When Miami-Dade County, Fla., emergency responders go shopping for new equipment, the process can be laborious. “It takes us about 125 hours to put a contract in place and get it awarded, usually spanning anywhere from three to 12 months,” said Jill Klaskin Press, the county’s assistant to the director of procurement management.
   
Now local police and fire agencies have hit upon a new idea — a procurement plan that could save $6,000 per contract. Water and sewer emergency equipment is already on the books, with explorations under way for bomb suits, masks, canine handling and other gear.
   
That new idea is the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 84, a preapproved roster of security and emergency vendors and products. State and local bodies have had the authority to buy from the schedule since late 2008, but many still haven’t adopted the practice.

Legislative Hurdles

Some 1,300 vendors offer their wares through Schedule 84, giving law enforcement and other first responders access to a range of tools, including specialized equipment, security services, rescue gear, marine equipment and much more.
   
Most of these are offered at competitive prices negotiated with the GSA. When state, county and local agencies go to access this procurement vehicle, however, many find the way blocked by language written into state procurement codes.
   
“Legislative bodies will make up their own procurement rules, and some of them are much more stringent than others,” said Lynn de Seve, president of GSA Schedules Inc., a government contract consulting company located in Maryland. She also chairs the GSA Policy Working Group within the Security Industry Association, which has been advocating for broader adoption of Schedule 84.
   
In many cases, authorities fail to buy from the GSA schedule because of ambiguities in the law. For example, de Seve pointed to Maryland, where the code offers no clear guidance on the legitimacy of purchasing through federal schedules.

“A lot of times it is simply a lack of understanding,” she said. “Once you sit down and explain the procurement process, people will say, ‘Wow, this is great.’ It’s a matter of talking to the legislative people and helping them understand. They don’t have the background, and they may have some misconceptions.”
   
More often than not, those misconceptions have to do with the impact of collective purchasing on the local small-business community. Often there’s a false impression that only big corporations can sell through GSA schedules, when in fact, many smaller local vendors can sell through the schedule — either directly or under the umbrella of a larger contractor. A local security integrator, for instance, could participate under General Electric’s presence on the schedule, as a GE-certified vendor.
   
“There actually are a lot of small businesses that have GSA contracts,” de Seve said.
   
In some cases, the ability to sell through Schedule 84 will depend on a state’s underlying procurement structure, explained Steve Traylor, associate legislative director of the National Association of Counties.
   
Agencies sometimes cannot engage in any procurement practice that isn’t specifically authorized by law, he said. In other states, agencies can buy through the means they choose so long as the practice isn’t expressly prohibited.
   
Sometimes the distinctions can be subtle and easily misunderstood. “In some cases the state will not allow for use of GSA [at the state level], but that does not preclude the cities or counties from using GSA,” said Tricia Reed, program analyst in the GSA’s Office of Acquisition Management.
   
“The regulations at different levels of government tend to vary, and we have found we have more success at the city, county and local level than at the state level, once they are aware of the possibility,” she said.

Rising Tide

Although the GSA doesn’t track usage of Schedule 84 at the state or local level, some numbers from the GSA suggest the procurement method is gaining traction. In 2008, vendors sold $5 million in disaster recovery goods and services through the GSA. In 2009, that number jumped to $15.4 million.
   
Overall, cooperative purchasing through the GSA is on the rise. From $240 million in contracts at the state and local level in 2006, sales grew to $564 million in 2009.
   
Some states have taken explicit steps to allow GSA purchasing. For example, in mid-2009 Wisconsin updated its State Procurement Manual. Under the new language, “state agencies may enter into agreements with purchasing agents of any other state or the federal government [to purchase] materials, supplies, equipment, permanent personal property, miscellaneous capital or contractual services.”
   
If GSA adoption outside the federal government is increasing steeply, it may be thanks to efforts by the Security Industry Association and other advocates to clear the air regarding one of the biggest sticking points that has hindered cooperative purchasing: competitive procurement.
   
Concerns about fair and open competition have kept states from giving the thumbs-up to the use of GSA schedules. The problem is partly legislative, with many states requiring that purchases above a certain size be bid out, and also partly philosophical, a general belief that procurement should be even-handed and transparent.
   
As a member of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Klaskin Press said the solution lies in mini-competitions. Rather than pulling a single name off the GSA schedule and placing an order, agencies might pull three names and request RFPs from all three. Since these vendors already have competed for their spot on the schedule, agencies would be getting the best price from among the best prices.

“That’s about the only thing you can do, because most best practices in public procurement require that you have some competition, at least three quotes,” she said.
   
This method ensures fair and open access to public contracts while still streamlining the procurement process. “To get a written quote from somebody can take you 10 minutes. You fax it to 10 vendors, they send it back and you can use it,” Klaskin Press said. “It’s not a full, complicated bidding process. At that point, you are just getting prices.”

 

For procurement authorities looking to tap into the potential convenience and cost savings of the General Services Administration (GSA) schedules, the GSA can provide data and talking points to help bring legislators on board.

In addition, GSA Training Conference Expo 2010 will take place in Orlando, Fla., May 4-6 , giving attendees a chance to develop their acquisitions knowledge, network with GSA experts and other procurement specialists, and meet with GSA vendors.
 
[Photo courtesy of Petty Officer 3rd Class George Degener/U.S. Coast Guard.]