Buying & Contracts
Board of Trustees Approval Thresholds and Schedule
Board of Trustees Purchase/Contract and Change Order Limits – quick glance
| Purchase/Change Type | Initial Approval* | Change Order Approval Required† | Change Order Report† |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Capital Projects | $7.5M | NA** | NA** |
| Group of Capital Projects | $25.0M aggregate in a meeting cycle and any single is $5.0M-$7.5M | NA** | NA** |
| Professional Services, Supplies, Equipment, and Non-Professional Services | $1.0M+ per fiscal year | >15% of original contract | >5% but <15% of original contract |
| Medical Center Operations | $1.0M+ per fiscal year | >$2.5M | >25% but <35% of original contract or purchase |
| Construction Contracts | $5.0M | >$5M (cumulative) | >$1M but <$5M (cumulative) |
| Services related to capital projects using design-build method | $7.5M | NA** | NA** |
| Lease of Space | $200,000/year | NA | NA |
* Projects that do not initially reach these approval thresholds, but exceed the limits due to subsequent costs, require approval.
** Changes to capital projects will be presented to the Board of Trustees via action items to increase budgets.
† If changes require a higher-level board action, it is not necessary to also include action or reports at these levels. (ie – Change orders requiring approval do not also need to be on report. Project budget increases via board action items do not need to be presented via change order or report.)
Minimum limits reset after each report or Board approval. (For example, if a construction contract change order of $1.5 million is reported and then the project has a $500K change, it is not necessary to report that change unless there are additional changes accumulating beyond $1.0M. After a cumulative $5.0M change order is approved, it is not necessary to seek additional approvals until that minimum is again reached with additional changes.)
Submission Deadlines
Purchase requests at or above the Board approval level identified above must be presented to the Board for review and approval at regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meetings. The Board meets every other month, visit the Board of Trustees – Meetings – Schedule page for upcoming meeting dates.
Prior to submission of a purchase to the Board of Trustees, a solicitation (including evaluation), or sole source purchase process must have all necessary approvals and be ready to award.
The competitive solicitation or sole source purchase process may require a purchase request submission to the Purchasing Division at least six (6) months* prior to the Board of Trustees meeting date.
* This is a guideline for a typical purchase, any purchase which is complex in nature or for an excessive dollar amount may require additional processing time. This guideline accounts for an additional month of time for submission to the meeting minutes of the Board of Trustees and for review by sub-committees as may be necessary.
Departments should note that failure to provide the appropriate documentation by the specified deadlines may result in a delay in issuing a contract or purchase order since approval may be required at a subsequent Board meeting.
Who to Ask
Contact information for the Purchasing offices can be found on the Purchasing & Contract Management About page.