By Josie Grove

The Legislative Matters Committee of the Somerville Board of Aldermen is considering a change to Section 2-369 of Somerville’s city charter, making it simpler for the city to make purchases under $10,000. As the law stands, any purchase over $5,000 has to use a contract, rather than the simpler purchase order process. “We want to get things done more quickly,” said Edward Bean, Somerville’s director of finance auditor.

“Procurement is governed largely by Massachusetts General Law, said Angela Allen, director of Somerville’s Purchasing Department. “As of last July, the state law changed to set the threshold for a written contract from $5,000 to $10,0000.” Allen says it makes sense for the city’s laws to be in line with the state’s, which changed to follow inflation.

“Times have changed, and $5000 doesn’t get you as much,” said Bean. Allen gave an example of a smaller purchase. “The city clerk submitted a request for $5800 to pay for new seats in the aldermanic chambers. Does that need a whole contract, or a purchase order?” she asked. “It can be onerous to go through the process, when a purchase order is all that’s required by state law,” said Allen.

The process is time-consuming, Allen said, because contracts require physical signatures from the vendor, the procurement officer or the head of the relevant department, and the mayor. And they are long. “The shortest version is about seven pages,” said Allen.

The change would mean less paperwork for city departments. “Currently, over a quarter of our contract volume falls under $10,000,” said Allen. “Somerville has a relatively high volume of written contracts overall compared to some communities.” According to Allen, the school department makes the most purchases between $5,000 and $10,000. Contracts would still be required for larger purchases, and the city can choose to use a contract for a purchase under $10,000.

Bean thinks changing the threshold from $5,000 to $10,000 will bring more competition to city contracts, and encourage more businesses to bid on city projects. Bean sees this as the next step in making city contracts more competitive. “Some of us remember the no-bid contracts of the 1960s, and these limits were put in the charter to counter that,” says Bean. A purchase order, Allen explained, is not a no-bid contract. “There’s no such thing as a no-bid contract. Everything goes through our procurement process.”

It is the city’s practice to use purchase orders for smaller buys. “For every purchase over $100 you need a purchase order. That’s a kind of a contract, there are terms and conditions,” said Allen. “A purchase order covers our risk.” But it is shorter, simpler, and requires fewer signatures than a full contract.

The practice of using purchase orders is not in Somerville’s city charter. Alderman At Large Bill White wants to make sure it is so there will never be any doubt about the necessity of purchase orders. “The practice is that they’re issuing purchase orders, but there’s nothing in writing requiring them to go through that process.”

Allen and Bean both agreed to White’s suggestion, and said they will change the proposed amendment to include it. White anticipates the committee will approve the change once the language requiring a purchase order is inserted into the amendment.