 |
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:
Description
The Purchasing Division is responsible for the procurement of all goods and services required by City departments and agencies, with the exception of the Board of Education. The Division also maintains a fixed asset inventory of all City owned buildings, land equipment and infrastructure, consistent with an established dollar threshold. The Division’s staff consists of a Purchasing Agent, an Assistant Purchasing Agent, a Purchasing Clerk and a part-time Purchasing Clerk. Staff works within the framework established by the City’s Code of Ordinances, to obtain the best value for each tax dollar spent. 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.
Successes
Participation in the City’s bid process has been excellent, and the increased competition has yielded many favorable bid results, as compared to budget estimates. Technology continues to play a major role in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the services provided by Purchasing. All Invitations to Bid are now placed on the City’s website. Interested parties can register on the website, free of charge, to receive e-mail notification of all the Invitations to Bid. Over 1,000 people are currently registered for this service, a 40% increase as compared to last year. This process has also greatly reduced Purchasing’s associated mailing, printing and administrative costs. In addition, the Division began posting Bid Results on the City’s website; this has reduced the administration associated with providing this information via fax or phone to interested parties.
This past year, the City elected to participate in the State of CT’s bid for office supplies. In addition to taking advantage of the bulk purchasing power of the State, the bid has also provided an administrative benefit. In the past, City departments submitted written requisitions to the Purchasing Division, which were based upon list prices in a vendor’s catalog. Purchasing would then use the written requisition to obtain contract pricing from the vendor and process the order. With the new contract, City departments now enter their office 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 Purchasing for final review and approval, thus removing a duplicate process of administration. In the future, the Division will be looking to expand the electronic requisitioning feature of the City’s financial software system to further streamline the purchasing process.
As a normal course of doing business, Purchasing now continually monitors cooperative government purchasing opportunities, and will participate whenever it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City of Danbury to do so.
In addition to procuring the routine goods and services required by City departments and agencies, Purchasing again spent a great deal of time and effort this past year administering the process for purchases authorized under the various bond projects. Some of the more noteworthy bids awarded this past year were as follows: The Rose Hill Ave. & Padanaram Rd. Bridge Replacements; HVAC Renovations at the Public Library; White Street Streetscape Improvements; New Police Headquarters; three (3) Dump / Plow Trucks.