San Diego Adopts New Rules for Evaluating Cooperative Contracts, Opening Doors for Small Local Businesses
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors in California voted on October 27 to adopt a standard operating procedure setting uniform standards for how county departments evaluate cooperative contracts, requiring that piggybacking on another government's deal first be shown to be the best value for taxpayers.
Under the procedure, departments must weigh five criteria before using a cooperative contract: pricing competitiveness, how well the contract's scope aligns with the county's needs, contract terms, opportunities for small and local business participation, and the feasibility of a county-led procurement instead. Implementation is subject to approval by the county's Director of Purchasing and Contracting. The motion, made by Supervisor Aguirre and seconded by Supervisor Anderson, passed with all five supervisors voting in favor.
Supporters told the board the item would set "clear standards to make smarter purchasing decisions and opening more doors for small and local businesses to compete for county contracts," and that while cooperative contracts can save time, they should not replace searching for the best value. Some county employees also spoke at the meeting urging that certain services be brought back in-house.
San Diego County spends about $2.2 billion a year on contracts. The board has previously adopted small and local business policies that set a goal of directing 25 percent of county contract spending to small local businesses and give such businesses a bid preference of up to 15 percent in evaluations. The new procedure extends the same approach to cooperative purchasing, requiring departments to check whether local businesses have a chance to participate before signing on to an outside cooperative deal.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 圣迭戈县行政中心。 The San Diego County Administration Center. CC BY-SA 3.0，摄影：Adbar。图片来源 Source image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_Diego_City_and_County_Administration_Building.jpg
