Signing first, approving after

How Milton works · Lesson 2

Sometimes the work is already done by the time Council votes on it. When you see the word “ratify” on a Milton agenda, that’s what it means. Here is the rule that allows it, and what to look for.

What ratify means

To ratify is to approve something after it has already been signed or done. A normal approval comes first: Council votes, then the city signs. A ratification runs the other way: the city signs, then Council votes.

The rule that allows it

“The council shall be authorized to delegate by ordinance contract signing authority to the city manager for contracts with a maximum amount of $50,000.00 with a term of no more than a single fiscal year, upon the requirement that such contracts be subsequently ratified by council.” Milton Charter, Sec. 6.30(3)

So the limits are $50,000 and one fiscal year, and the contract comes back to Council afterward. The city’s purchasing code has a related line: “The city manager or his or her designee is authorized to approve budgeted capital purchases or contracts up to $50,000.00 without obtaining council approval” (Sec. 2-626(f)(3)).

Most of the time Milton does it the other way around: small contracts come to Council before anyone signs.

What it looked like on Oct. 19, 2026

The Oct. 19, 2026 agenda put three items before Council for approval after the fact:

• The Crabapple Fest stage, $7,250, paid by a sponsor. The memo says the agreement “was executed by the City Manager prior to the event.”
• Restroom trailers for the festival, $9,049. The City Manager’s signature is dated Oct. 2, the day before the festival.
• Traffic signal repair, a six-month extension at no added cost while the city rebids the work, dated back to Oct. 1, the day after the old contract ran out.

How to spot one, and what to ask

• Look for “ratify” or “ratification” in the item’s title, and for dates in the memo that come before the meeting.
• Ask why it couldn’t wait. Some dates are fixed, like a festival’s. Others, like a contract’s end date, are known well ahead.
• Add up the pieces. Change orders count toward a purchase’s total. “Any requisition with a change order where the total procurement equals more than $50,000.00 requires mayor/city council approval” (Sec. 2-626(m)(2)). So does one big need split into smaller buys, which is why we total what each company is paid each year. A big total alone doesn’t mean that happened.

In Before the Vote, a ratification gets a cloud on the first Sunshine test, “Before, not after.” A cloud marks what the packet didn’t show, not a broken rule.