Item 12B (1) on the November 13, 2012 city council agenda requests permission to issue a purchase order in the amount of $560,406 for computer equipment.
Once again these items were not competitively bid — they were purchased from a buy board.
The backup material does not tell us what quantities or models are being purchased. We have no idea if the prices are in line or not. You can see the backup material here.
This is a pretty common occurrence with computer items on the city council agenda.
We all know the problems with buy boards not being competitive.
The backup material asks the question “Is there an urgent need for the product/service?” The department answered “yes” since the equipment was to be used to “refresh” (replace) existing equipment. Urgent? Not at all!
Items 12B(2) and 12B(3) totaling a little more than $608 thousand have the same lack of detail. Just give me the money. Let me spend it without oversight.
It appears that the information technology department does not want us to know what they are up to.
We deserve better.
Brutus
elpasospeak 
There are curious and disturbing things happening on the El Paso County purchasing front as well. As reported in the TIMES this week, the County is considering possibly suing former purchasing agent Piti Vasquez for reasons not disclosed. For the County to now imply that there were improprieties during his tenure, suggests that the County’s purchasing operation, like that of the City, also doesn’t have proper oversight.
What is equally troubling, however, is the County’s current search for Vasquez’s replacement. The County said that it has initiated a search for a new purchasing agent, but has not yet hired a replacement because “the majority of applicants did not meet the county’s requirements for the job”.
“Only longtime assistant purchasing agent Jose Lopez and an out-of-town applicant were interviewed for the $106,000-a-year position, which originally drew 71 applicants,” according to the TIMES. With unemployment being as high as it is, if the County can only get two legitimate applicants for a six-figure job, it should replace its HR department while it is at it.
This, along with the fact that they have only actually interviewed Lopez and one other candidate, makes me wonder whether the qualifications have been written to give Lopez an inside track — a way to keep this purchasing function “within the family”. The 30-day extension that it requested for the recruiting and hiring process just seems like it is intended to give the appearance of a thorough search.
I hope my concerns are unfounded, but in addition to zero visibility, I have zero faith in either our City or County government and management.
LikeLike
Well said.
LikeLike