“Decisions are often made before the bidding begins, a formality designed to foster the illusion of competitive procurement” – Molly Mulebriar
Years ago Bee County, Texas went out for public bids. Their local insurance agent wasn’t at all worried.
“The lowest bid is so low it’s not credible!” said Ms. Suzy Perez, County Auditor. “The insurance committee recommends the bid from our current agent.”
“That’s the highest bid!” said one of the county commissioners.
“Yes Sir” said Ms. Perez, “You get what you pay for!”
That’s a true story and Ms. Perez was a real person, her real name.
Then, over at the Victoria county courthouse Kyle Hardesty, the county’s health insurance agent, sat smugly in the back of the courtroom as bids were opened and read allowed.
“Let’s take a break, we are going into executive session to discuss the bids” said the County Judge.
Faster than you can say “What took so long” Commissioners Court reconvened. “I move we go with Kyle’s bid” motioned on commissioner. “I second that motion” said another. “Any discussion?” said the County Judge. “Hearing no discussion let’s vote” said the judge.
5-0 vote in favor of Kyle’s bid.
That’s a true story too, and Kyle is a real person, his real name.
Such is the nature of public bidding more often than not.
HOMEWORK READING ASSIGNMENT:
The Most User-Friendly Comprehensive Fruitful RFP Search Engine – (Uncle Miltie would have loved this!)
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Why Consultants Should Just Say “No” To RFP’s
Public Entity RFP Scoring Revealed
The Importance of Homework When Bidding On Political Subdivisions
Astute Purchasing Agent Nails It
Texas School District Continues Deficit Spending On Health Plan
Political Subdivisions – Chasing Windmills Can Be Expensive
