Brazos County reviews consultant contracts, asks court to define "local" vendors

At a Brazos County Commissioners Court work session that began at 9:10 a.m., purchasing staff led by Charles Wendt reviewed the county—s portfolio of consulting and other contracts, explained solicitation types and renewal practices, and urged the court to clarify what the county should treat as a "local" vendor.

Wendt said purchasing currently manages "approximately 384 total contracts," up from about "95 total contracts" in 2013, and walked commissioners through categories including term contracts, one‑time contracts (including capital improvement projects, or CIP), interlocal agreements, bids, requests for proposals and qualifications, service contracts, piggybacks and community‑service agreements such as those with the crisis center and food bank. He described consultant/IDIQ arrangements as "defined term with an initial award term and typically available renewals" under which a "fixed…