Sarasota County earns national procurement award for second year

Accolade comes from national institute

File photo
File photo

For the second consecutive year, Sarasota County’s Procurement department has been honored for “Achievement of Excellence in Procurement” by the National Procurement Institute (NPI), the county has announced.

NPI is “dedicated to establishing cooperative relationships among its members, and developing efficient purchasing methods and practices in governmental, educational, and institutional procurement,” a county news release says.

“The Achievement of Excellent in Procurement Award honors organizational excellence in public and nonprofit procurement; provides benchmarks for continued excellence; and increases awareness of public procurement as a profession,” the release adds.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for Sarasota County,” Sarasota County Administrator Tom Harmer said in the release. “For the second year, this award reflects the concerted efforts of our procurement team to build confidence in our internal processes.” He added, “It also reflects our board’s commitment to transparency and stewardship of our public dollars.”

“This accreditation reflects sweeping changes and improvements not only to procurement and the way Sarasota County conducts its business, but also to the key areas of contracting, transparency and ethics,” the release notes.

Sarasota County was cited for achievements in the following areas:

  • Automation and electronic procurement.
  • Establishment of a professional development program for procurement staff.
  • Formal surveys of both internal and external procurement customers.
  • Certifications and credentials of the procurement organization.
  • Ethics policy development and implementation.

“Sarasota County Government’s reputation for practicing responsible procurement has shifted dramatically over the last four years,” said Procurement Official Ted Coyman in the release. “Many employees made important contributions through individual study and testing, developing new procedures, implementing new software and creating new tools.”