October 1, 2012

Fifteen years ago, only 31 states allowed governmental entities to purchase goods and services through cooperative purchasing contracts. On August 1, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that modified the New York State procurement code to make cooperative purchasing contracts available to local government agencies within the Empire State.

All 50 states now allow local governmental entities to access savings, expanded product and service offerings, and operating efficiencies provided through cooperative purchasing programs like the U.S. Communities Cooperative Purchasing Alliance. To help cities, municipalities, and other public sector entities in New York State understand the benefits of cooperative purchasing, U.S. Communities is hosting webinars and attending conferences around the state.

U.S. Communities is the only purchasing cooperative founded by public agencies for public agencies. The five national sponsors that founded and co-own U.S. Communities include: The United States Conference of Mayors, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and the Association of School Business Officials International. In addition, more than 90 state associations sponsor the U.S. Communities program.

Participating in a cooperative purchasing program is an established best practice in public procurement. Cooperative purchasing consolidates the buying power of government agencies and nonprofits nationally to provide benefits in pricing, product quality and contract efficiencies. Aggregating the purchasing power of public agencies can lower costs, increase services and save time. Most purchasing cooperatives offer cost and time savings, which are critical to running procurement departments effectively and efficiently.

U.S. Communities supplier partners commit to providing their most competitive government pricing to all participating agencies. Regularly scheduled internal and third-party audits ensure compliance with contract pricing, terms and conditions, while benchmarking analyses evaluate the overall value. Supplier contracts are also reviewed quarterly by the lead contracting agency, and all documents relevant to contract solicitations are publicly posted on the U.S. Communities website for complete transparency.

With nearly 20 years of experience, a substantial customer base, and significant sales, U.S. Communities is in the best position to deliver contracts that offer the most competitive pricing. To ensure compliance with state guidelines, it adheres to a competitive bid solicitation process through a lead public agency and provides access to documentation to confirm compliance. Public agencies that implement stringent supplier commitments, audits and price benchmarking participate in U.S. Communities with confidence.

U.S. Communities has more than 50,000 registered participating public agencies and offers 22 contracts with 28 suppliers. In 2011, aggregate program volume exceeded $1.2 billion, with more than $200 million in estimated savings to participating public agencies. All contracts are non-exclusive, contain no minimum spending requirements and require no usage fees.

Learn more about U.S. Communities by visiting the website www.uscommunities.org or contact Kathryn Kretschmer-Weyland with the Conference of Mayors at 301-460-5251 or e-mail kweyland@usmayors.org.