County staff to return revised purchasing and budget policies for board approval

Brandy Falcon presented draft revisions to the county’s purchasing policy and a new budget policy at the Feb. 10 status update. The purchasing policy retains a $10,000 threshold for purchases that require additional board approval and clarifies that routinely incurred claims (for example, utilities) and payments under previously approved contracts do not require extra approval.

Falcon said the county processes 250–300 invoices weekly and currently lacks a financial system that tracks contract expirations, so responsibility for identifying contract payments rests with department heads. She proposed a separate budget policy that defines budget classifications (A, B, C, D), establishes budgetary control at the organization set level in the financial system, restricts transfers between budgets except for auditor‑initiated bookkeeping corrections, and requires board approval for any budget increases.

Commissioners said the drafts largely clarify existing practice and emphasized the need to avoid overly granular controls that would hinder department operations. One commissioner noted system warnings that flag accounts at 80% of budget. Falcon said she will bring the updated policies back for formal board approval at a future meeting.

Next steps: Staff will return the finalized purchasing and budget policies for consideration and formal approval at a future business meeting.