NACo's National Cooperative Purchasing Program, which provides access to public bids for all the nation's counties and cities, is modeled on the California Statewide Communities Development Authority Program, operated by the California State Association of Counties and the League of California Cities. This program uses lead public agencies to bid products and services on behalf of all counties and cities within California. Once a product or service has been successfully bid, the pricing offered by the bidders is made available to all jurisdictions. The purchasing agents order directly from the bidders using a bid or contract number.
NACo's national program, begun last year, utilizes the bidding authority of various public agencies, including the counties of Erie, N.Y.; Fairfax, Va.; Los Angeles, Calif.; Hennepin, Minn.; Orange, Fla.; and Santa Clara, Calif.
A review and selection committee, comprised of purchasing agents and lead public agencies, selects products and services and assigns bidding responsibility. Contracts may be awarded to multiple providers. The lead agencies provide the auditing and oversight of vendors and are reimbursed for their services. Ideally, one product or service is to be bid each quarter.
The first product line offered by the alliance was office supplies. Los Angeles County awarded a contract to Office Depot. The contract provides 61 percent discounts off list price on office supplies, as well as guaranteed delivery within a 50-mile radius of Office Depot delivery centers. Computers and office furniture were excluded from this contract.
Los Angeles County was the lead agency for the Office Depot bid. As of March 1, more than 800 counties have piggybacked on the Los Angeles contract. In each case, the county signed an addendum to the Los Angeles contract and immediately had access to the pricing and delivery schedules.
The alliance has selected four additional product areas to bid during 1997: personal computers and peripherals, office furniture and systems, police cars, and general supplies and small tools.
The computer bid will be available in early May, with office furniture and general supplies available in the summer. The police car bid, being placed by Fairfax County, Va., will solicit pilot participation during the spring, with the intent of going to bid in July.
Although some states prohibit or restrict piggyback arrangements, a great majority of the country allows local governments to collaborate on government-bid contracts.
All cities and counties, and their related entities, qualify to participate in the cooperative purchasing alliance. For additional information, contact the NACo Financial Services Center (FSC) at 202/942-4282 or via e-mail at sswendim@fsc.naco.org.
(Financial Services News was written by Steve
Swendiman, FSC director.)