City-wide cost controls and new procurement notice rules could lengthen contract timelines, CEO says

City cost-control measures and changes to state notice rules are likely to lengthen some contract procurement timelines, the retirement board heard on Jan. 29.

CEO Flynn told the board the city manager enacted measures aimed at bridging a projected fiscal-year-2027 general-fund gap "in the ballpark of $55,000,000 to $65,000,000." The measures include a hiring freeze (effective Dec. 22), reduced overtime and restrictions on discretionary travel. Flynn said new public-agency contracting notice requirements that went into effect Jan. 1 will require coordination with the Office of Employee Relations; that process can trigger a minimum 45-day waiting period for applicable procurements and extensions when union work is implicated. "When our procurement process is already at a minimum taking 4 months and we add 45 days to it... now we're looking at 6 months to 9 months," Flynn said.

Staff advised the board they will work with OER to determine which contracts are affected and whether director-level or OER determinations apply. Trustees were told exceptions for critical benefit vacancies have been approved and the organization is moving forward with several hires, including an over-strength DCIO position to be requested in the FY27 budget. Staff also said operations include steps to move retiree pay-stub advices to digital delivery to reduce recurring postage costs (~$3,000 per month, or $36,000 per year).