LAUREL HILL — After a 3-2 vote of the City Council, the town may soon have guidelines in place for future purchases and awarding professional contracts.
After consulting with city attorney Dan Campbell, Council President Larry Hendren introduced a proposal to establish a city policy for the "purchase of commodities and contractual services."
"I talked to Dan and we think we should follow state guidelines," Hendren said.
Campbell and Hendren recommended the city adopt the Florida Administrative Code's policy which has a scale of categories depending on the value of the purchase or contract:
• Up to $2,499: Obtain one verbal or written quote
• $2,500-$19,999: Obtain two telephone or written quotes
• $20,000-$35,000: Obtain three written quotes
Purchases over $35,000 "must be formally competitively procured," which could include potential components such as legal reviews, contract development, a pre-bid conference and a formal request for proposals, depending on the estimated value of the contract.
Councilwoman Debra Adams suggested the city adopt the state guidelines as written, saying, "If it's good enough for the state, it's good enough for us."
However, Councilman Travis Dewrell recommended lowering the dollar threshold in each category to better reflect the city's actual budgeting and typical spending.
"Use the same verbiage but change the dollar amount," Dewrell said.
Councilman Scott Moneypenny agreed, and suggested adding provision for emergency purchases or repairs, such as the recent failure of one of the city’s well pump generators.
"This administrative code makes sense; just scale it down to our level," he said. "For something like the well, we should also have an emergency clause in there. You can't leave people without water."
Adams moved to develop a Laurel Hill ordinance following state code. The motion passed 3-2 with Moneypenny and Dewrell voting nay.
Hendren said he would prepare the ordinance for the March council meeting, giving Dewrell and Moneypenny time to research category breakdowns more appropriate to Laurel Hill’s needs and modify the code at that time.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill considers purchasing code