Council Approves New Purchasing Policy

The Hyattsville City Council passed a The measure passed with only voting against it, saying that some language in the bill was too vague for his liking.

Hunt was not the only one to raise issue with some on the language in the measure. , who–along with –was absent from last night's meeting, also raised concerns in a memo to city staff about ambiguity in certain sections of the policy.

Part of their concerns focused on section 11.17 of the procurement policy, which lays out the circumstances and authorities when contracts and purchase orders can be changed. Both Hunt and Hollingsworth wanted language which gave the City Council greater oversight into change orders for projects approved by city council.

City Treasurer Elaine Stookey suggested additional language to require council approval for "significant or substantial" changes in an already approved contract was adopted by City Council. Still, this did not appease Hunt. 

"I thought the language in 11.17 was a bit ambiguous, a bit too ambiguous for me. I wish we could have ironed that out, but we didn't and it's not a big deal" said Hunt after the meeting. "I think overall the procurement policy is a very good thing and will be good for the city moving forward. The ambiguity with the language I don't think took care of my concerns about information coming to council in a timely fashion." 

The hefty, 112 page document Within the document are templates for evaluation sheets to rank contractors, travel request forms and credit card purchase approval forms. 

City officials hope that the new policy will help assure vendors that they will receive fair and equal treatment during the procurement process as well as provide a framework to get the best bang for the city's buck on contracted services and other purchases. 

As a general guideline, the document encourages using local resources whenever possible in purchasing decisions. It also requires city staff to document the reasons why they chose a product or service over a competitor. 

It also lays out several prohibitions for employees involved in procurement. City employees must disclose any interests or family relationships they may have in any businesses which may contract or sell to the city. It also bans the purchasing of goods and services from entities owned or operated by a city employee or their direct relatives. 

The policy also calls for the creation of a new position, the Public Purchasing Agent, who would oversee the city's procurement efforts.