Westminster’s Eddie Manfro has a higher limit than Los Angeles, Long Beach, Sacramento, and Fresno.
Manfro’s $175,000 limit is nearly double the $100,000 limit of L.A., Long Beach, and Sac, cities with considerably larger populations. Fresno’s comes in at only $50,000.
Those figures were published by the City of Anaheim in 2011, when the city conducted a survey to gauge how Anaheim’s purchasing limit compared to other cities. At that point in time Anaheim had a limit of $250,000, which was only comparable to San Diego. Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait proposed a reduction down to $100,000 to the city council.
Concerned with transparency, all new Anaheim contracts are posted online. The City of Santa Ana, with a relatively frugal $25,000 limit, also requires quarterly reports of approved contracts.
Manfro reiterated that the purchases he makes must still fit within the adopted budget, but with the city facing a $5.39 million deficit next year, and reserve funds on track to be depleted by 2018, there is more scrutiny as the city develops a new financial plan for the future.
Read more on the city manager’s purchasing limits here.