Purchasing Process Review

This past year the city implemented an automated purchasing system named Tungsten Workflow.  As part of this implementation, the city also updated the purchasing policy which the Council approved on May 2, 2017. The policy is intended to ensure public confidence in the procurement process, fair and equitable treatment of vendors who transact business with the city and provide safeguards for the maintenance of a procurement system of quality and integrity. 

The Tungsten Workflow system was built with the city's specific purchasing policy parameters. This ensures consistent application of the policy and an enhanced internal control system. Depending upon the dollar amount of a transaction, a minimum of one supervisor to as many as three supervisors will review an authorized purchase before payment is made. This does not include the initial and final review done by finance staff, or any initial Council approval of projects.

This purchasing process is the same no matter if an employee is purchasing from a local or national vendor, or if the purchase is made through a store account or through a purchasing card. The consistency of the process is what ensures a sound internal control system. 

Below is the general purchasing table from city's purchasing policy. This table is what was built into the Tungsten Workflow to ensure appropriate approvals are maintained throughout the process.