Court reviews procurement policy; members recommend replacing 'county judge' with 'county administrator' and adding Local Contract Review Board language

Harney County Court reviewed a draft procurement policy and corresponding resolution on Sept. 16 and agreed on several substantive edits before adoption. Members recommended replacing repeated references to "county judge" with "county administrator" (or inserting both titles) to allow for future administrative arrangements and asked for a new paragraph clarifying the county court/local contract review board (LCRB) authority (proposed 5.1) to be inserted.

Court members and staff discussed aligning the policy, resolution and the procurement manual so language is consistent across the documents. County council will review the edits; the court agreed to move the procurement items to a future agenda (Oct. 21) to finalize the changes and obtain counsel sign‑off. Staff noted the manual already includes 2 CFR and conflict‑of‑interest guidance to cover federal funding compliance.

Why it matters: Procurement policy defines purchasing thresholds, delegation of authority and the county’s approach to federal funds compliance. Clear delegation language helps preserve continuity if the county creates or fills an administrator position in the future.

Next steps: Staff will incorporate the judge/administrator language and add the proposed LCRB paragraph, circulate to county council for review and return the resolution and policy to the court for final adoption on the next agenda.