Peach State Procurement

Transcription

1 Peach State Procurement June 2017 Volume II, Issue 2 Mark Your Calendars! Summer Leadership Seminar Set in Macon Friday, August 18th Please make plans now to attend GPAG s Summer Leadership Seminar and Business Meeting. The event will be held on August 18, 2017 from 8:00AM to 3:00 PM and will be held at the Middle Georgia State University Conference Center, 100 University Parkway, Macon, Georgia. We have scheduled an outstanding slate of presenters that will present information on a variety of leadership topics. There is no charge to attend and lunch will be provided. Registration information is now available on GPAG s website and the agenda listing speakers and topics will be posted soon. Fall Reverse Trade Show Scheduled for October 5th If you have not attended one of our the Reverse Trade Shows, we encourage you to do so in the future as we believe it provides you with a great opportunity to network with other Purchasing professionals, as well as meet new vendors. Please watch the GPAG website for information on the upcoming Fall Reverse Trade Show to be held October 5, 2017 in Macon along with information on next year s Spring Reverse Trade Show in early Thanks to all participants at the Spring show! Spring Conference Survey Responses Provide Insight Over half of GPAG members who attended the Spring Signature Conference at Jekyll Island took the time to respond to the follow up survey. For that, the Board and Committee Chairs thank you. Survey results offer insights into the success (or failure) of a conference and this data greatly assists in planning future conferences. Of the respondents, 63% rated the Conference overall as Great or Excellent, with a few Averages but no Poor's. And, 86% thought the addition of the Supplier Trade Fair was valuable to the Conference. This group was equally divided on what motivated them to attend. There were 27% who came for the Continuing Education and Professional Skills while 12% attended to obtain credits for certification. Networking with Peers was most important to 25% of attendees and 25% came for the Speakers and Topics. The food was rated sub-par by many and the facility/lodging (ants?!) did not make everyone happy, but they did enjoy most of the speakers and presentations. People loved Becky Daniel and her Dipper! Some were not so impressed with the keynote, but others thought Tim Conner was great. All speakers and topics received great ratings. What areas and topics would attendees like at future conferences? Ethics, Protests and Legal Issues were mentioned, along with Insurance and Bonding Guidelines; Legal Language for Contracts and State Laws and Titles; RFP Structures/Evaluations; and Fixed Assets and Inventory. Who made up this group? Of the 67 attendees, 43% came from K-12 organizations with City and County employees making up 38%. The other 19% were divided among State and Other groups. Of the total in attendance, 74% have already achieved a certification with the majority being CPPB and CPPO. The best result is that 87% would love to attend another GPAG conference! (continued on pg 5) 1

2 In the News... BIBB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT PROCUREMENT MONTH CELEBRATED By Elaine Wilson March was officially "Procurement Month" in Georgia. The Bibb County School District celebrated the month with several events. We received a proclamation, from the Mayor of Macon-Bibb; notating that Procurement Month is a time set-aside to recognize those in the purchasing and materials management professions who play a significant role in the efficiency and effectiveness in both the public and private sectors by balancing and negotiating time, sourcing and the pricing of goods and services. The events were kicked off with a trivia contest and several planned events. The first event was held at the Operations Center on Cavalier Drive on March 10 th as a drop-in pizza and prizes get-together. Also, the Procurement and Warehouse Operations Staff were recognized at the BCSD Monthly Board Meeting held March 16 th and a Proclamation was presented to the entire staff. The final Procurement Month event was held on March 17 th at the downtown Central Offices of BCSD. Several awards were presented recognizing excellence in the implementation of MUNIS including the following: Best Munis Department CTAE Certificates of Achievement: Missy Willingham (E.S. Secretary); Lisa Krommes (M.S. Bookkeeper); Shunyette Blasingame (H.S. Bookkeeper); Laurie Griffin (Media Specialist); Dr. Shannon Norfleet (Best Munis Approval Turnaround); Debra Ross (Most Improved Requisitioner); Lisa Norris (The Original 1 st Requisitioner); Sheila Jordan (Best Departmental Requisitioner). Congratulations to all! The celebration was wrapped up with door prizes, giveaways, pizza and of course, cake! Bibb County School District Team Blended Learning and Mentoring in Cobb County School District By Richard Pennington, J.D., LL.M., CPPO excerpt from HotTopics/Government Procurement Magazine/ April/May 2017 The Cobb County, GA, School District is an Achievement of Excellence in Procurement award winner from the National Procurement Institute for the 12th consecutive year and holds five consecutive three-year Outstanding Agency Accreditation Achievement Awards, an honor given by NIGP. This school district has credited much of its success to its blended learning and mentoring programs. David Odom is the Director of CCSD Procurement Services Department. In regards to mentoring, Barbara Bates, assistant director of CCSD Procurement Services Department, offers the example of a recent on-boarding of an employee who had 19 years experience with a local county but none with a school district. When the new employee arrived, the office assembled a notebook covering topics including procurement regulations, relevant district board policies, and internal instructions for managing proposals, bids, quotes, and open records requests. They also provided an excel list of topics of training requirements with descriptions and locations. The training encompasses all policies and procedures, regulations, templates, and retention schedules. Other areas are covered with the mentor in one on one sessions. "Shadowing is also a part of the training with the new employee being given opportunities to attend meetings, pre bid conferences and evaluation meetings.` Bates says the training program is designed to take little steps in learning. She used personal experiences from moving from the district to school bookkeeper where she saw the value of patience in a professional development approach. Mentoring requires an atmosphere of trust and new employees are asked to review their colleagues work, even senior level a learning experience for both. According to Jill Vestal, Sr. Exec. Dir., CCSD Business Services Division, this approach has been instrumental to the stability and success of the CCSD Procurement Services Department. Cobb County School District Procurement Team

