City of Austin
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Free event on March 4 will bring together procurement staff from dozens of City departments
Small businesses in Austin have been invited to find out how to compete for millions of dollars of smaller City contracts.
The 2020 Small Business Contracting Forum, on March 4, 2020, will bring together procurement staff from dozens of City of Austin departments alongside a number of other municipal, county and governmental entities in the region, to connect them with a large and diverse group of smaller vendors.
The free annual event, the second organized by the City’s Purchasing Office, will provide advice, information and encouragement to help small business owners better identify opportunities to do business with the City, and to be more successful when bidding on City contracts.
Sessions at the event will cover registering as official City vendors, how to create bids, proposals and offers, getting paid, how to meet contracting requirements, a guide to technology procurement, and information about current and future business opportunities.
Businesses that registered for last year’s Forum have since been awarded millions in contracts, and organizers want this year’s event to involve even more businesses in the City’s procurement process.
2020 Small Business Contracting Forum
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
8:30am to 4:00pm at the Palmer Events Center
Register at www.austintexas.gov/purchasing
An analysis by the City of Austin’s Purchasing Office, which is organizing the Forum, shows 40 City departments have collectively made $155 million of smaller purchases valued under $50,000 over the past three years.
Such purchases made via City credit cards (for expenditures under $3,000), purchase orders or contract agreements, may cover electrical services, training, consulting, safety equipment, landscaping and technology, and many other areas of City activity.
The City department with the largest number of smaller expenditures, often considered easier for smaller businesses to fulfil, was Austin Energy, which spent $44.2 million on hundreds of purchases under $50,000 between FY 2017 and 2019.
Second was Austin Water, with sub-$50,000 expenditures totaling $19 million. The utility was followed by Parks and Recreation ($12.8 million), Communications and Technology Management ($11.1 million) and Austin Police ($7 million).
“Small businesses are at the heart of the Austin community and we hope this event will bring many of them into contact with City departments, some for the first time, so they can find out more about how to become a vendor, how to participate in solicitations, and how to be more successful when bidding for contracts,” said City of Austin Purchasing Officer James Scarboro. “The City of Austin is open for business with smaller vendors from all parts of our diverse community.”
LaTonya J. Pegues, CEO of Austin-based BOAZ Enterprises, who attended last year’s Small Business Contracting Forum, says it enabled her to meet and speak directly with department leaders, and let them know what services her firm provided. As a result, BOAZ Enterprises was able to successfully provide services for one of the departments the same year.
She said: “Being in business for multiple decades, I have attended numerous networking events with just about every type of Government entity. By attending the City of Austin Small Business events, I’ve been made aware of upcoming RFPs and bids, how to provide products or services, and how to do business with the City.
“I strongly recommend attending the Small Business Contracting Forum this March, for there may be opportunities to speak directly with the people who know in detail what their departments need to procure, and who knows - it may be exactly what you are selling.”
The Small Business Contracting Forum will be attended by representatives from various City of Austin Departments and Offices including Austin Energy, Austin Public Health, Austin Public Library, Austin Water, Parks and Recreation, Communications and Technology Management, Public Works, Economic Development, and the Small & Minority Business Resources Department. External organizations planning to attend include the University of Texas, Travis County, the City of San Antonio and the Lower Colorado River Authority.
Information will be available about various procurement opportunities and staff will be on hand to help attendees register as vendors and find the appropriate commodities codes for their businesses.
To REGISTER for the event, go to www.austintexas.gov/purchasing.
For more information contact PurchasingOutreach@austintexas.gov or call (512) 974-2938 or (512) 974-2038.