Lancaster County ProcurementWorkshop

Purchasing from A to Z

Provide an Overview of Purchasing Emphasize the Importance of Compliance Assist in Building your Purchasing Knowledge Maximize Buying Power Guide you to meeting your departmental needs Introduce you to the Purchasing Staff Show you how to get started Make your job easier!

Workshop Objectives

Nebraska Statute 23-3101 to 23-3115 outlines the requirements of the County Purchasing Act which purpose is to provide a uniform purchasing procedure for County purchases of equipment, supplies, other items of personal property and services, and to provide for County sales of surplus personal property which is obsolete or not usable by the County.

All County Officers, Offices and Departments must comply with the requirements of the County Purchasing Act. Any purchase made not in compliance with the Act are void. The County Officer or Department Head making a wrongful purchase is personally liable for the cost if already paid for out of County funds. §23-3112

Additional requirements have been established by Lancaster County.

Purchasing Laws & Compliance

“Audit critical of state purchasing procedures” State Auditor Mike Foley said Monday that the agency in charge of hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts engages in questionable bidding practices, keeps inadequate records and uses erroneous accounting practices…

County Board Approval - The Lancaster County Board of Commissioners requires all contracts exceeding $20,000.00 to be approved prior to contract issuance. Purchasing Agent – Counties with a population over 150,000 must employ a Purchasing Agent. The Purchasing Agent with the approval of the County Board shall; Prescribe the manner in which personal property shall be purchased, delivered

and distributed. Revise forms from time to time as conditions warrant. Provide for the transfer to and between County departments of personal

property which is surplus. Dispose of personal property which has been declared by the County Board to

be surplus and which is obsolete or not usable by the County. And other duties as listed in §23-3107. Contract Execution – All contracts and leases shall be approved as to form by the County Attorney, and a copy of each long-term contract or lease shall be filed with the County Clerk.

Purchasing Laws & Compliance

Ethical Considerations & Public Perception Use appropriate judgment and always practice responsible

purchasing. When making purchases, consider what appearance will be

given to those that do not have all or any information on the purchase being made.

Are you prepared to explain your actions if contacted by a local media source?

Will your award recommendation stand up to a Vendor protest?

Purchasing Laws & Compliance

Purchasing Objectives Best Quality for the Lowest Price The bid will be awarded to the lowest

responsible, responsive Bidder whose bid will be most advantageous to the County, and as the County deems will best serve the requirements and best interest of the County.

What is your INTENT?

Begin with the end in mind. What do I need and how do I get it?

Allow Fair and Open CompetitionEvery Vendor deserves an opportunity!Will an equivalent product meet your needs?Our E-bid system provides notification to vendors worldwide.

Build Public Confidence and TrustIt’s taxpayer money!

Complete and Accurate Specifications What are the salient characteristics? Where is it going? When do you need it? Are there any Vendor requirements? What is the contract term length?

Important Considerations

What is the intent of your purchase?A) Is it to purchase a product or service one time per year?B) Is it to purchase a product or service on a regular basis?C) Does the cost exceed $1,500.00?D) Is the product on contract already?

A one-time/ non-contract/ under $1,500.00 purchase with no intent to order on a regular basis can be completed by the department.A purchase made on a regular basis with the total amount exceeding $1,500.00 per year will be quoted or bid through the Purchasing department.

(Example: Your department buys auto parts every month with a monthly cost of $800.00 Based on the intent to order on a monthly basis, these parts would be quoted by Purchasing and an Annual Supply contract would be issued. Other departments would be notified to see if they have similar needs in order to increase our buying power).

Intent

Types of Purchases

ONE-TIME SOLE SOURCE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES UNIT PRICE CONTRACTS REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS COMMODITY & SERVICE CONTRACTS EMERGENCY

A single purchase for a commodity or service.

One-Time Purchases

Functional requirements of the County can only be satisfied with use of a single product from only one source.

Patents, copyrights, secret processes or natural monopolies.

Purchase of utilities. Captive replacement parts or components for equipment. A Sole Source form must be completed by the department

requesting the service or commodity, approved by Purchasing and processed as a contract or purchase order.

Sole source should not be utilized when more than one (1) Vendor is available for a select item.

(Example: I need to purchase Harris radios that are compatible with the City EDAC’s system. A letter can be obtained which indicates Racom is the only distributor of this product. A Sole Source form would be completed with Racom specified as the sole vendor and Harris as the only product which is compatible with the EDAC system.)

Sole Source Purchases

For most construction projects between $0 - $20,000.00 http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/finance/purch/conindex.htm

Purchasing created the Unit Price Contracts based on your requests for those services.

You must request, receive and approve the proper Unit Price Quote Sheet for every Unit Price project.

These contracts save time and money by pre-approving Contractor rates, overhead, markups, insurance, Workers Compensation Insurance and bonds.

Unit Price Contracts

Example of the City of Lincoln\Lancaster County and Public Building Commission Unit Price Quotation Form for Contractors to fill out.

Unit Price Contracts

A qualification based procurement process which is best utilized when a distinct technical specification is not available.

Provides more flexibility in the selection of commodities or services and promotes creative responses by vendors which may be a benefit to the County.

Evaluation factors are determined prior to bid closing which allows for the Selection Committee to evaluate such areas as service personnel, experience, references, new technology and price to name a few.

RFP’s can be used for procuring everything from a VOIP System to furniture.

Requests for Proposals

Annual Supply and Annual Requirements Contracts are issued by the Purchasing Department following requests from departments for multiple purchases over a specific period of time.

Competitively bid through the Purchasing Department for a period up to four (4) years with options for renewals.

These are typically written to allow purchases by all County departments as well as inclusion of City of Lincoln and the Public Building Commission.

