About Purchasing

We have updated our district policy and procedures around purchasing to align them with current state policies and regulations and to “right-size” them based on current rates of inflation and increases in prices due to supply chain disturbances in effect since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes are reflected on the policy and procedures pages on the SCD website: Seattle Colleges Policy and Procedure 621.

The following changes will officially go into effect at the start of the new fiscal year, which begins July 3, 2023.

Increase the Purchasing Department’s direct buy authority from $10,000 to $30,000 per POL-DES-125-03.

• This means that the Purchasing Department can make purchases on behalf of requesters up to the $30,000 threshold without having to seek competitive bids.
• This does not change the delegated authority for individuals outside of the Purchasing Department. Purchasing is still the only department granted authority to enter into purchasing agreements, contracts, or bind the colleges into any transaction that can’t be made on a pCard.

Increase the delegated authority of procurement card (pCard) users from $2,500 to $3,500.

• This means that the single purchase limit for pCard purchases will increase to $3,500 on July 3.
• With a few exceptions, all purchases of $3,500 and below should be made on pCards.

Questions about these changes should be directed to Angela Gurney, director of purchasing, angela.gurney@seattlecolleges.edu.

The end of the 2022-23 fiscal year is quickly approaching, and the Finance and Purchasing Departments have developed plans to ensure that there is enough staff capacity to complete all the processes necessary.

Due to changes required to complete year-end reconciliations within ctcLink, district finance leadership has shifted purchasing cutoffs to be earlier than in previous years. This will allow the Purchasing and Finance Departments enough time and resources to complete the year-end reconciliations within the State’s given deadline.

What’s Changing

• All requisitions need to be submitted and approved on or before Monday, April 3, 2023, to be processed this fiscal year. This allows longer lead times for goods and services to be received before the end of the fiscal year.
  Please note: while we are asking that all requisitions for purchases planned through the end of the fiscal year be submitted and received by April 3, you do not need to rush to receive the ordered items by that date (see next bullet).
• All purchased items need to be received on or before June 30, 2023, and vendor invoices submitted to accounts payable on or before July 3, 2023, for processing.
• Any requisitions at or over $30,000 that will require competitive bidding process, need to be submitted with a statement of work no later than Friday, March 17. This allows the Purchasing Department to initiate and complete state-mandated competitive processes.
• P-card purchase cutoff is Friday, June 16, 2023, for processing during this fiscal year. Any P-card purchases after that date will be processed in the 2023-24 fiscal year.
   

After the April 3 Cutoff Date
Requisitions for purchases made after the April 3 cutoff will require approval from the college president or the vice chancellor of Finance and Operations (VCFO), for district purchases, in order to be processed into a purchase order during this fiscal year. The cutoff date for these special-approval purchases is May 1, 2023.

When the fiscal year is closed out, any requisitions submitted that do not have a college president or VCFO approval will not be processed to PO, will be closed, and will not carry into the new fiscal year. To prevent having to duplicate your work, please create requisitions and leave them in open status and then submit them for approval on or after July 1, 2023.

FY 2022-2023 Purchasing Deadlines

As a reminder, you can use your department P-cards for purchases $2,500 and below until June 16, 2023.

We understand that this is a new process, and we acknowledge that it requires planning and forecasting for all requisitions for the remainder of the fiscal year. We want everyone to be successful, and we are prepared for a higher volume of requisitions in February and March to accommodate that planning work.

Questions?
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact:  

Angela Gurney, Director of Purchasing  
or  
Lisa Gacer, Senior Buyer

Contact: PCards@seattlecolleges.edu

Purchasing issues pCards and oversees cardholder and approver agreements, spending limit requests, and bank interactions and disputes. For all questions related to pCard applications or administration, please use the email address above.

Contact: FixedAssets@seattlecolleges.edu

Purchasing oversees the capitalization and tracking of all individual pieces of equipment valued at $5,000 or more. For questions related to procurement, inventory tags, or asset tracking, please use the address above.

Contact: FixedAssets@seattlecolleges.edu

Wondering what to do with equipment that is broken or obsolete? When assets reach their end-of-life, Purchasing administers their surplus process and disposal. To notify us of an asset in need of disposal, and for all surplus-related questions, please contact Purchasing at the address above.