Procurement official requests two new positions, flags contract-compliance gaps

A procurement official (speaker 9) outlined the Purchasing and Contracts office's FY27 request and workload, telling the board the department has processed thousands of purchase orders and contracts and is asking for two full-time positions to manage vendor registration and supplier relations tied to the county's Workday rollout.

"In our FY27 budget, we've asked for 2 FTEs. 1 of them is a procurement coordinator, and 1 of them is a supplier relations coordinator," the official said, adding the supplier-relations role is necessary because vendors must now register and maintain profiles in Workday. The official said much of the supplier management work is separate from day-to-day procurements and is creating an ongoing interface burden that should be centralized.

On contract compliance the presenter cautioned centralized capacity is limited. "I would say there is a deficiency in contract compliance," the procurement official said, noting a single compliance position had focused on documentation (insurance, affidavits) rather than full operational performance audits. The official said true, ongoing compliance — confirming contractors are meeting the scope and deliverables — requires a broader effort and closer department-level documentation.

The procurement official described short-term reductions in software licensing costs as the county transitions from a legacy contract-management system (Conga) into the Workday environment and said training and certification (CPBB) remain priorities for the team.

Board members encouraged standardization of contract documents and suggested the requested positions are a sensible priority to support an expanding capital program and upcoming procurement load related to bond-funded projects.