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Finance Director Rancatore stated that if Ordinance 18-2023 were to be passed, Lakewood would not have to continuously change its purchasing limits because the State of Ohio wouldbe indexing it for the city. Director Rancatore explained that the current thresholds that Lakewood operates under are $7,500 for purchases and $5,000 for professional services. Any cost exceeding these thresholds must go to the Board of Control. He mentioned that some municipalities near Lakewood, such as Rocky River, Westlake, and North Olmsted, have purchasing limits that vastly exceed Lakewood. Finance Director Rancatore went on to explain the administrative burdens and unintended consequences of Lakewood’s current purchasing threshold. He explained that there are a plethora of items that constantly exceed Lakewood’s purchasing limit threshold. As a result, many routine services and contracts must go through the competitive bidding process and get approval from the Board of Control. He emphasized that competitive bidding requires additional resources and effort from private industry partners, which drives up costs. As a result of the extra workload involved in competitive bidding, Finance Director Rancatore argued that Lakewood often loses out on private partners because these private industries do not want to go through the bidding process. Furthermore, he argued that these losses put Lakewood at a competitive disadvantage relative to nearby municipalities. Finance Director Rancatore went on to give examples of Lakewood’s routine costs that commonly exceed the current purchasing limit threshold. Public Works Director Gordon continued the presentation and described how the current purchasing limit threshold has affected the Department of Public Works. He explained that many equipment items exceed the $7,500 threshold and that potential vendors often do not bid due to the extra work involved on items with small profit margins. He also demonstrated that unscheduled auto repairs commonly exceed the threshold. As a result, he explained that essential vehicles often sit without repair while awaiting approval from the Board of Control. He stated that Public Works needs to be reactionary and time efficient to deliver for the residents of Lakewood. He expressed his belief that competitive bidding is not appropriate for many routine costs that the Department of Public Works accumulates. Public Works Director Gordon went on to explain costs related to parks, street repairs, and waste management that commonly exceed the current threshold. He explained that private industries often do not want to bid given that they can contract their products and services to other organizations without as much administrative red tape. Public Works Director Gordon concluded his portion of the presentation by discussinghow vitalprofessional services also frequently exceed thecurrentpurchasing limit threshold. Chairman Shachner thanked the directors for their presentation and stated his belief that the current purchasing threshold is too low. He then referenced the text of Ordinance 18-2023, specifically section 111.04(a)(3), which creates an exception to competitive bidding for contracts determined by Council to be necessary to meet emergencies, and section 111.04(a)(10), which creates an exception to competitive bidding for contracts determined by Council to be impractical or not cost-effective. Chairman Shachner stated his belief that section 111.04 could be amended in such a way to include relief for many of the issues presented by the Directors. Law Director Vargo responded by stating that in reference to section 111.04(a)(3), it usually isn’t emergencies that cause delay issues, rather it is the day-to-day costs that are bogging down the 2