This Policy came before the Board at a working session on April 28, 2021.  After the working session, the draft Policy was sent to Department Heads for their review. Based on feedback, changes were made to the drafted policy and are captured in the redline version. 

The sections “Blanket Purchasing Orders” and “Payments” were questioned at the working session in April.  After discussions with the Finance Director and the Director of Utilities, the language remained the same for “Blanket Purchasing Orders.”  The Finance Director indicated that blanket purchase orders must be tied to a fiscal year so that it remains within the budget allocated for that year.  The Director of Utilities indicated that there were no issues with the process of obtaining approval on an annual basis for a blanket purchase order.  In the “Payment” section, language was revised by removing the “made in writing” requirement and changing it to “noted on the invoice.” 

The “Grant Purchasing” section was revised after discussion with the Director of Public Safety and the Finance Director.  This was done to allow acceptance for smaller dollar amount grants without approval from the Board because the acceptance of the awarded amounts is tied to the “Purchasing Authorization” limits noted in the Policy.  This allows departments to apply for small grants, under $5,000 dollars in a swift and efficient manner and it allows the Board to be notified when larger grants are sought where it could impact the Township.