved such purchases in concept through the budget process, so significant loss of Council authority or control would not result. All other portions of the purchasing ordinance would remain unchanged. No change in the Charter requirements for public works or improvements contracts is recommended at this time. Per the California Public Contract Code Section 1101, a public works contract is defined as "...an agreement for the erection, construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of any public structure, building, read, or other public improvement of any kind." As items are being reviewed for approval under the new purchasing dollar 2