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.

Kiara Freeman, Chief Procurement Officer, was present at the Everett School Building Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. During roll call, she responded, “Present.”

Her recorded participation was limited but clear. On the procedural item concerning the prior meeting record, she voted yes on the motion to “approve the meeting minutes as amended due to some clerical errors.” The committee identified the corrections as clerical in nature, and Freeman supported approval of the amended minutes.

She also voted yes on the substantive financial item involving the project. The committee considered a motion to “approve the monthly invoice package for March,” and Freeman voted in favor. This vote was tied to the school-building project and reflected support for processing the month’s invoice package.

In the extracted record, Freeman’s direct spoken contributions consisted of brief affirmative responses: “Yes.” and “Yes.” These responses align with her votes on the two motions recorded for the meeting. No additional questions, objections, or extended comments were attributed to her in the extracted activity.

Overall, Freeman’s role in the meeting, as captured in the available record, was straightforward: she confirmed her উপস্থিত attendance, supported approval of the amended minutes, and supported approval of the March invoice package.