During the holiday shopping season, most of us are on the hunt for the best values when we head to the malls and stores.
The County of San Diego is no different.
Last year, the County of San Diego Department of Purchasing and Contracting spent over $1.2 billion on purchases from 1,875 suppliers, from construction to Information Technology, from utilities to vehicles, from helicopters to mental health services.
And like a smart consumer, the County looks to spend its money wisely. By doing so, we save taxpayer dollars that can be put back into programs and services.
But we know we’re not the only ones looking to save money.
That is why we asked our colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to approve a first ever Regional Procurement workshop. This workshop is an unprecedented effort to bring municipalities, public agencies and others together to leverage our buying power throughout the region, and share best purchasing practices and good ideas.
That workshop was held at the County Operations Center in Kearny Mesa. It attracted about 80 participants, including the City of Chula Vista, the City of National City, Sweetwater Union High School District and the South Bay Union High School District.
The goals of the gathering were not modest.
One was to streamline regional procurement through public partnerships. We know that not all government agencies in the region have sophisticated purchasing procedures and the job may rest on an administrator who’s very busy with other duties. We wanted to share valuable information, best practices and initiate some key contacts that can help purchasing agents make better decisions.
We also wanted other agencies to take advantage of the County’s mass buying power. Combining solicitations increase our leverage, allowing us to obtain volume discounts for goods or services. Agencies can also piggyback on existing contracts, which avoids duplication of procurement efforts. By getting purchasing agents throughout the region to work collaboratively, we can save money for local taxpayers.
The conference is only the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing partnership and close working relationship among the many public agencies that serve the over 3 million people of this region. Efficient government means savings for taxpayers.
Procuring goods and services is a difficult, complicated task in most circumstances, and it’s even more so for a public agency when taxpayer dollars are at stake.
At the County, we are transparent in our procurement efforts, offering information on notices, awards and bids on our unique Buynet web site. (buynet.sdcounty.ca.gov). In addition, we organize several “How to do Business with the County of San Diego” workshops for vendors and businesses throughout the region and participate in several “Meet the Buyers” seminars.
San Diego County pioneered “Reverse Auctions,” an on-line price competitive bidding process during which pre-qualified suppliers bid their lowest price for specified goods or services.
It is important for the public to know that the County also takes politics completely out of contracting. While there have been too many government contracting scandals in the news, our County Charter prohibits the Board of Supervisors from intervening with the Director of Purchasing and Contracting in vendor selection for buying goods and services. This insures that the decisions made on contracts and purchases are made on cost, quality and service and the contracting scandals that have tarnished other agencies do not occur in our government. There is no room for “pay to play.”
Our efforts have paid off. The County of San Diego has received “Excellence in Procurement” awards from the National
Procurement Institute for the last 14 consecutive years because of the innovation, professionalism, e-procurement, productivity and leadership of our Department of Purchasing and Contracting.
Now, we will work with our partners throughout the entire region to get the right stuff, at the right price for you, the taxpayer.
