Austin Transit Partnership approves cooperative purchasing, marketing contract funding and extends bond authority; officers elected

The Austin Transit Partnership board on Jan. 29 approved a set of administrative and financial actions — including joining a statewide cooperative purchasing program, approving additional funding for marketing and communications contracts and extending delegated authority to issue up to $150 million in contract revenue bonds — and selected its officers for the next two years.

The approvals were made by voice vote during the meeting at ATP headquarters, and board leaders later noted Mayor Watson was absent for the roll call on several items; the board recorded the financial actions as passing with the affirmative votes of the members present.

Board actions and key details

Interlocal cooperative purchasing: The board approved entering into an interlocal agreement to join the Texas Share Cooperative Purchasing Program administered by the North Central Texas Council of Governments. "This allows us to leverage competitively procured contracts so we don't have to run every procurement ourselves," Casey Burack, ATP executive vice president for business and legal affairs, told the board. The agreement requires no exchange of funds; it permits ATP to use contracts already procured by the cooperative. Board members noted the agreements typically are structured for one-year terms subject to appropriation…