County Executive Steve Schuh announced his administration has implemented a series of reforms to the procurement system to save taxpayers’ money and increase efficiency in county government.
“We have changed fundamentally how government will do business with the private sector,” said Schuh. “The reforms we implemented in 2016 will ensure a better, more efficient county government for our citizens.”
The procurement process is the process by which county government purchases goods and services needed to support police officers, fire fighters, inspectors, and all other County employees delivering County services to citizens. Traditionally, the process has been bogged down in bureaucratic red tape and inefficiencies. Upon coming into office, the County Executive ordered an enterprise wide review of county government to identify inefficiencies and cost savings.
Among the reforms implemented in 2016 include:
- Identified $2 million in savings as a result of reducing costs for ongoing services
- Hired a new Purchasing Agent with a private sector background to lead to the reform efforts
- Established metrics to track time to conduct major procurements that led to a reduction in procurement completion times by 18 days from May to October
- Reorganized purchasing staff to better coordinate purchases across multiple county departments
- Prepared paperwork templates for various procurement types to reduce the time needed for document preparation
- Implemented county wide training program to improve the delivery of procurement services
- Started process for buying technology to further enhance efficiency in procurement process
Businesses interested in contracting with the county can learn more by visiting http://www.aacounty.org/departments/central-services/purchasing.