Commissioners proclaim March 2026 Procurement Month; county purchasing department hailed for national award

Williamson County commissioners unanimously proclaimed March 2026 as Procurement Month and recognized the county purchasing department after the office reported stronger vendor engagement and national honors.

Joy Simonton, the county purchasing agent, told the court the department had received the 2025 Achievement of Excellence in Public Procurement award and that Williamson County is one of 48 agencies in Texas and one of 45 counties in the nation to receive the recognition. "The AEP award is nationally and internationally recognized as the gold standard for the achievement of customer service, innovation, and best practices in the profession of public procurement," Simonton said.

Why it matters: The purchasing office said its metrics show growing vendor participation and tightening procurement timelines that the court said help preserve taxpayer dollars and transparency. Simonton reported that the county provided oversight for roughly $434,000,000 in FY25 spending, processed 2,697 purchase orders and saw an average of six responses per formal solicitation, up about 20% from last year.

The department described several operational details that it says have helped performance: a two-week advertising period for formal solicitations followed by evaluation, finalist interviews and court recommendations, an active P-card program with roughly 386-400 cardholders and a P-card rebate from JPMorgan Chase of $66,892 last year.

Simonton also addressed emerging issues. She warned that artificial intelligence will change how vendors prepare solicitation responses, likely increasing the number of bids and creating pressure to improve specification writing and finalist interviews. "Vendors will use AI to create a solicitation response document in minutes," she said, adding that county staff expect to incorporate AI considerations into policy and compliance tools.

What the court did: The commissioners read and approved the procurement-month proclamation and formally recognized the purchasing staff. The proclamation and recognition passed on a unanimous vote. Commissioners praised the purchasing team for its work and said the award reflected good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Looking ahead: Simonton announced a virtual vendor forum April 30 to help potential vendors learn how to register and bid on county opportunities, and the department said it will continue to track metrics and process improvements.