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Purchasing agent seeks $1.7M to shorten cycle times, centralize vendor management and expand P-card services
Summary
Kim Williams said the Office of Purchasing has stabilized staffing and cleared solicitation backlogs, but the department requests a $1.7M enhancement to centralize purchasing-dispatch, build vendor-performance systems, create an electronic bond repository and bolster credit-card program oversight as transaction volume grows.
Purchasing Agent Kim Williams told commissioners that stabilizing staffing (now ~97% occupancy) and clearing a backlog of solicitations were key accomplishments over the past year, enabling the office to process an expected 18,000 purchase orders and $3 billion in procurement activity.
Williams requested a $1.7M enhancement to expand centralized purchasing services: create a dispatch/clerical capacity to reduce cycle times, implement a vendor-management/performance platform to screen underperforming bidders, and deploy an electronic bond repository to speed compliance and reduce manual bottlenecks. She also asked for staff to support a rapidly expanding P-Card program that is projected to reach roughly 24,000 transactions this fiscal year after growing ~40% year-over-year.
Williams said the requested investment aims to cut cycle times to industry standards, hold vendors accountable for performance and reduce opportunity costs caused by delayed projects. Commissioners asked about measurable KPIs and ERP integration; Williams said she will track throughput, cycle-time reductions and vendor-performance metrics after implementation.
