The County of Hidalgo Procurement Procedures, in Section III, No. F (B) permits as follows: “If a Change Order involves an increase or decrease in cost of $50,000 or less, the Commissioner’s Court may grant general authority to an employee to approve Change Orders. However, the original price may not be increased by more than 25% unless the Change Order is necessary to comply with a federal or state statue, rule, regulation, or judicial decision enacted, adopted, or rendered after the contract was made. The original contract price may not be decreased by 18% or more without the consent of the contractor.”

The Urban County Program is requesting that such a Grant of General Authority be made to Director, under the conditions listed above, and for Change Orders requesting additional time for completion. This would help to speed up project spending and completion, while Commissioner’s Court would still retain responsibility for any proposed major changes.