Niagara communities sign MOU for joint purchasing, shared services
Picture from left: Wainfleet Mayor Kevin Gibson, Thorold Mayor Terry Ugulini, Welland Mayor Frank Campion (seated), Pelham Mayor Marvin Junkin, and Port Colborne Mayor Bill Steek. Photo: Thorold News
Posted in: New Initiative
Date Posted: 2019-10-23
Organization Name: City of Welland
The mayors of the cities of Welland, Thorold, and Port Colborne, the Town of Pelham, and Wainfleet Township all have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work together on joint purchasing and procurement and shared services initiatives.
Municipalities, as public sector corporations, purchase a lot of goods and services every year such as vehicles, equipment, road salt, paper towels, photocopy paper, toner cartridges, and computers.
Welland, Thorold, Pelham, Port Colborne and Wainfleet Sign MOU for Joint Purchasing and Shared Services
Following is a joint statement from mayors Frank Campion, Terry Ugulini, Marvin Junkin, Bill Steele, and Kevin Gibson.
Municipalities purchase many of the same items every year so it makes sense for our municipalities to work collaboratively in order to take advantage of bulk pricing opportunities. We will explore joint Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for a variety of contracts such as road reconstruction, sidewalk repairs, office supplies, etc. In doing so the municipalities covered under this MOU will realize cost savings to the benefit of our tax payers.
Shared Services is another cost saving initiative covered by this MOU. Service capacity and demand varies from municipality to municipality. Lower demand for services in some municipalities may not justify full-time staff to provide the service while other may have staff capacity and expertise to share. Sharing services is both efficient and cost saving.
Welland, Thorold, Pelham, Port Colborne, and Wainfleet are all members of the Niagara Public Purchasing Committee (NPPC), which is comprised of government, education, and health organizations from across the Niagara Region. The objective of this co-operative purchasing program is to derive the maximum value from each dollar spent, through cooperation and Professional Purchasing Procedures. Cooperative purchasing is a technique whereby a number of authorities agree, jointly, to invite quotations or tenders on selected commodities and services. The MOU will be presented to participating municipal Councils for final ratification.