In recent years, many El Cerrito residents have grown increasingly concerned about our city’s transparency and fiscal management. One troubling practice that has repeatedly surfaced is the use of “split purchase orders” (POs) by city management to circumvent the approval process. This approach raises serious ethical questions and undermines the checks and balances designed to ensure responsible use of taxpayer funds.
What is a Split Purchase Order?
At its core, a split purchase order is an attempt by the procurement function to divide a large purchase into smaller segments to avoid triggering higher levels of approval or scrutiny. This practice is often used to keep purchases below the dollar threshold that would typically require authorization by a higher authority or oversight board.
For example, if a purchase order (PO) is for $200,000 and the approval threshold for such a transaction is $100,000, splitting the PO into two separate $100,000 orders effectively bypasses the required approval process. While the practice may seem like a shortcut, it is a deliberate circumvention of established procedures meant to maintain transparency and accountability in the procurement process.
Why Does This Happen?
In El Cerrito, it has become routine for certain city officials to use split POs to keep contractor expenses under the radar. By doing so, they sidestep necessary approvals, keeping significant financial decisions away from public scrutiny. This not only diminishes the accountability of those responsible for managing public funds, but it also opens the door for potential fiscal mismanagement and abuse.
There are several reasons why city management might engage in this practice:
Bureaucratic Evasion: Instead of going through what they see as “red tape,” officials may see this method as a way to fast-track purchases. However, cutting corners like this creates larger issues down the road.
Avoiding Public Scrutiny: Splitting POs allows city officials to sidestep council reviews or board approvals. This keeps certain contractors or projects from receiving the attention they deserve and often prevents residents from understanding how their tax dollars are spent.
Fostering Favoritism: By avoiding the proper approval channels, city management can favor certain contractors without adhering to competitive bidding processes or fair selection procedures. This breeds an environment where favoritism can flourish.
Why is This Practice Inappropriate?
Splitting POs is not just an act of cutting through bureaucracy—it is a violation of the trust placed in city management by the residents of El Cerrito. The system of checks and balances exists for a reason: to ensure that decisions about spending taxpayer money are made responsibly and transparently.
When POs are split to bypass the procurement process, several significant issues arise:
Misuse of Public Funds: By bypassing the normal approval process, city management may be spending more money than necessary or selecting contractors who are not the most qualified. This can result in wasteful spending, which impacts everyone in the community.
Lack of Oversight: The approval process is designed to involve multiple levels of review to prevent financial abuse. By splitting POs, city management denies these levels of oversight, opening the door to potential corruption.
Erosion of Public Trust: Residents expect their city officials to act with integrity, especially when managing public funds. When these kinds of unethical practices become common, it erodes public trust in the entire system of governance.
El Cerrito’s residents deserve better. We should demand transparency and accountability in every aspect of how the city handles its finances. The practice of splitting POs to circumvent the approval process must stop. It is a deliberate manipulation of the system that allows fiscal mismanagement to persist and undermines the city’s long-term financial health.
City leaders need to take immediate steps to address this issue. At the same time, we, as residents, should call for independent audits of procurement practices and advocate for stricter policies that prevent any form of fiscal deceit. The well-being of our city depends on responsible, ethical leadership—and that begins with holding those in power accountable for their actions.
By ending this unethical practice, we can take a crucial step toward restoring integrity to El Cerrito’s financial management.
El Cerrito Committee for Responsible Government (ECCRG) 