County Searches for Savings Buying Through National Agency

CREST HAVEN – Everyone loves a bargain, and that includes the County of Cape May.
Many county residents pride themselves being smart shoppers, scanning ads for a deal, comparing prices on the Internet and in newspapers. That might also describe the county’s Purchasing Department. It must follow public bidding and contract laws to the “T,” all with an eye toward best price. To date, it is the only county in the state to be utilizing a national agency to get the best price on goods.
For that reason, county Purchasing Agent Kim Allen described for freeholders Tue., June 12 how the county’s use of U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance (“U.S. Communities”) could be utilized to save tax dollars. Use of the service had been given approvals by County Counsel Barbara Bakley-Marino and Director of Operations Edmund Grant.
U.S. Communities is described on its website as “a nonprofit government purchasing cooperative that offers competitively solicited contracts by lead public agencies to public agencies across the country.”
Whether or not the county will “clean up” using the purchasing power of the entity, Allen used one example of the savings gained by using the service. The county has a lot of hands to keep clean, and the present contract for ZEP hand cleaner and is paying $52,000, said Allen. If the same amount of cleaner was purchased through U.S. Communities the tab would be $28,000.
“We are not talking a few thousand dollars,” Allen said. “That is over $20,000 the county would save compared with what we are doing now,” she said.
Since everything the county purchases, road salt to food for nursing home residents, goods for inmates and light bulbs for traffic signals must first be bought from the lowest responsible bid, there is also another cost, that of advertising for bids. Before that happens those bids must be painstakingly prepared with numerous specifications. That time is saved by use of U.S. Communities, which has been authorized by Gov. Chris Christie, said Allen. A Local Finance Notice has gone to all counties advising of the allowed use of U.S. Communities.
Some public entities that could save by purchasing through U.S. Communities shy away because of that state notice, she said. Once understood, the resultant savings make the effort pay for itself in savings, Allen explained.
Consider, she noted, the vendor, U.S. Foods, that supplies food to Crest Haven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, at a cost of about $380,000. By utilizing the same vendor and salesman, but buying through U.S. Communities, the county would save about $47,000 annually on those items.
“That’s great, but does it ignore local mom-and-pop businesses?” asked Vice Director M. Susan Sheppard.
“When we go out to bid, we cannot have preference for local vendors,” said Allen. “We cannot put that as a restriction,” she added.
Many vendors have local distributors, added Grant.
Allen added there is a national contract for car parts that will save additional dollars and there is a Marmora area distributorship that could be used.
Like any shopper, Allen said the county can choose between state and national bids, and pick the lower of the two costs. She anticipates savings of over $100,000 by use of U.S. Communities.
Allen told the board she had been asked to attend a June 25 meeting of South Jersey freeholders to explain how U.S. Communities might save money for their counties. She also hopes to inform local municipalities of the potential savings available through U.S. Communities.
“Hopefully they will benefit, she concluded.
According to its website, U.S. Communities reduces the cost of purchased goods and services for public agencies by offering access to competitively solicited contracts between suppliers and lead public agencies.
Over 42,000 “Participating Public Agencies” are registered for the program. U.S. Communities offers 20 contracts with 29 suppliers of a variety of products and services. Total aggregated purchases in 2009 exceeded $1.4 billion, with $214 million in estimated savings to public agencies that year alone.
Participating Public Agencies Cities, counties, school districts, colleges and universities, and state and nonprofit agencies are eligible to participate in the U.S. Communities program.
U.S. Communities offers a variety of products and services to Participating Public Agencies, including office and school supplies, office and education furniture, office machines and printers, technology products and solutions, telecommunications supplies and electrical products.
U.S. Communities aggregates the purchasing power of more than 90,279 public agencies nationwide by offering Participating Public Agencies the ability to make purchases through existing, competitively solicited contracts between a supplier and a lead public agency.
Each lead public agency awards its contract to a supplier after a competitive solicitation process designed to ensure that Participating Public Agencies receive the highest quality products and services at the lowest possible prices.
Once the lead public agency has awarded a contract with the supplier, the lead public agency through U.S. Communities allows other Participating Public Agencies in need of similar products and services to make purchases through the existing contract, ensuring that all Participating Public Agencies have access to the same terms and conditions of the existing competitively solicited contract.
The supplier pays a minimum 1 percent administrative fee to the U.S. Communities program, and this pays for operating expenses and offsets costs incurred by national and state sponsors. Although U.S. Communities does not issue the solicitation for the contracts or participate in the bid selection process with suppliers, it works with both the lead public agency and the supplier after a contract is in place to ensure that the contract is administered properly through routine audits as well as additional oversight measures to ensure Participating Public Agencies are receiving the quality products and services of the highest quality and at the lowest prices.
U.S. Communities was founded in 1996 as a partnership between the Association of School Business Officials, the National Association of Counties, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors.