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Riley County approves master Amazon Business account to centralize procurement
Summary
The Riley County Commission voted June 15 to establish a single, countywide Amazon Business account to consolidate roughly 22 department accounts, improve visibility, and pursue Prime and rebate savings; the first year’s Prime fee will be waived and staff will centralize administration and onboarding.
Riley County commissioners voted June 15 to establish a master Riley County Amazon Business account intended to consolidate the county’s roughly 22 separate Amazon accounts and improve procurement oversight and cost savings.
During a presentation, Manny Poya, an Amazon Business government advisor, told commissioners the county had about $111,000 in 12‑month Amazon spend across 22 accounts and about $16,675 in purchase‑card purchases placed on personal amazon.com retail accounts. Amazon proposed a centralized account with department groups and role‑based access, controls that allow “window shoppers” to add items to carts but require admin approvals for purchases, and the ability to surface veteran‑, minority‑ and women‑owned vendors.
Britney Phillips, Riley County budget and finance officer, said department heads favored one account with approvals and proposed Michelle Adams (senior fiscal analyst) serve as the county account administrator to maintain continuity across departments.
Amazon’s proposal includes a waived Prime membership fee for the first year so the county can collect usage data, quarterly cost‑savings reports, and a tiered rebate (1–3%) depending on spend. Poya said the county would also be able to add curated, fixed‑price catalogs for frequently purchased emergency supplies and tap a fulfillment network meant to support emergency operations and FEMA reimbursement audits.
Commissioners asked about access controls, the transition of existing purchase histories, alternatives to Amazon (such as Grainger, CDW and Fastenal), and training for users. Poya said onboarding will be recorded for future staff training and that department heads will set approval thresholds and designate their purchasers.
A motion to establish the master account was made and seconded and carried by voice vote.
Votes at the meeting also included routine approvals (tax roll corrections, an employee action, and minutes); the Amazon account vote was recorded on the floor as in favor.
The next step is for county staff to sign the DocuSign registration that ties the county domain to the Amazon Business account, after which the county and Amazon will begin consolidating accounts, assigning departmental groups and scheduling onboarding training.
