Little Rock Vice Mayor Lance Hines of Ward 5 at a meeting on Tuesday said he plans to introduce two ordinances that would reduce the spending authority of the city manager.
Hines said City Attorney Tom Carpenter was working to prepare the two measures. He described one ordinance as a "straight reduction" of the city manager's spending authority and the other as taking a different approach to the same issue.
Currently, Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore can approve purchases below $50,000 following a competitive bidding process. Contracts or purchases above that amount must get the approval of the city board.
The spending threshold has drawn scrutiny this year because of LITFest, a failed city festival that was bid out to a politically connected firm without the city board's approval because the maximum value of the contract was set at $45,000.
During the upcoming Dec. 6 formal meeting of the city board, Hines' measures must get eight votes among the 10 city directors in order to add them to the agenda.