Kiara Freeman

At the Everett City Council Budget Hearing for Admin and Finance on May 27, 2026, Kiara Freeman, Chief Procurement Officer, presented what she called her “first budget for the purchasing and procurement office.” She opened by thanking council members and the public for their time and said that since taking office in August 2025, her focus has been “rebuilding a strong, modern, and compliant procurement operation” that protects public resources, supports city and school departments, and delivers “the best value for our residents of Everett.”

Freeman outlined FY27 priorities for the procurement office. These included finalizing procurement policies and templates, launching a comprehensive training program, strengthening internal controls, expanding supplier diversity outreach, and improving contract administration and life cycle management. She said the office is actively managing “over 300 active contracts and more than 6,000 purchase orders,” underscoring the workload the department is carrying.

A key budget request was the addition of a procurement analyst. Freeman said the role would let the office be “strategic and operational at the same time.” She explained that the analyst would help review statewide contracts, compare benefits and competitive pricing, and help departments understand what categories they use and where they should source purchases. She also described coordination with the auditor to ensure approvals use the correct accounts, forms, budget lines, account numbers, purchase order numbers, and contract numbers.

Freeman emphasized that departments should come to procurement first. “We want to be the first stop, not the last stop so we can be proactive instead of retroactive,” she said. She added that if a statewide contract is not being used, the office should assume other pricing options exist and should be consulted before purchases move forward. She said she has been working with departments to build that habit and make procurement the “first stop.”

The meeting record provided no votes or formal motions for Freeman’s presentation. In response to questions, she confirmed the office’s approach to working with other departments and preferred vendor/pricing review. She also briefly acknowledged a comment about having recently hosted something during the Mayor’s event, but the extracted record does not include further detail.