Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today pre-filed legislation to rename the Office of Purchasing to Office of Procurement and Contract Administration. The new name is more modern and accurate and reflects the procurement leadership set forth by the office.
For the 12th consecutive year, the Howard County Office of Purchasing was recognized by the National Procurement Institute with their coveted Achievement of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) award for 2020. Howard County was one of only 40 county governmental entities across the United States to receive this award.
“Howard County has set an example for surrounding jurisdictions on effective and innovative government procurement,” said County Executive Calvin Ball. “In the past two years, we increased our procurement spending with local businesses from $10.5 million to $16.4 million. Even through the pandemic, our Office of Purchasing worked diligently to connect local and EBO businesses with County award opportunities, including virtual outreach and training events.”
The AEP Award is earned by public and non-profit agencies that demonstrate a commitment to procurement excellence. The annual program recognizes procurement organizations that embrace innovation, professionalism, productivity, leadership, and e-procurement.
According to a County press release:
“Through these challenging times, I am extremely grateful for the hard work and dedication of our staff to continue to procure the needed products and services to support our community,” said Dean Hof, Office of Purchasing Administrator. “It is an honor to receive this recognition for the efforts of our office by updating our name to more accurately reflect the work we do daily.”
The Office of Purchasing currently manages 749 supplier contracts to procure the various goods and services to support county agencies. Through targeted local outreach events, the County has nearly doubled the number of registered local businesses in the past 12 months. Additionally, spending with minority, women and disabled owned businesses continues to climb and last year the Office of Purchasing awarded more than $59 million to these businesses, and spent nearly $500k with veteran owned businesses.
Since the pandemic started, two Purchasing staff members have received their professional certifications including Administrator Dean Hof, achieving the Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) designation and Alexandrea Shaw, P-Card Administrator who received her Certified Procurement Card Professional (CPCP) designation.
