U.S. Communities Purchasing & Finance Agency (U.S. Communities) is a non-profit public benefit corporation established by local government as an “instrumentality” of government to assist public agencies in reducing the cost of purchased goods and managing the financing of purchased goods.

U.S. Communities is jointly sponsored by NACo, the U.S.Conference of Mayors and the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing. U.S. Communities has a multi-state advisory board consisting of local government representatives.

The primary program offered through U.S. Communities is the Government Purchasing Alliance (GPA). Designed in cooperation with the advisory board, the GPA pools the purchasing power of public agencies, achieves bulk volume discounts on behalf of public agencies and provides a national purchasing forum for public agencies nationwide. More than 7,000 public agencies currently participate! Listed below are some frequently asked questions about the Government Purchasing Alliance.

Does the Government Purchasing Alliance have professional public purchasing advisors?
Yes. The Advisory Board members consist of public purchasing officials from Baltimore, Md.; Chicago, Ill.; Dallas County, Texas; Denver, Colo.; Fairfax County, Va,; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Hennepin County, Minn.; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles County, Calif.; Maricopa County, Ariz.; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Orange County, Fla.; Santa Clara County, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash.

Does a public agency have to be a member of U.S. Communities, USCM, NACo or NIGP to participate in the Government Purchasing Alliance?
No. Any county, city, school district, special district, state or other public agency can participate. Independent districts or agencies of a county or city can participate on their own, regardless of whether the county or city in which they reside are participating. Non-profit agencies that contract with local governments may also access the program.

My state and local regulations require local governments to bid everything. Can my state or local government use this program without going out to bid?
Yes, in most states. All GPA contracts have been competitively solicited by a lead public jurisdiction in accordance with their public purchasing rules and regulations. Each solicitation contains language that advises all vendors that the subsequent contract may be used by other government agencies throughout the United States.

This language is based on the lead jurisdictions “Joint Powers Authority” or “Cooperative Procurement” program. Although each government may have different purchasing procedures to follow, applying these competitive principles usually satisfies the competitive bid requirements in most state and local governments.

What is Joint Powers or Cooperative Procurement Authority?
State statutes and, if applicable, local ordinances generally allow one government agency to purchase from contracts competitively bid by another government agency (“Lead Public Agency”). This, of course, would require the consent of all parties including the vendor, the Lead Public Agency and government agency purchasing from the Lead Public Agency contract.

The GPA contracts are established to meet both the competitive bid and consent requirements. Generally, a public body may participate in, sponsor, conduct or administer a cooperative procurement agreement with one or more other public bodies, or agencies of the United States, for the purpose of combining requirements to increase efficiency or reduce administrative expenses. In some states, this power is not passed on to localities.

What does a public agency do to participate?
Simply acknowledge your consent to use the program, by signing the Participation Certificate and fax it to the appropriate participating vendor. The participation certificates are located on each of the vendor pages of the U.S. Communities GPA website — www.uscommunities.org. These certificates do not require the purchasing agencies to spend.

Purchasing Alliance?
There are two primary advantages: 1) cost savings and 2) administrative savings. The GPA leverages the collective purchasing power of government agencies nationwide and establishes cost effective volume pricing. These volume discounts reduce public expenditures and allow the public agencies to participate in contract pricing.
The GPA also significantly reduces administrative costs through a single master bid process that eliminates multiple bids, bid evaluations and protests.

How much does it cost to participate in the Government Purchasing Alliance?
There are no costs or fees to the local agency to participate in the GPA. Also, there are no minimum purchase requirements. Each public agency determines whether to buy from a vendor and how much to buy from a vendor.

What kinds of products are available on GPA contracts?
Presently the GPA offers contracts for office supplies, office systems furniture, computers and software, and electrical and com-data supplies.

(Financial Services News was written by Steve Swendiman, managing director, NACo Financial Services Center.)