The Umatilla County Board of Commissioners adopted changes to the county's public contracting rules at a second reading, approving Ordinance No. 2024-11 to raise the dollar threshold that triggers the formal bid process to $25,000.

The change alters how the county handles procurements: the county's staff explained that the formal bidding requirement would move from $10,000 to $25,000, and that procurements between lower-dollar amounts and $25,000 would require obtaining quotes "if possible," according to staff remarks during the hearing. Staff introduced the ordinance at the public hearing and explained that procurements above $25,000 would continue to follow the formal procurement process.

Why it matters: raising the formal bid threshold changes when the county must run a full, formal solicitation, and shifts many smaller purchases to an informal-quote process. That can speed some purchases but also reduces the number of procurements that undergo the county's full formal solicitation procedures.

At the hearing, county staff presented the ordinance as a second reading. No members of the public spoke in favor, opposed, or neutrally during the public comment period. Following discussion among the commissioners, the board moved to adopt Ordinance No. 2024-11; the motion passed on a voice vote.

Several parts of the staff presentation included numerical figures as presented in the meeting record: staff said the formal-bid threshold was being raised from $10,000 to $25,000, and also referred during the explanation to procurements "between 5 and 25,000" where quotes should be obtained if possible. The transcript contains that phrasing; the county should be consulted for the official written ordinance text for precise dollar thresholds and the exact informal-quote rules.

The ordinance was presented and approved during the commissioners' regular meeting; the board did not receive or record any public testimony on the item during the hearing. The county will implement the revised procurement thresholds as described in Ordinance No. 2024-11.