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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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U.S. Communities is a nonprofit
instrumentality of government that assists public agencies in
reducing the cost of purchased goods through pooling the purchasing
power of public agencies nationwide. This is accomplished through
competitively solicited contracts for quality products through
lead public agencies.
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- Competitively solicited contracts by a lead public agency
- Most favorable public agency pricing
- No cost to participate
- Nationally sponsored by leading associations and purchasing organizations
- Broad range of high quality products
- Aggregates purchasing power of public agencies nationwide
- Managed by public purchasing professionals
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Yes. The Advisory Board members consist of public purchasing professionals from:
- City and County of Denver, CO
- City of Charlotte / Mecklenburg County, NC
- City of Houston, TX
- City of Los Angeles, CA
- City of San Antonio, TX
- City of Seattle, WA
- Cobb County, GA
- County of Allegheny, PA
- Dallas County , TX
- Davis Joint Unified School District, CA
- Detroit Public Schools, MI
- Emory University, GA
- Fairfax County , VA
- Great Valley School District, PA
- Harford County Public Schools, MD, MD
- Hennepin County , MN
- Hillsborough School District, FL
- Los Angeles County , CA
- Maricopa County, AZ
- Miami-Dade County / Public Health Trust, FL
- North Carolina State University, NC
- San Diego Unified School District, CA
- Wichita Public Schools, KS
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Yes in most states. All U.S. Communities contracts have been
competitively solicited by a lead public agency in accordance
with their public purchasing rules and regulations. Each solicitation
contains language, which advises all suppliers the subsequent
contract may be used by other government agencies throughout
the United States. This language is based on the lead jurisdiction
"Joint Powers Authority" or "Cooperative Procurement" program.
Although each government may have different purchasing procedures
to follow, applying these competitive principles satisfies the
competitive solicitation requirements of most state and local
government agencies. |
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State statutes and, if applicable, local ordinances generally
allow one government agency to purchase from contracts competitively
solicited by another government agency ("Lead Public Agency").
This, of course, would require the consent of all parties including
the supplier, the Lead Public Agency and government agency purchasing
from the Lead Public Agency contract. U.S. Communities contracts
are established to meet both the competitive solicitation and
consent requirements. Generally, a public body may participate
in, sponsor, conduct or administer a cooperative procurement
agreement with one or more other public bodies, or agencies
of the United States, for the purpose of combining requirements
to increase efficiency or reduce administrative expenses. In
some states, this power is not passed on to localities. |
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Contract and Master Agreement, Amendments, Extension, RFP and Solicitation documents are available for download and viewing at the Competitively Solicited Contracts page. |
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Public agencies must register
to participate. There are no restrictions
on the amount or size of a public agency order. |
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There are no costs or fees to the local agency to participate. |
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The supplier pays a minimum 1% administrative fee to participate
and this pays for operating expenses and offsets costs incurred
by national and state sponsors. |
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Yes, 501(c)(3) nonprofit agencies providing a service on behalf
of a governmental entity can use the program in addition to
counties, cities, special districts, schools, universities and
colleges, towns, villages and state agencies. |
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First speak to the supplier representative, but if this does
not work, ask to speak to the U.S. Communities national account
manager or contact U.S. Communities. |
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Yes, all U.S. Communities public agency contracts are non-exclusive. |
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Please read the Supplier Inquiries page. |
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