• Establishing procurement policies and procedures
• Examples of emergency procurement policies and procedures

Establishing procurement policies and procedures

Establish emergency procurement, purchasing policies, and procedures prior to an emergency. This will ensure your contractor costs are reasonable and well-documented.

Involve your utility:

• Management
• Procurement and accounting staff
• Emergency management and operations personnel

The emergency procurement policy should:

• Define when emergency procurement is necessary
• Include pre-approved contracts for emergency services and materials 
• Specify situations when non-competitive procurement is acceptable
• Identify who has authority to approve certain amounts or types of procurement arrangements

Emergency Procurement Policies and Procedures Examples

Example: East Bay Municipal Utility District Policy and Procedures

Policy 7.03 (Excerpts related to costs) Emergency Preparedness and Business Continuity

"When an emergency condition arises that necessitates immediate action to minimize damage and inconvenience resulting from such condition, the General Manager or successor, in consultation with the President of the Board of Directors, or successor, is authorized to enter into emergency contracts not to exceed $350,000, per contract, without bids or notice."

See examples of two procedures for emergency purchases and selection process.

Example: Valley Center Water District Emergency Procurement Procedure

In an emergency, we give our general manager the power to, "Enter into contracts and/or agreements and to expend funds on behalf of the District, provided that such expenditures or contracts do not exceed, in total, $500,000.00." He is to try to contact the board president or other board member for prior approval if possible.