TITLE: Title
Town Manager's Contracting Authority
PURPOSE: The purpose of this agenda item is for the Town Council to consider modifying the contracting authority for the Town Manager.
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DEPARTMENT: Finance, Town Manager, and Town Attorney
CONTACT INFORMATION: Richard J. White III, Town Manager, 918-7315; Arche McAdoo, Finance Director, 918-7439; Nicholas Herman, Town Attorney, 919-929-3905
INFORMATION: Under Town Code Section 3-1 (b)(9)(i), the Town Manager is authorized to enter into contractual agreements that commit the Town to purchase goods and services when authorized by the Town Council. If not previously authorized by the Town Council, the Town Manager has authority to enter into contractual agreements when the acquisition amount for such goods or services is less than $5,000. Authorization by the Town Council is understood to mean the item or items have been approved in the annual operating budget.
In the summer of 2021, several service and construction contracts exceeding $5,000 needed to signed by the Town Manager while the Town Council was on break. In July 2021, the Town Council authorized temporary contract authority to the Town Manager to enter into and execute all contracts necessary for the operation of the Town. This temporary authority expired on September 14, 2021 at which time contracting authority for the Town Manager returned to the less than $5,000 threshold for goods and services.
Rather than having one set of contracting thresholds for the summer months and another for non-summer months, a uniform standard that is applicable year-round is requested. This standard should also be expanded to cover contracts for construction and repair, equipment and apparatus. Based on a review of contracting threshold for some municipalities similar in size to Carrboro there does not seem to be a "one size fits all" approach to setting limits. Some have no limit for Manager's contracting authority and some...
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