CITIZEN ADVOCACY CENTER
GUIDE TO PROCUREMENT
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TEN SUGGESTIONS
FOR IMPROVING
DUPAGE COUNTY PROCUREMENT
1. The Ordinance should be redrafted to eliminate the use of terms
with different meanings as if the terms were equivalent, and to eliminate
the use of passive verbs that muddle who is responsible for implementing
the Ordinance's provisions.
2. The Ordinance should be made available online to improve citizen
and contractor access to the Ordinance's provisions.
3. The Ordinance should provide a formal method for private citizens
to protest a procurement decision.
4. The Ordinance's mechanism for protesting a procurement decision
is vague and stacked against the potentially injured vendor. The County
Board Chairman should be required to provide a written explanation
of a denial of a vendor's appeal.
5. In order to prevent steering, greater emphasis on specification
standardization and a requirement of public notice for deviation from
standardization should be made before solicitation to discourage the
intentional use of specifications that only a targeted firm can comply
with. In addition the Ordinance should include a mechanism for the
review of specifications employed by the purchasing department to
ensure the specifications are promoting competition, or at least not
stifling competition.
6. Selection of professional service providers is largely discretionary.
The Ordinance should include more formal provisions to protect against
political favoritism. The definition of professional services is too
vague and may allow services that should be selected via competitive
bidding to escape directly competing on price.
7. The Board should add additional reporting requirements regarding
sole source and emergency procurement selection methods to the Ordinance
in order to protect against political favoritism.
8. The Ordinance should create a formal review system of architectural,
engineering, and land surveying firm performance, and publicly disclose
the results in order to ensure that competitive pressure isn't completely
eliminated in an attempt reap the benefits of maintaining a continuous
relationship with one firm.
9. The Ordinance should prohibit the use of "cost plus percentage"
contracts to ensure county funds are spent efficiently.
10. The Board should modify the DuPage County Ethics Ordinance to
require any firm that obtains a DuPage County contract to disclose
campaign contributions in excess of $1,000 in the previous 12 months
even if the contract was awarded via competitive bid.
The Citizen Advocacy Center, a non-partisan, 501(c)(3), non-profit
organization, is dedicated to building democracy for the 21st century
by strengthening the public's capacities, resources, and institutions
for self-government. The Center does not engage in partisan political
activities and does not endorse or oppose candidates.
If you are interested in more information, becoming a volunteer,
or making a tax-deductible contribution to the Center, please contact
us. Citizen Advocacy Center Phone: (630) 833-4080 182 N. York Rd.,
ELmhurst, IL 60126 Fax: (630) 833-4083
© Copyright 2003 Citizen Advocacy Center. All rights
reserved. No part of this pamphlet may be reproduced in any form or
by any means without prior, written permission of the Citizen Advocacy
Center.
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