Council sends proposed procurement changes back to finance committee after auditor concerns

The council considered Ordinance 26.04, which would amend the city's procurement procedures to change contract thresholds and clarify the city manager’s contracting authority. Several councilors said the city’s internal auditor is still drafting policies and procedures that should accompany any change to the ordinance, and some councilors said they were unclear about recent audit‑committee briefings that reached only a subset of councilors.

Councilor Hildebrand moved to send the ordinance back to the finance committee for further work; the motion was seconded and, after discussion about whether legal or finance oversight was more appropriate for specific language, the council agreed by voice vote to refer the ordinance back to finance so the auditor can complete recommended policies and procedures.

Why it matters: procurement thresholds and manager signature authority determine when council approval is required for contracts and purchases; councilors expressed concern about codifying thresholds before related policies and internal controls are finalized.

What comes next: the ordinance will return to the finance committee for review and to align the draft language with the auditor’s forthcoming policies before the council considers advertising a public hearing or taking final action.

Sources: Roswell City Council deliberations, April 9 (ordinance 26.04 discussion and referral).