Title
MOTION TO PASS PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 2025-16 ON FIRST READING.
PROPOSED ORDINANCE NO. 2025-16 IS AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA AMENDING CHAPTER 35 OF THE CITY'S CODE OF ORDINANCES, ENTITLED "PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES; PUBLIC FUNDS;" PROVIDING FOR COMPREHENSIVE REVISIONS TO THE CITY'S PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES, AS DETAILED IN EXHIBIT "A," ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN; AMENDING THE PROCUREMENT THRESHOLD REQUIRING COMMISSION APPROVAL; PROVIDING FOR EXEMPTIONS; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
SECOND AND FINAL READING IS SCHEDULED FOR DECEMBER 17, 2025.
Summary Explanation and Background
SUMMARY EXPLANATION AND BACKGROUND:
1. The City seeks to ensure that all goods and services utilized by the City are procured through an open, fair and competitive process and that all potential vendors seeking to do business with the City are given an equal opportunity to compete for City business.
2. The City's professional staff has reviewed the best practices related to local government procurement and has recommended a number of revisions to Ch. 35 of the City's Code of Ordinances, pertaining to the City's procurement procedures.
3. The purpose of these amendments is to modernize the City’s procurement procedures by increasing efficiency, aligning purchasing thresholds with current market and administrative realities, clarifying staff authority, and ensuring consistency with recent state and federal laws.
4. On August 26, 2025, the City Commission conducted a public workshop to hear presentations from the City's professional staff related to various topics including the City's procurement procedures.
5. On October 15, 2025, the City Administration presented proposed Ordinance No. 2025-16, which included recommended updates to the City’s Procurement Code. However, the City Commission voted to defer consideration of the item until the November 19, 2025, Commission meeting to allow time for an additional workshop on that same date in order to discuss the proposed changes in greater detail.
6. Prior to finalizing the workshop and agenda item, the City Administration reached out to the City Commission to attempt to schedule meetings and gather feedback from each Commissioner to incorporate into the workshop and proposed ordinance revisions.
7. Based on the feedback received, Administration recommends the following updates to Chapter 35, "Procurement Procedures; Public Funds", of the City's Code of Ordinances to modernize procedures, clarify authority, and ensure compliance with current law:
A) General Updates:
A. Refine and clarify language in the procurement code, correcting scrivener’s errors and incorporating other minor updates for consistency and clarity.
B) Thresholds:
B1. Increase threshold for formal solicitations and City Commission approval
- Raise threshold for formal solicitations and City Commission approval from $25,000 to $100,000.
- On October 7, 1998, the City Commission adopted Ordinance No. 1285, increasing the formal solicitation and Commission approval threshold from $10,000 to $25,000, and it has remained unchanged for 27 years.
- Projects over $100,000 will continue to follow the formal solicitation process (IFB, RFP, RFQ, etc.) through the City’s OpenGov e-Procurement System.
B2. Expand the “Quick Quote” process for purchases between $25,000 and $100,000.
- Purchases over $25,000 currently require a formal competitive solicitation with full advertising and Commission approval.
- Staff recommends expanding the “Quick Quote” process for purchases between $25,000 and $100,000, replacing the formal solicitation requirement in this range.
- “Quick Quotes” will be issued through the City’s OpenGov e-Procurement platform, ensuring full transparency and open competition while streamlining documentation and timelines. All Quick Quotes will be publicly visible, any member of the public, vendor, or Commission member can view them alongside the City’s formal solicitations (including IFBs, RFPs, RFQs, etc.) on both the City’s website and the OpenGov website. Interested parties may also register for automatic alerts to be notified whenever new solicitations are issued. Purchases exceeding $100,000 will continue to follow the formal solicitation process.
- Quick Quotes can be customized for different types of procurements, which may include specimen agreements, site visits (mandatory or non-mandatory), site plans, detailed scopes of work or specifications, reference checks, terms and conditions, or any other components typically included in the City’s formal solicitations. The key objective of this enhancement is to make the procurement process more efficient by reducing administrative time and paperwork while maintaining competitive integrity and transparency.
B3. Amend Change Order Thresholds
- The current Code allows the City Manager to approve change orders that do not exceed 5% of the original contract amount, and includes a separate allowance for unit quantity increases up to 10%. Any change order exceeding these limits requires City Commission approval.
- Staff recommends eliminating the separate unit quantity increase provision and raising the City Manager’s approval limit to 10% of the original contract amount, while retaining the existing $25,000 cap. In other words, the City Manager may approve change orders up to 10% or $25,000, whichever is less. Any change order that exceeds either threshold would require Commission approval.
- This update simplifies administration, reduces the number of minor change orders requiring Commission action, and aligns approval limits with current project management practices, while maintaining financial oversight and accountability through the existing $25,000 cap.
C) Amend Section 35.34 regarding mutually beneficial arrangements when no public funds are expended:
- The current Code requires City Commission approval for mutually beneficial arrangements with private businesses that serve the public interest, provided no public funds are used.
- The proposed amendment would allow the City Manager to approve such arrangements without Commission approval, while retaining the prohibition on public funding and the fairness provision requiring that other businesses offering similar goods or services be given the same opportunity.
- This change removes ambiguity for non-financial collaborations as they are below the formal procurement thresholds and will streamline approvals, improve efficiency, and support fair, transparent partnerships that benefit City residents.
- However, please note, per Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, any agreements between two or more governmental entities, such as the City and the School Board, would still be required to be approved by the City Commission, even if no public funds are expensed.
D) Repeal Section 35.39 to ensure the compliance with federal and state laws and eliminate outdated provisions:
- The City Attorney’s Office recommends repealing this section to align the Code with current federal and state laws governing employment practices and municipal contracting.
- Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015; Bostock v. Clayton County, 2020) and the passage of Chapter 2024-80, Laws of Florida (effective September 30, 2026), render the provision unnecessary and legally preempted.
- Repeal will eliminate outdated language, reduce administrative burden, and ensure full compliance with current law.
8. The attached ordinance encompasses the changes as noted above and the entire chapter 35 related to the City's Procurement Policy is included in the ordinance with changes shown as strikethroughs and underlines.
9. These updates will streamline City purchasing operations, reduce processing time for small procurements, maintain transparency through use of the City’s OpenGov platform, and ensure that all practices comply with current legal standards.
10. Recommend City Commission to pass, on first reading, Ordinance No. 2025-16.
Financial Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT DETAIL:
There is no financial impact related to this ordinance change.
FEASIBILITY REVIEW:
A feasibility review is required for the award, renewal and/or expiration of all function sourcing contracts. This analysis is to determine the financial effectiveness of function sourcing services.
a) Was a Feasibility Review/Cost Analysis of Out-Sourcing vs. In-House Labor Conducted for this service? Not Applicable.
b) If Yes, what is the total cost or total savings of utilizing Out-Sourcing vs. In-House Labor for this service? Not Applicable.
BUSINESS IMPACT ESTIMATE:
Pursuant to Section 166.041, F.S., a Business Impact Estimate (BIE) must be prepared for certain ordinances that impact the operations of local businesses.
a) Is a Business Impact Estimate (BIE) Form attached to this Ordinance? Yes.
b) Is this Ordinance exempt from requiring an Business Impact Estimate (BIE)? Yes.