Board ties to Mesa procurement for county IT purchases, approves IGA with CDW and SHI

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on May 7 approved an intergovernmental agreement that allows the county to use a City of Mesa‑procured contract for information technology products and services with CDW and SHI International.

Procurement staff said Mesa acted as the lead agency for the procurement and that many jurisdictions tie to Mesa’s contracts to gain competitive pricing. County procurement staff told the board the Mesa contract expires in May 2025 and that the county has used the cooperative relationship to access favorable pricing; the county’s IGA authorizes potential annual spending up to $17 million across the two vendors, though actual department purchases will determine the realized spend.

Members of the public raised questions about cloud hosting and whether Amazon Web Services (AWS) would have access to county data. Speakers identified the SHI contract and referenced pages indicating AWS as a hosting platform. County staff responded that the county is tying to Mesa’s competitively procured contract and that procurement reviewed pricing and terms. Procurement staff also said Mesa may receive a negligible administrative fee for leading the procurement but that the competitive pricing more than offsets any such fee.

Supervisor Kate Lesko asked whether Mesa benefits financially; procurement staff said any lead‑agency administrative fee is minimal and that tying to the contract delivers net savings to the county. After discussion, the board voted unanimously to approve the IGA to use the Mesa contract with CDW and SHI.

Notes: The board approved the IGA unanimously. Public commenters raised concerns about cloud hosting and data control; procurement staff characterized the Mesa contract as competitively procured and commonly used by other jurisdictions.