Estimated quantities must be established by each User to yield the highest available discounts from Vendors.

Commodity & Service Contracts

Refer to County Purchasing Act §23-3109 (2) for additional information on emergency purchases.

Purchases necessary due to a public calamity with a need to preserve or protect the public health or safety of the County’s residents, unforeseen damage to public machinery, etc.

All departments in cooperation with Purchasing must document the emergency and the purchases.

A complete list of Vendors who will provide commodities and services 24/7 is posted on the Purchasing Website.

(The list is currently being updated.)

Emergency Purchases

$0 - $1,500 (One-Time)

$1,501 - $19,999.99

$20,000 and Over

Departmental Quotes when a contract does not exist.

Informal bids/quotes performed by Purchasing Department.

Formal bids or proposals which must be processed by Purchasing.

Purchasing Thresholds & Guidelines

$0 - $1,500 (One-Time)

Department obtains up to three (3) quotes for products or services under $1,500.00 unless they are already under contract.

Written quotes via e-mail or fax will insure accurate information is exchanged with all Vendors. Printed copies of these documents can be included in files with corresponding order and receipt documents.

Phone quotes are allowable but occasionally lead to problems.

Purchasing will issue quotes for items under $1,500.00 upon department’s request. The E-bid system will notify the Vendors, receive quotes, tabulate quotes. Purchasing will send quote results to the department for award.

Purchasing Thresholds & Guidelines

Before initiating a new purchase, check Purchasing’s web site for a list of commodity and service contracts. http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/finance/purch/conindex.htm

Purchasing updates the contract list monthly with new or revised contracts highlighted.

Where can I find City/County Purchasing Contracts?

Basic Policy Requisitions are required for all commodity purchases over

$1,500.00. Requisitions for all commodities over $1,500.00 shall be

completed by the department and submitted to Purchasing prior to the issuance of an Informal Bid/Quote or Formal bid is issued by Purchasing.

Requests for commodities or services where a contract will be issued does not require a requisition unless your department wishes to encumber funds for a period of time.

The Information Services Department purchases all computer related items no matter what the dollar amount is.

Purchasing Thresholds & Guidelines

Greater than $1,500.00, but less than $20,000.00 Purchasing issues Informal Bids/Quotes via the E-

bid System. Complete and accurate specifications must be

provided to Purchasing. Provide deadline for receipt of materials or when

services are to begin. Purchasing will issue a purchase order or contract

following the award recommendation.

Purchasing Thresholds & Guidelines

Greater than $20,000.00 Purchasing issues a Formal Bid/RFP via the E-bid System. Bid/RFP must be advertised at least two times in the LJS. Bid/RFP must remain open for a period of at least 14 days. Complete and accurate specifications must be provided to

Purchasing. Provide deadline for receipt of materials or when services

are to begin. Purchasing will issue a purchase order or contract following

recommendation by the department and approval by the Law Department and County Board.

Purchasing Thresholds & Guidelines

The Purchasing Department can authorize the use of Cooperative contracts which may eliminate the need for County Bids/Proposals I.E. The State of Nebraska, U.S. Communities, WSCA, etc GSA Contracts - Only available for purchase of Law Enforcement,

Homeland Security or IS Equipment. A level of competition is still required for GSA due to the large number of Vendors.

Cooperative Contracts must be written, processed and approved by Purchasing and processed through the County Attorney and County Board.

COOPERATIVE CONTRACTS

Federal Grant Procurement Involve Purchasing during the grant writing phase if

procurement of Goods or Services is part of the funding. Locate the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) for your

grant prior to contacting Purchasing. Allow for additional time for all Federal Grant purchases.

Independent Cost Estimate (ICE), specifications, additional forms, certificates, price/cost analysis and evaluation take more time than standard local fund purchases.

Purchasing assists and meets the needs of Lancaster County, City of Lincoln, Public Building Commission and 3 Joint Public Agencies.

It’s critical to plan ahead and submit your projects to Purchasing early.

Prioritize your projects in order of importance. Involve Purchasing in your initial research in order

to avoid additional administrative work and delays.

Prioritizing and Planning

Surplus Equipment Contact Purchasing with a list of surplus equipment items. Purchasing will notify all other departments of surplus

equipment on hand prior to giving approval for sale of items. Office supplies and equipment, including but not limited to,

desks chairs and file cabinets shall be delivered to the Purchasing office and sold on GovDeals or Public Surplus auction sites.

(Equipment that is broken and no longer usable shall be disposed of.) ALL CELL PHONES MUST BE SENT TO PURCHASING. Make

sure to delete all information on the phone prior to delivery. Vehicles, motors, tractors, generators, park’s equipment,

etc. will be auctioned on Big Iron if another department has not requested the equipment.

(Big Iron will not accept items with an estimated net worth under $50.00.)

Purchasing AgentVince M. Mejer

402-441-8314

The head and principal officer of the Purchasing Division.

Assistant Purchasing AgentsRobert Walla 402.441.8309

Sharon Mulder 402.441.7428Suzanne Siemer 402.441.7414

BuyerShelly Hinze 402-441-8313

Contact the professional staff for all your procurement needs and questions regarding the informal/formal bidding process, contracts, professional services, renewals and general purchasing questions and surplus equipment.

Left to right: Shelly Hinze, Suzanne Siemer, Sharon Mulder and Robert Walla.

System SpecialistDebbie Winkler 402.441.7410

Senior Office AssistantsKim Wilnes 402.441.7417

Lori Irons 402.441.7416

Contact the support staff for assistance on requisitions, purchase orders and online bidding via the e-bid system.

440 S. 8th Street/Suite 200SW WingLincoln, NE 68508-2830

City/County Purchasing

QUESTIONS