Post-fire reconstruction requires services, but how do you choose a provider? Owners can rely on word of mouth, friendship, phone book names, availability or bidding process. You can hire a home based contractor, but a new company with super low bids might not be the best choice.
If you are a government agency in need of services or equipment and taxpayer money is being used, the problem is even greater. These institutions must develop transparent and ethical systems for evaluating proposals and making fair decisions.
William Sims Curry, founder and lead consultant for WSC Consulting in Chico, steps in to help with that. His acclaimed handbook helps organizations avoid procurement mistakes. His most recent book, “Contracting For Services In State And Local Government Agencies: Best Practices For Public Procurement, Third Edition,” is available on Amazon for Kindle and in hardcover from Routledge for $74.95 (hardcover).
The book focuses on 48 (“more than the previous edition”) “best practices in public procurement” derived from a 2021 survey of agencies and educational institutions across the country and analysis of the forms they require. It has been updated with new language examples and software acquisition.
Some procedures are straightforward, like requesting four-digit years from contractors, while others are complicated, like tracking your development. The creation of “various procurement techniques ranging from enlightened to reckless” was caused by the lack of national regulation on state and local public procurement, while federal processes have “centralized coding”.
Curry is a certified professional contract manager who previously served on the board of the Industry Council for Small Business Development, a not-for-profit organization created to support small businesses owned by women and minorities. Chapters in it take the reader through contract negotiations, terms and conditions, competitive procurement, and the final Review. Curry’s concern with moral procedure is crucial.