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City-County Procurement Program
Offers Superior Pricing on Electrical, Communications and Data
Supplies By
Justin O'Brien The Government Purchasing Alliance,
the joint procurement program of The U.S. Conference of Mayors and National
Association of Counties, has added electrical, communications and data supplies
to its product offerings. Pricing for these supplies offers discounts
ranging from 15-71 percent and the contract includes a full range of products,
including wiring and cable, signaling, heating items, lamps, lighting as well as
telecommunications and data products. Nationally-recognized Graybar Electric is
the contract supplier. Local governments across the country can now piggyback
onto the contract to gain optimal savings and pricing. There are no fees
required in order to utilize the contract. As with all USCM-NACo procurement program contracts, the Graybar contract meets competitive-bidding requirements. Contract awards are only made after a rigorous national competitive-bidding process. The request-for proposal, bidding and evaluation process for this contract was conducted and finalized using the Los Angeles County model. The model enables local governments to avoid costly and time-consuming bid and evaluation processes by using the already publicly-bid contract. The program is endorsed by the National Institute for Governmental Purchasing, NIGP. The USCM contract with Graybar offers an additional benefit in cases where local contracts with Graybar already exist. Where an existing local contract offers better pricing for a particular item, the USCM program contract allows the local government to choose the best contract price available. In effect, this allows your city to cherry-pick from both contracts wherever it is beneficial. USCM procurement program contracts are non-exclusive, meaning that a city always retains the option to purchase from other sources when preferred or required. USCM’s procurement program is brought to cities across the country in cooperation with the National Association of Counties. Acting in concert to bring optimal value and savings in public purchasing, the USCM-NACo program saved over $37,000,000 for local governments in 1999. The Government Purchasing Alliance also offers office supplies, computers and office furniture contracts. Cities interested in learning more about USCM’s procurement program and contracts should contact the Conference at 888-828-8763 or send e-mail to: jobrien@usmayors.org . Learn more about the USCM procurement program and contracts, as well as the full range of Conference program offerings on the Conference of Mayors’ website at www.usmayors.org/solutions
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