Chelan PUD streamlines contracting under delegated authority policies

WENATCHEE — Chelan County PUD officials estimate changes giving staff greater authority over contracting decisions have reduced the number of procurement matters requiring commission action by 60 to 70 percent, as commissioners moved Monday to eliminate remnants of the district’s previous approval process.

Commissioners approved a resolution Aug. 17 aligning older contracting resolutions with governance policies adopted last fall. Those policies delegated certain decision-making authority to PUD management in an effort to streamline routine business while retaining commission approval for actions exceeding those limits.

General Counsel Erik Wahlquist described Monday’s action as largely a housekeeping measure needed because older commission resolutions commonly established maximum contract amounts that could not be exceeded without additional board approval.

Under the newer policies, some of those changes can now be approved administratively. But the language contained in the original resolutions remained in place, sometimes forcing contracts back before commissioners even when the proposed change fell within management’s current authority.

“We had another one coming this week, and one of them was for adding $25,000, which is clearly within the delegated authorities, but because of the language in the resolution still had to come back for board action,” Wahlquist said.

The new resolution applies the PUD’s current governance policies to those older commission actions. Contract changes falling within management’s delegated authority will no longer require commission approval solely because an earlier resolution contained a lower limit. Changes exceeding the authority delegated under the current policies will still return to the commission.

“It’s really a housekeeping and administrative efficiency measure in my mind,” Wahlquist said.

The change also addresses potential compliance questions. Wahlquist said auditors review contracting and spending authorizations during annual compliance audits, making it important for the district to clearly reconcile its older resolutions with its current governance structure.

The discussion then broadened beyond Monday’s resolution when a commissioner asked whether the PUD could measure the results of the broader delegation changes, which were presented to the board last year as a way to improve efficiency and streamline decision-making.

Wahlquist said the effect has already been substantial on contracting and procurement.

“I would expect it’s in the 60 to 70 percent reduction range,” Wahlquist said of the number of matters no longer requiring commission action.

The larger savings, he said, are not necessarily found in the amount of time commissioners spend voting on individual resolutions, but in the staff work required to prepare those items for the board.

“The vast majority of the time, savings, and efficiencies related to those authorities, at least on the contracting side of the house, are related to the preparation of the resolutions, the refinement of those, and the pre-work,” Wahlquist said.

That work can include drafting and reviewing resolutions and preparing proposed actions for discussion before they reach a commission meeting.

The changes can also shorten the time required to complete administrative steps involving outside contractors. During the discussion, PUD officials noted that actions such as final acceptance of completed work and release of contractor retainage can sometimes occur a week or two sooner when they do not have to wait for the next commission meeting.

Wahlquist agreed to return to the board with additional information attempting to quantify the efficiencies created by the delegated-authority policies, including the value of staff time saved since the changes took effect.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media