Finance Committee Meeting 10-7-26

At its October 7, 2026 Finance Committee meeting, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners heard the county procurement chief’s roadmap for strengthening procurement operations. Planned changes include requiring departments to engage procurement earlier—ideally 8–12 months before a solicitation—standardizing procedures, implementing purchase orders to encumber funds up front, developing a vendor onboarding process, and improving vendor and contract-expiration information. The department also plans procurement communications and website resources and will assess potential Workday process improvements. Commissioners discussed a five-year United Landscape extension for the Novi court building; procurement staff said the county intends to review and consolidate landscaping contracts through future bidding. The committee also approved a pilot fee policy for county EV chargers: $0.30 per kWh and a $5 idle fee after 30 minutes, with results to be reviewed after 12 months. A related Michigan grant of $425,000 for Level 3 charging infrastructure, supplemented by $140,000 in DTE rebates, was presented for acceptance.

Other funding actions included a $125,000 county contribution to the microloan program’s previously budgeted $250,000 allocation—$100,000 for a loan-loss reserve and $25,000 for operations—and acceptance of approximately $6 million in HUD funding for housing programs. The committee also considered a $1.31 million DOJ grant for the Clemis project, a DOJ grant for the Northern Border Helicopter patrol (approved 6–1), and a $150,000 Michigan DNR grant for off-road vehicle trail improvements, which must be spent by September 30, 2027. The transcript does not clearly capture vote outcomes for every grant item. The Michigan Association of Counties membership dues motion passed 7–0; commissioners also discussed improving transparency around sponsorship requests and allocations.