3 GPAG Sponsor Vendor Registry Names Purchaser of the Month City of Griffin s Cindy Fay is Recognized By John Barron, Vendor Registry Buyer Success Manager Cindy Fay, procurement analyst for the City of Griffin, Georgia, has been named Vendor Registry s June 2017 Purchaser of the Month! Vendor Registry would like to recognize her hard work and show our appreciation for all the time and dedication that she puts into making the City of Griffin s purchasing department the best it can be. Take a look at our spotlight Q&A with Cindy in which she shares some valuable insight on her career (and a fun bonus question, too!). To celebrate, we had a fun Q & A session with Cindy so she could share some valuable insight on her career and how she s become one of the great women in her field. Cindy also serves as GPAG s Legislative Chairperson. Congratulations, Cindy! We re grateful to work with you and the City of Griffin! How many years have you worked in purchasing? I am a relative newbie of 9 years in Public Procurement. I started with the City of Griffin in 2008 and until then, I had no real concept of what public procurement was all about. I was, however, armed with a very diverse background as a Functional Analyst in the Training & Support division of a financial software company...with my primary product being Accounts Payable and my secondary product Purchase Order, so I was accustomed to different regulations and policies as well as dealing with a wide variety of issues. When I started with the City, I quickly discovered that the Procurement department consisted mainly of a handwritten requisition log with an occasional bid submitted and published. There was no in-house training, so I took every available class that Georgia DOAS-SPD (Dept. of Administrative Services State Procurement Division) offered the non-state agencies, and I became certified both with the State and NIGP. How long has your agency used Vendor Registry? Griffin started using Vendor Registry in May Sometime in April, I remember getting a cold call from Vendor Registry. Being a oneperson shop I normally do not have the time that I would like to have to devote to sales reps. This was one I wanted to hear; I had just been discussing options with a peer that could help with the workload just earlier that week. I remember they had mentioned Vendor Registry, but since I had no budget to work with, I had dismissed it. Whether it was an omen or curiosity, when I got the call, I felt that I needed to find out more. Why did you choose Vendor Registry? There are several reasons that I chose Vendor Registry to present to my management. The most prominent ones are: First, I knew I needed help. Georgia agencies were still getting acclimated to the new requirements of O.C.G.A (E-Verify) and (SAVE). It was a confusing time that put a tremendous additional workload on all Georgia agencies. There were no fees for Vendor Registry s basic services. There was no way I would ask my vendors to pay to do business with us when they were already getting that service for free. Vendor self-service put the responsibility of keeping the records current back on the vendor, where it belongs. No more accusing calls when they did not get a notice because we did not have a correct commodity code. The customer service and support people that I have worked with have been exceptional; they are always willing to help and go the extra mile to help us resolve a problem. I have periodically done some it would be really nice if scenarios. Whether it is a good idea they want to incorporate, a good idea that they aren t able to do at present, something that may just benefit a couple of people or even a what were you thinking idea, I always get honest feedback and feel that my comments, even the ridiculous ones, are appreciated. That s important to me. What s your favorite thing about your job? Most people in Procurement are short-staffed and overloaded, so hearing favorite thing sometimes brings a chuckle. After that chuckle, I would say I have two things I like about my job. First, I m always doing something different. In the nine years I have been here, I doubt that I ve had two days the same. That keeps me learning. The second is more specific to this job. I thrive on making a difference, hopefully for the better. Since there was no official Procurement process here, almost everything I have done has made a difference and that makes me proud. Bonus question: You re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why? That one s easy for me. Purple is my color and I have two shades Violet for when I need to be bold and assertive and Mauve for those softer times. Know someone who should be nominated for Purchaser of the Month? Send a nomination to John Barron at jbarron@vendorregistry.com, including your name, the name of the person you re nominating, their contact information and why that person (or department) deserves recognition. 3

