King Co. Executive Dow Constantine signs order to make it easier for small and minority- and women-owned companies to do business with the county
Businesses interested in contracting with King County should find the process easier to navigate and more efficient under a new Executive Order signed on Mar. 11 by King County Executive Dow Constantine to reform the county’s procurement and business processes.
“These reforms will provide greater contracting opportunities for small- and disadvantaged businesses,” said Constantine. “They will also simplify our procurement practices to make it easier for any business that wants to work with the county.”
Part of the Executive Order establishes voluntary goals for using minority- and women-owned businesses on county-owned construction projects and expands outreach efforts to prime and disadvantaged contractors for meeting participation goals on federally-funded projects.
The Executive Order emphasizes the use of new technologies to notify vendors of upcoming bid invitations, analyze county spending practices, eliminate purchasing inefficiencies, take advantage of supplier discounts, and develop cooperative purchasing agreements with other jurisdictions throughout the region to reduce the costs per unit and save taxpayer dollars.
“As small businesses, and in particular minority-owned businesses, this policy represents an opportunity to engage in a meaningful way with King County on these shared goals,” said Ollie Garrett, the President and CEO of PMT-Solutions and President of Tabor 100, a local business support organization. “The policy is only a beginning to discussion, ideas and progress, but a very important beginning.”
This order is part of Constantine’s “Blueprint for Reform,” which calls for driving down the cost of government through budget strategies and reforming customer service, labor relations, management of major capital projects, procurement and contracting.
For more details on the Blueprint for Reform, the county’s strategic plan, and the county’s procurement and contracting reform, visit http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/constantine.aspx.
