 |
Charles J. Volpe Jr., CPPO, CPPB
Purchasing Agent |
Address:
|
155 Deer Hill Avenue
Danbury, CT 06810 |
| Telephone: |
203-797-4571 |
| FAX: |
203-796-1527 |
Additional Links:
About Us:
The Purchasing Division is responsible for acquiring all the goods and services for the City Departments, Agencies and Capital Projects. They achieve their main goal obtaining the best value for each tax dollar spent by going through an extensive bidding process.
The Division also maintains a fixed asset inventory of City owned buildings, land equipment and infrastructure, consistent with an established dollar threshold. The Divison’s staff consisting of a Purchasing Agent, an Assistant Purchasing Agent, a Purchasing Clerk and a part-time Purchasing Clerk.
Our Accomplishments:
Due to the recessionary economic climate that the City operated in this past year, the administration instituted a very strict spending freeze. As such, only requisitions for goods and/or services critical to the operations of the City were allowed to be processed. The Purchasing Division spent a great deal of time administering the procurement process for items related to the completion of the City’s capital projects such as: the New Police Headquarters, the Ellsworth Avenue School, Veterans Hall and the new multi-purpose athletic field in Rogers Park.
The silver lining to this economic recession is that there has been a significant increase in bidders to the City’s RFPs (Request for Proposals) which has lead to more favorable bids (prices) for the City. For example, 14 bids were received for the Access Improvements project to Boehringer Ingelheim which had a budget estimate of $2 - $2.2 million, the low bidder, Earthmovers Inc. of Danbury, proposed approximately $1.5 million. The City was also able to extend and/or rebid many annual service/supply contracts at prices at or below the previous year’s prices. When the price of oil dropped from a high of $150.00 per barrel in the summer to $45.00 per barrel in the winter, the Purchasing Division responded with a quick turnaround bid, which allowed the City to lock-in heating fuel at $2.07, unleaded fuel at $1.74 and diesel fuel at $2.16 for fiscal year 2009 – 2010.
Technology continues to play a major role in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the services provided by the Purchasing Division. All Invitations to Bid are placed on the City’s website www.Danbury-CT.gov. Interested parties can register on the website, free of charge, to receive e-mail notification of all the Invitations to Bid. Over 1,300 people are currently registered for this service – a 30% increase as compared to last year. With the exception of major construction projects, the Invitations to Bid now provide a link to view, and print if desired, a copy of the complete bid package. This process has also greatly reduced the Purchasing Division’s associated mailing, printing and administrative costs. Bid Results are also posted on the City’s website. This has reduced the administrative costs associated with providing this information via fax or phone to interested parties.
Our Accomplishments:
This past year, after the successful rollout of the State of CT contract for ordering office supplies, the Purchasing Division also rolled out the State of CT contract for ordering maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies. As with the office supply ordering system, City departments now enter their MRO supply requirements on the awarded vendor’s website, which provides them with actual contract pricing (helpful for budgeting) and real-time availability. The orders entered into the vendor’s website are then routed to the Purchasing Dept. for final review and approval, thus removing a duplicate process of administration.
The Purchasing Division continues to monitor cooperative government purchasing opportunities, and will participate whenever it is deemed to be in the City of Danbury’s best interests.