Delta council recently approved an update to the city’s purchasing policy.
The revisions include eliminating the need for council approval of contract awards where council has already approved the expense within the city’s financial plan.
In 2006, council approved a purchasing policy requiring council approval of all contract awards of $50,000 and over.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, council approved a temporary policy that would only require council approval for any contract over $300,000. At the time, staff recommended the change due to supply chain challenges and other issues.
A report noted that because of the time required for internal approvals and posting of agendas, the council approval process often resulted in a four-week delay between the close of the procurement process and award of a contract.
That policy was made permanent and in December 2022, the city formalized that amount at $1 million. The updated policy includes the city manager and the general manager of finance being able to award all contracts exceeding that amount, as long as contract awards are made from existing approved budgets.
Purchasing policies in other Lower Mainland municipalities frequently do not require further council approval of items that are already approved by council in a budget, a latest staff report notes.
The city is also shortening the period between public bidding competition for contracts and contract awards.
The move is to help reduce the risk that bidders are unable to hold prices in what continues to be a challenging market for material and labour costs.
Delta’s budgets for the coming few years are expected to provide for significant infrastructure improvements, completion of which will be facilitated by timely contract awards, according to finance staff.
There are several controls in place to ensure the city’s procurement process is properly governed and that outcomes represent best value to the city, the report adds.
Mayor George Harvie asked staff to provide council with quarterly update reports on the contracts that have been awarded.
