Date of publication: November 29, 2005
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Author: Rich Lord
The city of Pittsburgh hopes eventually to save $5 million annually by buying goods through Allegheny County.
City Council members applauded that prospect at a special meeting yesterday. Some expressed concerns about the county's looser bidding requirements, lower involvement of minority- and women-owned businesses, and lack of rules barring goods produced with sweatshop labor.
The city and county have been negotiating the latter's takeover of purchasing since mid-2004, and officials said they hope the change will take effect Jan. 1.
The city payroll would drop marginally since it would no longer have a purchasing department. The big savings would come from bulk purchasing discounts on everything from road salt to police cars, said city General Services Director Dale Perrett.
Other cities that have conducted purchasing through their counties have shaved 7 percent from the cost of goods and services, said city Councilman William Peduto. The nonprofit Pennsylvania Economy League predicted $5 million to $10 million in savings over three years.
"We see this as the foundation of a lot of other opportunities to hopefully consolidate activities to the benefit of taxpayers," said Timothy Johnson, director of the county's General Services Administration.
The city makes around 1,000 purchases of goods and services, worth $50 million, in a typical year, said Mr. Perrett. It lets out another $20 million in construction contracts.
Under a draft contract, the county would make the city's purchases and the city would pay its share of the cost.
The county would abide by city procurement rules for city construction contracts and for purchases of things the county doesn't buy, like firefighting vehicles. The bulk of goods and services, though, would be bought under the county's rules.
One effect would be fewer competitive bids. The city requires formal, competitive bids on a purchase of more than $10,000, but the county threshold is $30,000.
Purchasing done under county rules would be subject to county standards for minority- and women-owned business involvement, which are slightly lower than the city's standards.
City rules like one barring purchases from companies that use sweatshop labor would no longer apply to most procurement. The city only loosely enforces its anti-sweatshop ordinance, and the county has no such rule.
"It's not good use of taxpayer money to be buying goods that are made in sweatshops," said Mr. Peduto. Addressing several anti-sweatshop demonstrators, he said he'd approach County Council about passing a similar ordinance.
Under the contract, the county would take on two city purchasing employees. The city would pay the county $165,000 a year to cover their salaries and for purchasing services. The contract must be approved by City Council, and County Council may have to vote on its budgetary ramifications. City Council is set to vote tentatively on the contract tomorrow.