To: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
From: Executive Office and County Counsel
Meeting Date: October 7, 2025
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Department Contact: |
Sara Pierce Matthew Kiedrowski |
Phone: |
707-463-4441 |
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Item Type: Regular Agenda |
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Time Allocated for Item: 15 Minutes |
Agenda Title:
title
Discussion and Possible Action Including 1) Introduction and Waive First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Sections of Mendocino County Code Chapter 2.32 - Purchasing Agent Relating to the Powers and Duties Delegated to the Purchasing Agent and Other Officials, Including an Increase in the Contract Signature Authority of the Purchasing Agent from Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) to Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000); and 2) Possible Direction to Staff Regarding Proposed Revisions to Mendocino County Policy No. 1 - Purchasing, Leasing, and Contracting Policy
(Sponsor: Executive Office)
End
Recommended Action/Motion:
recommendation
Introduce and waive first reading of an Ordinance Amending Sections of Mendocino County Code Chapter 2.32 - Purchasing Agent relating to the powers and duties delegated to the Purchasing Agent and other officials, including an increase in the contract signature authority of the Purchasing Agent from Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) to Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars ($75,000); and possible direction to staff regrading proposed revisions to Mendocino County Policy No. 1 - Purchasing, Leasing, and Contracting Policy.
End
Previous Board/Board Committee Actions:
On July 22, 2014, Item 5c): “Upon motion by Supervisor Brown, seconded by Supervisor McCowen, and carried unanimously; IT IS ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors adopts the revised Mendocino County Policy No. 1 - Purchasing, Leasing and Contracting Policy thereby superseding the previous Mendocino County Policy No. 1 adopted by the Board of Supervisors on April 17, 2007.”
On August 26, 2014, Item 4j): “Adoption of an Amendment to Mendocino County Policy No. 1 - Purchasing, Leasing and Contracting Policy Pertaining to Clarification of Leasing Facilities Thereby Eliminating Policy No. 20 - Departmental Space Requirements.”
On December 5, 2017, Item 4h): “Approve amendment to Mendocino County Policy No. 1, Purchasing, Leasing and Contracting, amending Section 5.0 regarding local vendor preference in order to comply with FEMA public assistance and procurement mandates.”
Summary of Request:
The Executive Office Purchasing Division is bringing forward a comprehensive revision to Mendocino County Policy No. 1 - Purchasing, Leasing, and Contracting Policy for review and discussion.
Staff currently proposes that the Board introduce and waive the first reading of the proposed ordinance, which would come back to the Board for second reading and adoption at the Board’s meeting on October 21. Staff would then bring back proposed revisions to Policy No. 1 at the Board’s November 18 meeting, to provide additional time for Board review and minimize the gap in time between the effective date of the ordinance and any adoption of the updated Policy No. 1.
The revision aims to bring clarification of some aspects of current policy that have been left to interpretation and, therefore, have been confusing to staff. Additionally, the revision makes procedural changes aimed at increasing efficiency.
The proposed revision is a result of collaboration between multiple departments along with comparison to various other California County Purchasing Policies and ordinances. The policy has also been reviewed by numerous departments and divisions and officials including but not limited to: Executive Office, Purchasing/Contracting Department, County Counsel, Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector, Sheriff, Director of Health Services, and Chief Probation Officer.
Since there have been a significant number of updates to the policy and formatting changes, presenting a red line of the proposed changes is challenging. Staff have created a crosswalk to help identify the types of changes as well as identify page numbers when comparing the two versions of the policy. The crosswalk can be found in Attachment 1 to this agenda item, and proposed amended Policy 1 has been attached as Attachment 2.
In preparing the revisions to Policy 1, staff and counsel noted certain additional revisions that should be made to Chapter 2.32 of the Mendocino County Code regarding the Purchasing Agent.
The following is a summary of the proposed changes to Mendocino County Code Chapter 2.32 and some of the changes proposed for Policy 1:
Mendocino County Code Chapter 2.32
• Section 2.32.030 - Specific Duties
o Amend paragraph (A) to provide for further delegation of certain purchasing authority to other County officials other than the Purchasing Agent. Existing Policy 1 and other countries’ purchasing policies generally allow for department heads to make purchases under certain dollar amounts or pursuant to purchasing methods established by the Purchasing Agent (such as blanket purchase orders or direct purchase authorities). This amendment clarifies that the Board may delegate, such as through the adoption of Policy 1, certain authorities to other officials than the Purchasing Agent.
o Amend paragraph (D) to better clarify that the Purchasing Agent’s authority to enter into leases of real property for the County’s use is subject to the limitations stated in Government Code section 25350.51 (which are restated in Chapter 9 of the proposed Policy 1).
