Mission Statement

The mission of the Office of Procurement is to facilitate the use of public funds in partnership with County departments to effectively procure goods, services, and construction in an inclusive, transparent, and equitable manner that best serves County residents, businesses, and the public interest.

The Office of Procurement is a cabinet-level department tasked with preserving the public trust and ensuring the integrity of the County's procurement process. The Office of Procurement ensures compliance with all related laws, regulations, and policies. The Office of Procurement focuses on identifying opportunities for improvement of inter-and intra-departmental purchasing processes and implementation of recognized best practices to increase organizational efficacy, promote transparency, improve accountability, and facilitate compliance. In its interactions with all County departments and agencies, external governmental agencies, members of the business community, and the general public, the Office of Procurement serves as a resource for policy and program initiatives involving public contracting.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY24 Operating Budget for the Office of Procurement is $5,068,606, an increase of $64,098 or 1.28 percent from the FY23 Approved Budget of $5,004,508. Personnel Costs comprise 92.26 percent of the budget for 39 full-time position(s) and two part-time position(s), and a total of 38.90 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 7.74 percent of the FY24 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• A Growing Economy
• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY23 estimates reflect funding based on the FY23 approved budget. The FY24 and FY25 figures are performance targets based on the FY24 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY25.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• The Office of Procurement has recently implemented a number of initiatives to improve efficiency as it pertains to contract management and related purchasing activities. The most notable has been the introduction of PRO Direct, a web-based application that allows departments to connect with Procurement to request and complete purchasing actions. This feature was created to centralize and track requests submitted by departments to assist with timely processing and increase transparency. The central point of entry was required to eliminate access issues for requests sent directly to individuals via traditional methods, (i.e., email, chat, inter-office mail). With the implementation of this application, the Office of Procurement has enforced a commitment to acknowledge and/or respond to all requests within four business hours with the embedded PRO411 option. The application proved highly successful, garnering significant utilization from County departments, facilitating streamlined tracking and ensuring prompt completion of procurement actions.
• The Office of Procurement has automated the workflow process County employees use to dispose of surplus items with the introduction of the surplus request application. Initially, this process was manual, timely, and difficult to track. For example, requests to dispose of surplus items were sent to Procurement management via email which required significant coordination to retrieve information on the outcomes of the requests. The new application incorporates an approval workflow and guides the end user on all required information prior to submission. Results are readily available for all County employees to aid in our mission to improve transparency.
• The Office of Procurement has improved efficiency and transparency with the introduction of the Emergency Procurement request application. This web-based tool is used by County departments to request the approval of urgent and unexpected informal purchases where the health and safety of the public, or the conservation of public resources, are at risk. This application assists with the required documentation of the facts that constitute the emergency. Procurements under this section are limited to those goods, construction, or services required to meet the emergency and must be made with competition to the extent practical under the circumstances.
• Procurement received five distinguished awards for efforts to improve efficiency from the National Association of Counties and the National Procurement Institute for Excellence in Public Procurement.

Program Descriptions

  Procurement Operations

The core components of this program are to purchase goods, services, and construction required by County departments in the most timely and cost-effective manner possible. Program staff assist departments in the development of procurement strategies and documents to ensure a competitive, transparent, and fair procurement process in accordance with the...

  Procurement Services

The Procurement Services section provides for departmental direction, oversight, and support for the Contract Review Committee, analysis, budget preparation, and monitoring. This section also manages contract scanning activities for documents, contracts, and subsequent contract actions, manages archiving standards, and provides departmental customer service assistance. Additionally, it centrally coordinates departmental training...

  Business Relations and Compliance

The mission of the Division of Business Relations and Compliance (DBRC) is to plan and implement programmatic strategies to expand business opportunities for minority, female, and disabled business owners as well as Montgomery County small businesses. The Office administers the County's Wage Requirements and Prevailing Wage programs for service and...