Title
An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 14 (Purchasing, Contracting and Selling Procedure) of Title I of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor (ORD-25-28)
Memorandum
Section 1 of this ordinance amends Chapter 14 (Purchasing, Contracting and Selling Procedure) of Title I of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor to increase the threshold for purchases of goods and services requiring City Council approval from $75,000.00 to $90,000.00 ("Council Approval Threshold"). Section 14.2 of the City Charter allows City Council to increase the Council Approval Threshold for the purchase of goods and services via ordinance to account for inflation. The proposed amendment would permit future increases to be performed administratively, without requiring additional ordinances.*
The threshold of $75,000.00 was set in November 2021 and has not been increased to account for inflation since that time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly consumer price index (CPI) updates for the trailing 12-month period. Due to the timing of this resolution before City Council and available data, staff used the annual April 2025 CPI rates to determine that the purchasing threshold for services should be increased to $90,000.00 to account for annual inflation.
It is further recommended that the threshold requiring City Council approval for disposal of surplus City owned property be increased to $90,000.00. Finally, the proposed ordinance increases the value under which the Purchasing Agent may dispose of property in the manner in the best interest of the City from $3,000.00 to $5,000.00.
Section 2 of this ordinance amends Section 1:234.5 to allow City Council to use its own discretion in determining best value in contracts that involve public-private partnerships for real estate development, rather than using the City Administrator's scoring rubric. These types of contracts often have substantially different considerations than typical contracts for public improvements.
Budget/Fiscal Impact: ...
Click here for full text