(a) Any action by any of the departments named in Sections 500 and 600 of the Charter approving a contract which obligates the City for a longer period of time than one year or which involves consideration reasonably valued in excess of $25,000 shall be taken by the head of the department by order or resolution. However, the Board of Commissioners of the Departments of Airports, Harbor, and Water and Power may each authorize its General Manager to contract on behalf of its department if the contract does not involve consideration reasonably valued in excess of $150,000. In determining the reasonable value of consideration under this article, the awarding authority shall aggregate the amount payable under the original action with the amounts payable under all renewals, extensions, and amendments.
(b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board of Commissioners of the Department of Water and Power may delegate authority to its General Manager to enter into contracts which are not speculative for the purchase, sale or exchange of natural gas for a period not to exceed one year in duration and up to a limit of 350 MMCFD not to exceed twenty dollars ($20) per MMBtu per transaction. Such price cap shall not apply to contracts that are not speculative for the purchase of natural gas for a period not to exceed 15 days in duration and up to a limit of 100 MMCFD per transaction that are necessary to provide a reliable power supply to the retail customers of the Department of Water and Power at the least cost as determined by the General Manager. The General Manager or a designee shall provide notice (manual or electronic) of such purchase within two (2) business days to: the Associate Director, Infrastructure Services of the Office of the Mayor; the Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee of the City Council; the Chief Administrative Analyst of the City Administrative Officer; the Policy Advisor, Energy and Environment of the Chief Legislative Analyst; the Ratepayer Advocate of the Office of Public Accountability; the Commission Secretary of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners; or similar position of the aforementioned City representatives. Financial instruments and other option contracts shall not be included in this delegation of authority.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section, the Boards of the Los Angeles Departments of Harbor Commissioners and Airports Commissioners may authorize the respective General Managers of those Departments to enter into contracts on behalf of the Department that satisfy all of the following:
(1) The contract is not for personal services; and
(2) The contract does not obligate the City for a term of longer than three years including all extensions, renewals and amendments; and
(3) The contract does not involve consideration reasonably valued in excess of One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($150,000) annually.
The Harbor Department and the Department of Airports shall each submit a report quarterly to their respective Boards identifying all contracts, including the dollar value involved in each contract, authorized by the General Manager of the respective Department pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
Three years after the last effective date of this subsection, the Harbor Department, and the Department of Airports shall each submit a report to the Mayor and the City Council evaluating the effects and benefits of the authority granted by the provisions of this subsection, and include a recommendation regarding whether to continue the provisions of this subsection.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection (a) of this section, the Board of Water and Power Commissioners may authorize its General Manager to enter into contracts on behalf of the Department that satisfy all of the following:
(1) The contract is not for personal services;
(2) The contract does not obligate the City for a term of longer than three years, including all extensions, renewals and amendments; and
(3) The contract does not involve consideration reasonably valued in excess of Five Million Dollars ($5,000,000) annually.
(e) The DWP will report quarterly to the Board and the City Council with respect to contracts pending, approved, or terminated by the General Manager or the Board. The report shall also set forth the status of any pending requests for the use of independent contractors pursuant to Charter Section 1022. The DWP will post on its website a listing of all contracts awarded by the DWP within 60 days of the end of each calendar year.
(f) During any time in which the Mayor has declared the existence of a local emergency or at any time a disaster or local emergency has been declared by the President of the United States or the Governor of California that includes or encompasses the City of Los Angeles, the City Council, by resolution approved by the Mayor, may delegate to the Chief Administrative Officers of any City Department, including the Proprietary Departments, the authority to contract for the procurement of goods and services that safeguard life, health, safety, and property, or continue City services. The resolution shall establish the consideration and maximum period of time for any contract authorized by the Chief Administrative Office and may specify any other limits applicable to the delegation. The resolution may apply to all City Departments or may specify which Departments are encompassed by the resolution. The resolution may specify the duration of the delegation but, in no event, shall the delegation extend beyond the period of the declared local disaster or emergency.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 170,313, Eff. 3-3-95, Oper. 4-25-95.
Amended by: Ord. No. 173186, Eff. 5-22-00; Ord. No. 173,285, Eff. 6-26-00, Oper 7-1-00; Ord. No. 174,377, Eff. 1-26-02; Subsec. (c) added, Ord. No. 181,967, Eff. 1-22-12; Subsec. (c), Ord. No. 182,594, Eff. 6-29-13; Subsec. (c), Ord. No. 183,115, Eff. 7-24-14; Subsec. (c), Ord. No. 183,518, Eff. 6-9-15; Subsec. (b), Ord. No. 183,949, Eff. 12-5-15; Subsec. (c) amended and Subsecs. (d) and (e) added, Ord. No. 185,471, Eff. 4-23-18; Subsec. (f) added, Ord. No. 186,637, Eff. 5-29-20; Subsec. (a), Ord. No. 187,995, Eff. 11-6-23.