o Amend paragraph (G) to increase the dollar limit for purchase of goods and services that can be made by the purchasing agent without Board approval. Pursuant to Government Code section 25502.3, in counties having a population of less than 200,000, the Board of Supervisors may authorize the purchasing agent to engage independent contractors to perform services for the county or county officers, with or without the furnishing of material, when the annual aggregate cost does not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), except that this amount can be adjusted annually by any annual increase in the California Consumer Price Index as determined pursuant to Section 2212 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. The dollar limit for purchasing agent contracts stated in Government Code section 25502.3 was changed to fifty thousand dollars in 2003. The adjusted limit based on applying the CPI from 2003 to 2025, is $89,151. Staff is therefore proposing a limit of $75,000 for delegated purchasing agent authority for goods and services. Staff believe it is prudent to keep the fixed limit below the maximum adjusted total, due to occasions where there are reductions to the CPI, as seen in 2008.
o Add a new paragraph (I) and renumber existing paragraph (I) to paragraph (J), to delegate to the Purchasing Agent the authority to grant other public entities licenses to use real property. Without such authority, such licenses are required to be approved by the Board of Supervisors. In the past, licenses for fire agencies to work on County property or for cities to make streetscape or other improvements on County property have been brought to the Board. This amendment would ease the approval of somewhat routine access to County properties. The Purchasing Agent would still have the ability to choose to have the Board review and approve such licenses.
• Section 2.32.110 - Alternative Procedure for Leasing County Realty
o Government Code section 25537 contains certain parameters under which County property may be leased or licensed for use by others. Changes proposed include revising paragraph (C) to refer to licenses as well as leases, and including additional procedural requirements in a new paragraph (D), in conformance with section 25537. These procedural requirements include that the delegation to the Purchasing Agent to execute certain leases and licenses lasts until October 1, 2030; section 25537 requires that the delegation last for no longer than a five year period.
Policy 1
• Proposed changes to the competitive procurement process for goods and services will be as follows:
Goods and Services
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Required Action |
Amount |
Proposed Change |
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No competitive procurement |
<$10,000.00 |
Matches current requirement, no change. |
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Informal Procurement |
$10,000.00 - $50,000.00 |
Currently, “informal procurement” isn’t utilized. $25,000 or above requires formal procurement and contracts between $10,000 and $25,000 require formal bidding if held three or more consecutive years. |
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Formal Procurement |
>$50,000.00 |
No change. |
o Informal Procurement is defined as solicitation of at least two bids or quotes for a particular good or service in writing, or by phone. Informal procurement is less rigorous than formal procurement. It does not include a request to advertise publicly and not require sealed responses.
o Formal procurement is defined as involves issuance of a publicly advertised document, such as a Request for Proposal, a Request for Bids, or a Request for Quotes, that solicits responses from prospective vendors who are willing to provide a certain good or service to the County. Formal procurement is initiated by the department requiring the good or service and must follow procedures established by the Purchasing Division. Vendor responses are evaluated based on weighted criteria, such as cost, implementation, relevant experience, and references. A formal process may require prospective vendors to submit sealed responses.
o Departments are required to follow all Executive Office and/or Purchasing Division procedures related to documenting the department’s competitive procurement efforts.
o Other parameters may apply - please refer to attached policy for full details.
• Proposed changes to the purchasing limits for goods and services will be as follows:
Goods
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Approval Authority |
Amount |
Proposed Change |
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County Official/Department Head |
$0 - $2,000.00 |
No change. |
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Purchasing Agent |
>$2,000.00 |
No change. |
o Except as otherwise provided by law or by action of the Board of Supervisors, the Purchasing Agent is the sole representative of the County in negotiating with vendors and preparing purchase orders or formal contracts for purchases of personal property required by any department. County Officials may only make direct purchases from vendors when given specific authority by the Purchasing Agent to make such purchases. All other purchases must go through the Purchasing Division and be accompanied by the appropriate written or electronic documentation. In all cases, County Officials must follow established processes pre-approved by the Purchasing Agent (see Sections 5.3 through 5.13).
o All fixed assets must be approved by the Board of Supervisors.
o Regardless of the method of purchase, “invoice splitting,” or dividing an order into multiple invoices to avoid surpassing an established limit, is prohibited.
o Other parameters may apply - please refer to attached policy for full details.
Services
|
Approval Authority |
Amount |
Proposed Change to Code |
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County Official/Department Head |
$0 - $25,000.00 |
No change. |
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Purchasing Agent |
$25,000.01 - $75,000.00 |
Upper limit increased from $50,000 to $75,000. |
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Board of Supervisors |
>$75,000.00 |
Increased from more than $50,000 to more than $75,000. |
o Other parameters may apply - please refer to attached policy for full details.
Alternative Action/Motion:
Do not approve revised policy and provide direction to staff.
Strategic Plan Priority Designation: An Effective County Government
Supervisorial District: All
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supplemental Information Available Online At: N/A
Fiscal Details:
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source of funding: N/A |
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current f/y cost: N/A |
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budget clarification: N/A |
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annual recurring cost: N/A |
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budgeted in current f/y (if no, please describe): N/A |
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revenue agreement: No |
AGREEMENT/RESOLUTION/ORDINANCE APPROVED BY COUNTY COUNSEL: Yes
CEO Liaison: Executive Office
CEO Review: Yes
CEO Comments:
FOR COB USE ONLY
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Executed By: Atlas Pearson, Senior Deputy Clerk |
Final Status: Approved |
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Date: October 7, 2025 |
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