https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Co-op Solutions


Photo courtesy of Pixabay

News

Tennessee purchasing crew fine-tunes its pandemic response

Tennessee purchasing crew fine-tunes its pandemic response

  • Written by Michael Keating
  • 3rd February 2021

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the two-person procurement team at Knoxville’s (Tenn.) Community Development Corp. (KCDC) leaped into action, says Terry McKee, IT and procurement director. “We immediately began seeking personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies, which is not something that we have needed much of in the past. We also became the one open office at our entity so that the mail and supplies could be delivered while virtually all other employees worked remotely.” McKee says half of the procurement team began working from home to provide social distancing. “This caused some growing pains but has worked very well,” he adds.

McKee says dealing with the pandemic is a work in progress. “We are still ‘triaging’ procurement needs in order to meet the demands on our time. For example, we have extended several contracts that were set to expire simply to give ourselves more time to handle them.” The department began holding pre-bid meetings solely by Zoom video conferencing; it also began holding bid openings by Zoom only. In addition, it began to only accept emailed bids. “We wrote an Emergency Procurement Procedures policy to comply with our governor’s Emergency Orders, which allowed us to not accept bids in person, to not conduct in-person bid openings and other activities,” McKee explains.

KCDC is the public housing authority for Knoxville and Knox County, Tenn. It manages and rents more than 3,700 units across more than 20 properties and manages the application process and distribution of 4,000 Section 8 vouchers. KCDC also serves as the redevelopment agency for Knoxville and fosters economic development through approving tax credits and incentives for new businesses looking to locate in the area.

McKee says cooperative purchasing agreements are potential time- and money-savers. “For smaller entities, including mine, one of the major benefits is the ability to leverage the volume of a larger agency and thus reduce per-unit costs. While we often think of national or regional co-ops, governments also need to look locally to find opportunities to jointly bid goods/services with other local entities.”

Procurement officials, however, need to do their due diligence, McKee cautions. “A procurement professional must evaluate the cooperative agreement to ascertain if it meets the entity’s legal needs and is eligible for usage. Additionally, the procurement professional must then determine if the cooperative contract actually is cost-attractive and the best solution for the entity.”

McKee says government procurement departments need to explore a variety of tools and techniques to become more efficient. These can include using automation (online bidding, emailing requisitions, posting results, RFP evaluation software, etc.) to only accepting questions via email or web portal. “An entity must examine its acquisition thresholds and, if allowed by elected officials, raise them to a realistic level.” Procurement teams, McKee adds, should consider hiring a consultant to look at the procurement operation for ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness. He says NIGP’s consulting program could be a good place to start.

McKee says the use of systems contracts (a form of strategic procurement) may boost efficiencies in buying operations. Systems contracts, which are often also called “term bids,” “requirements contracts” and “IDIQs” (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity), are used to meet repetitive needs for equivalent goods or services at a government over a period of time (usually annually). Some types of goods and services bought through systems contracts include office supplies, MRO supplies, temporary labor and mowing services. McKee points to several advantages for using systems contracts. These include the ability to leverage the entity’s buying volume to drive costs down. Through the contracts, the department may be able to reduce the number of vendors that staffers need to deal with. The contracts may also simplify ordering.

McKee believes lean-staffed government procurement departments are facing bigger workloads. “Indeed, they are, since over the last few decades, generally across the nation, procurement staffs have been reduced with ever tighter budgets.” He says technology has provided some offsetting efficiencies. “Additionally, many entities have delegated more ordering against established contracts and low-dollar-value direct purchasing by the user departments.”

He predicts government procurement departments’ staffing and budgets will shrink in the coming year. “My guess is that in most entities, they are contracting due to the general uncertainty and decreased revenue. Fortunately for me, my budget stayed steady for our fiscal-year 2021, which began on July 1, 2020. This is yet another challenge for procurement professionals.”

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact: [email protected]

Tags: homepage-featured-1 News Procurement Co-op Solutions News Procurement News

Most Recent


  • Here are 12 of America's most walkable cities with vacancies for renters
    Of the many factors that entice visitors and new community members to a city, its walkability is pretty high on the list. Inviting sidewalk and smart traffic control drives foot traffic to restaurants and storefronts, making the area desirable for prospective businesses, which in turn attracts more people.  It’s a loop that begins with the […]
  • security
    Note to cities: Watch out for security gaps and hidden expenses as you acquire new IT systems
    Government purchasers need to be aware of the security concerns new technology can introduce into a network or system, says Jeffrey Jones, a national security and global trade attorney with the firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. “State and local governments are soft targets for ransomware actors and cyberattacks because smaller government entities often lack the […]
  • Reno, NV
    In Nevada county, data underpins efforts to address climate change
    Across the United States, cities and counties are doing their best to confront climate change in myriad ways—from bolstering seawalls to updating electrical grids and everything in between. But in order for communities to best direct their efforts and responsibly spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars, administrators need data. In Washoe County and Reno, Nev., for example, […]
  • $52B semiconductor investment intended to rejuvenate American manufacturing
    Three decades ago, American manufacturing dominated the semiconductor industry, producing about 40 percent of the global supply annually. But over time, companies shipped business overseas looking to cut costs, and today, the nation produces only 10 percent of all semiconductors. It’s something the Biden Administration is trying to change through CHIPS and Science Act. “There […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • NLC releases State of Cities 2021 report
  • North Texas alliance partners with Marketplace.city on smart government solutions
  • Harris County deploys next-generation security in 150 public buildings
  • The Colonial Pipeline attack: What it means for critical infrastructure, and why businesses need to have a plan in place

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

Here are 12 of America’s most walkable cities with vacancies for renters dlvr.it/SWlBkd

16th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Amid digitization of public infrastructure, cybersecurity is increasingly a challenge dlvr.it/SWh6Ww

15th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Note to cities: Watch out for security gaps and hidden expenses as you acquire new IT systems dlvr.it/SWgth1

15th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

When spending federal stimulus dollars, local governments should consider long-term, community impact dlvr.it/SWXJWZ

12th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

In Nevada county, data underpins efforts to address climate change dlvr.it/SWTGHy

11th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

$52B semiconductor investment intended to rejuvenate American manufacturing dlvr.it/SWPqHQ

10th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding dlvr.it/SWLQB7

9th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation’s carbon foot print by 40% within decade dlvr.it/SWHGQL

8th August 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X