ATLANTA MAYOR ANDRE DICKENS

Atlanta City Council Approves Division of Independent Procurement Review

Atlanta City Council Approves Division of Independent Procurement Review Panel Established to Review City Contract Solicitations of $1M or More and Any Allowed Under State Guidelines

ATLANTA – The Atlanta City Council on Monday unanimously approved an ordinance authorizing the City auditor to establish a Division of Independent Procurement Review to improve transparency and accountability in the City procurement process (Legislative Reference No. 18-O-1189).

Independent Procurement Review Officers, or I-PROs, will have the authority to review all stages of the procurement process for all City departments, offices, boards and agencies in need of services that have an aggregate value of $1 million or greater. The panel may also provide review of other solicitations of any dollar amount as provided in the Georgia Procurement Manual (State Guidelines).

In addition:

I-PROs shall not opine but instead provide a written report to the City Council that the contract file is complete and/or note areas of deficiencies;
The council shall not approve any proposed legislation for contracts with an aggregate value of $1 million or greater until an independent procurement review report has been submitted with the legislative package;
The division shall not provide any management functions of the procurement process but instead alert the City auditor to any deficiencies and/or patterns of concern in the procurement process that may require additional review by the Audit Commission;

The Independent Procurement Review Office shall have a budget range of $225,000 to $250,000, with an office staff of two new auditors and one reclassification of a currently held position;

The Division of Independent Procurement Review, under the purview of the City auditor, shall provide assessments of all potential, current and retroactive procurements in addition to serving as a deterrent to circumventing procedure;

I-PROs may assist in fulfilling one of the mayor’s goals of having an independent examination of the procurement process prior to contract award.

“I introduced this legislation because we want to help shine a light on the city procurement process,” Post 3 At-Large Council Member Andre Dickens said. “The council has long desired greater transparency and accountability with regard to purchasing, and the Independent Procurement Review Office will help us reach that goal.”

“I applaud the council for adopting this legislation I authored as we move toward greater transparency in our procurement process,” Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore said.

The legislation now goes to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for her signature.