Grand Jury Faults County Purchasing

The county’s purchasing manuals are outdated and should clarify which departments review purchase orders under $5,000, and buying procedures in Fleet Services should be audited, a report released Thursday by the Ventura County Grand Jury said.

The panel made the findings after a routine visit to the county’s General Services Agency to review how purchase orders are handled.

The General Services Agency handles purchasing and other services.

The call for an audit stems from the outdated manual, the report said. Without a current manual and without clarification of who oversees small purchases, it is impossible to say whether those purchases are appropriate, the panel found.

Thomas Womack, chief deputy director of the GSA, said the manual, which guides county workers through the sometimes intricate process of government purchases, is being updated and should be finished by July 1.

A new computer system was installed a few years ago but the accompanying manual was not updated, Womack said. But most employees who handle purchases are familiar with current procedures, he said.

Also, Womack said, county policy is clear that GSA purchasing agents review orders of less than $5,000, adding that the jury’s finding has baffled GSA officials.

“GSA is unaware of any internal confusion at this point,” Womack said.

The department is willing to comply with an audit of Fleet Service purchasing, he said, but added the audit probably is unnecessary because the department that would handle the audit developed the procedures in the first place.