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Consultant Pool 101: How City of Seattle Consultant Rosters Work

ToyBox is on 10 City of Seattle Consultant Rosters through 2030. Here's how the roster program works, from how departments hire to the paperwork after the yes.

In June 2026 the City of Seattle confirmed that ToyBox Consulting & Management was selected to 10 City of Seattle Consultant Rosters, for the cycle running through December 31, 2030.

The question I get most is what that actually means. This page is the long answer. It follows my LinkedIn series, Consultant Pool 101, one section per episode.

1. What a consultant roster is
2. How a department hires from a roster
3. Why the rosters favor small businesses
4. What a roster spot is not
5. Nonprofits have their own door
6. The paperwork after the yes
7. The five-year clock
8. The 10 rosters ToyBox is on

1. What a consultant roster is

Seattle Municipal Code 20.50.100 lets the City keep lists of qualified consultants, sorted by specialty, for use by any City department. The City calls these lists rosters.

Being on a roster means a consultant has already been reviewed and approved for that category of work. When a department needs that skill, the path to a contract is much shorter than a full, publicly advertised procurement.

2. How a department hires from a roster

A department can identify a consultant off a roster in one of three ways:

1. An informal (not publicly advertised) request to everyone on that roster.
2. An informal request to a smaller group of consultants on that roster.
3. Direct selection of one consultant on that roster.

None of the three requires a public advertisement, as long as the contract is estimated to cost under $410,000 and the department has decided its needs can be fully met without one. The limit applies to the whole contract, not per year. A department can use one roster consultant for up to $819,000 a year per roster category.

3. Why the rosters favor small businesses

Under Seattle Municipal Code 20.50.110B, when 15 or more qualified consultants in a roster category are small businesses, that category is limited to small businesses. The City uses the U.S. Small Business Administration's size standards to decide who counts.

All 10 of ToyBox's rosters are small-business rosters. When a department pulls from one of them, it's hiring a small firm because the code was built that way.

4. What a roster spot is not

A roster spot is not a contract. It's not an endorsement from the City, and it doesn't come with a guaranteed project. It means a consultant was reviewed and selected as qualified for that category of work.

A department still has to need the work, find the consultant and decide they're the right fit. The accurate version is still pretty useful.

5. Nonprofits have their own door

Nonprofits can't join the consultant rosters, because a nonprofit isn't a "small business concern" under the code. They don't need to. Seattle Municipal Code 20.50.090C lets a department contract directly with a public benefit nonprofit corporation, without public advertising, when that's the best option for the work.

The short version: nonprofit, the 20.50.090C route; small consulting firm, get on a roster.

6. The paperwork after the yes

Getting selected off a roster starts the contract, and the contract has its own requirements:

• A new Consultant Questionnaire for each agreement.
• The City's standard Consultant Roster Agreement. Departments decide whether its terms can be negotiated.
• Insurance that names the City of Seattle as additional insured.
• A Seattle business license and current City taxes, if the consultant has a physical presence in Seattle.

None of it is hard. All of it is easier when it's ready before anyone asks.

7. The five-year clock

The rosters now reset every five years. The current cycle runs from December 15, 2025 to December 31, 2030, and every approval expires on December 31, 2030, no matter when the consultant was approved. The City takes applications through the cycle, so small firms that aren't on a roster yet still have time.

The 10 rosters ToyBox is on

• Race and Social Justice Consultants and Practitioners
• Ethnic Community Outreach Experts
• Ethnic Media Direct (TV, Radio, Print)
• Communications
• Public Information and Public Relations
• Technical Writing
• Management Services
• Human Resources
• Training and Counseling Services
• Project Management

Behind them: three Washington State Commerce appointments (the Seattle-King Local Advisory Team, a CFVIP grant evaluator role and a Reentry grant evaluator role), CompTIA Project+, Intuit QuickBooks Online Certified User, and 20+ years of cross-sector operations. Woman- and Black-owned small business, based in Bellevue.

Questions about the roster process from the department side go to the City's Purchasing and Contracting division. Julie Salinas, Procurement Program Manager: julie.salinas@seattle.gov · (206) 684-0383.

Source: City of Seattle RFQ CTY-CR-2025-08, Citywide Consultant Roster (September 2025). City rules and dollar limits can change; confirm current figures with the City.

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