4 Highlights from 2017 Spring Signature Conference/Supplier Trade Show and Spring Reverse Trade Show Spring Signature Conference/Trade Show at Jekyll Island Spring Reverse Trade Show Kennesaw State University Many Thanks to Ernie Webster and Mendi Boddie for these great photos. 4

5 Peach State Procurement Peach State Procurement is the current official newsletter of the Governmental Procurement Association of Georgia (GPAG) It is produced quarterly by the Public Relations / Historical Committee, Penny Murphy, Chair. Other Committee members are Mendi Boddie and Stephanie Brice. To submit articles or photos, please send to Penny Murphy at penmurph@gmail.com The newsletters are published prior to the next general business meeting or conference each quarter. C o n t r i b u t o r s t o t h e June 2017 Edition include: Mendi Boddie, Stephanie Brice, Joe Tommie, Elaine Wilson, Ernie Webster, Cindy Fay, Ted Burgess and Penny Murphy. Legislative Update By Ted Burgess, Legislative Committee At the state level, this year s session of the General Assembly ended on March 30, No legislation impacting local procurement passed this time, but several bills were introduced. They included: House Bill 189, the Contract Cancellation Act: This bill would have created a new section under Title 36 of Georgia Law. It would require any service contract to contain performance and cost criteria, and would allow the local government to cancel the contract if the vendor did not comply with required reporting. House Bill 489: A new Code section created by this legislation would have required local governments and boards of education to advertise in the Georgia Procurement Registry, in addition to the county s official legal organ, for solicitations over $10,000 for goods and services, or over $100,000 for public works construction projects. Senate Bill 22: Any business entity whose contracts with local agencies totaled more than $50,000 would have been prohibited from making contributions to a candidate or his/her campaign committee. At the Federal level, there is a fair amount of discussion on transportation and infrastructure grants. In looking collectively at these individual initiatives, one can see continued emphasis on accountability, transparency, and ethics at the state level. Buy American: On April 18, 2017, the President signed Executive Order which directed federal agencies to strengthen the impact of Buy American laws. Within 150 days it requires each agency to propose policies to ensure that Federal financial assistance awards maximize the use of materials produced in the U.S.. Within 220 days, it requires the Secretary of Commerce to recommend ways to strengthen Buy American laws, including domestic procurement preference policies. Ultimately, this could impact local government costs and administrative requirements when using Federal grant funds. Infrastructure Initiative: The President s initiative, as well as his proposed budget, promote up to $1 trillion in spending on infrastructure improvements. Actually, this would consist of about $200 billion of Federal money, leveraged to equal $1 trillion of state, local, private, and Federal funds and includes spending on surface transportation, drinking and waste water, broadband, and other components of infrastructure. Regulatory Reforms: Stakeholders have been in discussions with Federal officials about updating and improving laws, rules and regulations that local entities must follow when using Federal Grant ( C o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 ) Leadership is already planning the Fall Trends and Mentoring Conference in late fall at Brasstown Valley Lodge and Resort in Young Harris. More on this to come so visit for details as they are revealed. to GPAG Members On the Move Congratulations to Len Bernat who retired from Jackson County! Look for his inspiring leadership essays on LinkedIn, presentations at GPAG Conferences and more... NIGP Recognizes Chapters Milestone Agency Anniversaries 30 Years: City of Valdosta; Muscogee County School District; Hall County Board of Commissioners; City of Roswell. 25 Years: City of Rome; Athens-Clarke County Unified Government 5