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CPA hikes threshold for small purchases from $1K to $10K
Board approves supplemental budget requests Board approves supplemental budget requests
In a major policy shift, the Commonwealth Ports Authority has increased its threshold for small purchases from $1,000 to $10,000.
At the CPA board meeting last Thursday on Tinian, the board approved amending procurement regulations for small purchases by upping the limit from $1,000 to $10,000.
According to CPA board chair Kimberlyn King-Hinds after their meeting, it used to be that any purchase above $1,000 requires three quotations, but that “it’s very challenging when you’re talking about procuring items here when there are very limited options in terms of vendors.”
As a result, they recommended in a previous board meeting that the CPA management review “what is the standard for other agencies and also, what’s the small purchase procurement threshold in the federal government—and we decided today to increase the threshold from $1,000 to 10,000—which means that we’re not required to get three quotations for purchases below $10,000.”
But, along with the increase of the threshold, management is required to create a Standard Operating Procedure, or SOP, so that they don’t favor just one company.
With the SOP, they will “make sure that we look at what’s available around the island—who are the vendors and…as part of that SOP, they’ll put together a list of vendors and types of products that are available.”
Other items on their agenda was to approve the supplement budget request for the Airport Rescue and Firefighting Facility typhoon repairs at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, in which the funding of $147,287 was approved and will be funded from the Typhoon Yutu insurance proceeds.
Along with this, ARFF roll up doors replacement construction management services was approved for $399,230; and the Customs Border Patrol/Transportation Security Administration implementation architectural and engineering design services was approved for the Tinian International Airport to the sum of $278,700, which will be funded from the Airport Divert Lease Funds.
CPA operates the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, the Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport/Rota International Airport on Rota, and the Tinian International Airport, as well as all CNMI seaports.
