Drafter
Clerk 08/29/2002
Title
A MOTION requesting the King County executive to participate in the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance.
Body
WHEREAS, King County's total 2002 budget is $2.9 billion, and
WHEREAS, the county's 2002 current expense (CX) fund budget is $493 million, and
WHEREAS, the CX fund is experiencing a fiscal shortfall that is the result of declining revenue growth and increasing governmental expenses, and
WHEREAS, King County is aggressively reviewing CX expenditures for reductions, and
WHEREAS, King County reduced the CX fund budget by $41 million in 2002 and faces continuing current expense fund deficits of $50 million for 2003 and additional reductions of $30 million in 2004 and another $30 million in 2005, for a total of $151 million over four years, and
WHEREAS, the current expense fund budget for purchase of supplies totals nearly $9 million annually and the county is budgeted to spend $90 million on supplies purchases in total, supporting the wide range of regional and local services provided by the county, and
WHEREAS, the council and the executive consistently search for ways in which to provide services at the lowest possible cost, and
WHEREAS, U.S. Communities is a nonprofit agency that assists public agencies in reducing the cost of purchased goods through pooling the purchasing power of public agencies nationwide through a competitive bidding process, and
WHEREAS, the program now known as the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance was founded in 1991 and went national in 1996, and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Communities mission statement is "Public Purchasers Saving You Money," and
WHEREAS, U.S. Communities is sponsored by the National Association of Counties, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, the National League of Cities and the United States Conference of Mayors, and
WHEREAS, U.S. Communities has a professional public purchasing advisory board consisting of public purch...

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