Greetings Region XI

Hello Everyone!

My name is Marcheta Gillespie and I am your new Region XI Director on the National Board.  I am thrilled about the opportunity to serve all the members in our five outstanding states:  Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.  As your new national representative, I plan on visiting each of the chapters in the five states during the next few months.  After all, NIGP is all about you, the members, and meeting your needs!  I’ll be contacting chapter presidents to schedule this visit and very much look forward to having a conversation with all of you about your expectations, your needs and your ideas on how NIGP can provide more value to you in your daily work life.

Did you know?

Region XI has over 1,300 members, representing almost 300 agencies and nine chapters!  I look forward to working with all of you to continue to grow our regional presence at the national level and to ensure NIGP is serving you well.

And here’s some great news about Region XI:

Congratulations to our region’s newest CPPO, Susan Holt from Orange County Transportation Authority (CA).  Also, our newest CPPBs, Theresa Price from Maricopa County Community Colleges District (AZ) and David Louis from Modesto City Schools (CA)….outstanding job!  And welcome aboard to our newest agency members:  Town of Buckley, AZ (Peggy Wright, CPPB), City of Espanoloa, NM (Bernadine Martinez),  Mt. San Jacinto CC District (Teri Sisco, C.P.M.), Town of Marana, AZ (James Preglar, C.P.M.), Weber School District, Ogden, UT (Merlene Wixon) and our newest student member, Rennette Apodaca, Las Cruces, NM.  Welcome everyone!!!

I look forward to seeing all of you soon in my travels and please don’t hesitate to contact me! 

Marcheta E. Gillespie, CPPB, C.P.M., CPM
Region XI Director
(520) 940-7194
Marcheta.gillespie@tucsonaz.gov

Board News: Highlights From the Fall NIGP Board Meeting

The NIGP Board of Directors and NIGP National Committees conducted their Fall 2007 meetings in Atlantic City, New Jersey on October 15-17, 2007.

The main focus of these meetings was the alignment of the strategic plan with a limited number of new initiatives that develop, support and promote the public procurement profession.  Based on input from each committee, the NIGP Board reduced the number of program initiatives from 23 programs to 8 programs. (The original plan had 33 program initiatives but 10 were completed by the meeting date).

In addition to the strategic planning process, key decisions made by the Board during its official meeting include:

•  Selected San Antonio, Texas as the host city for the 2010 NIGP Forum and Products Exposition.

•  Elected Ken Koester, CPPO, C.P.M., A.P.P., the Director for the Unified Purchasing Cooperative of the Ohio River Valley, as the Institute’s Treasurer for the period of October 17, 2007 through June 30, 2008.

•  Appointed Darin Matthews, CPPO, C.P.M., to a three-year term as a NIGP representative to the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council’s Governing Board effective January 1, 2008.  The Board further recommended that the UPPCC Governing Board appoint Ken Babich, BCom, CPPO, and Joan Smith, CPPO, CPPB to their Board of Examiners as members of their CPPO and CPPB exam teams respectively.

•  Adopted key revisions to its Board Policy Manual including a provision for ‘transitional membership’ for those members who lose their job with a member agency. Under this scenario, the individual will be able to retain member benefits available through the NIGP Website for a six-month period; giving access to the Member Directory and Career Opportunities.  Another key revision provides both no-cost general liability insurance and incorporation services for newly formed Chapters.

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Industry News: House-passed law would delay 3 percent withholding

By William Welsh
Washington Technology

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a tax bill that would delay a mandate to government buyers to withhold part of their payments to contractors.

Section three of H.R. 3056, “The Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007,” passed Oct. 10 by House lawmakers would delay the mandate by one year. It had been set to take effect Jan. 1, 2011. The rationale of the mandate is that it would give the government a way to collect taxes on unreported revenues.

Sources familiar with the legislation said the delay was granted to allow adequate time for a more complete study of how the measure would impact various types of businesses, grantees and government-aid recipients.

The study would examine the challenges administering and complying with the withholding mandate, the burdens it would place on governments and businesses and the application of measure to small expenditures for services and goods by government entities.

The Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 included the provision requiring all federal, state and local entities to deduct and withhold payments made to any individual or business providing goods or services an amount equal to three percent of the total payment.

Section 511, as it was set forth, was included as a “revenue raiser” and was not in the original version of the bill passed by either chamber of Congress. Senate legislative staff inserted the withholding requirement during conference negotiations in an attempt to generate $7 billion to fund other tax cuts. Opponents of the measure point out that no hearings were held on the measure.

For more information, visit www.washingtontechnology.com.
©1996-2007 11-5 Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This article is reprinted for informational purposes and does not represent an endorsement by NIGP. [ return to top ]

NIGP News: Tina Borger, CPPO Joins NIGP as Director of Research and Technical Resources

After 31 years of dedicated service to the citizens of Loudoun County, Virginia as their Procurement Manager, Tina decided to pursue new opportunities and make a significant contribution to the public procurement profession as NIGP's Director of Research and Technical Resources.

Under her leadership, Loudoun County – which is located in the western suburbs of Metro Washington D.C. and one of the fastest growing counties in the United States - earned several national awards as a top public procurement operation including NIGP’s Outstanding Agency Accreditation Achievement Award.  Tina’s technical expertise spans all aspects of public procurement with specialization in public-private partnerships, construction management, e-procurement, and regional cooperatives. She is a Master Certified Instructor for NIGP and has served on the Institute’s Chapter Relations Committee and our Supplier Partnership Council.  Tina also has strong roots in the chapter affiliate network – having served as President of the Virginia Association of Governmental Purchasing Chapter (VAGP) in 1990.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, a Master’s Degree in Business Management, and earned her CPPO designation in 1984.

Working with both the management team at NIGP and our academic colleagues at Florida Atlantic University, Tina plans to facilitate intentional bridges between the results of expanded academic research and the professional development activities that are the hallmark of NIGP’s educational programs.  In addition to her work with colleges and universities, Tina will manage research projects as directed by the NIGP Board and our Research Committee and will support activities related to agency accreditation, best practices, innovations, the Public Agency Satisfaction Survey (PASS) program, benchmarking, spend management, and the Government Price Index. In partnership with Member Services, she will also support the technical services available to members on the NIGP Website.

Finally, Tina will oversee the objectives and results of our Procurement Management Assistance Program (PMAP), NIGP's professional consulting service.

Welcome, Tina, to the NIGP team.

Upcoming Webinar: The Art Form of Specification Writing

November 15, 2007
1PM – 2:30 PM (Eastern)
Registration Deadline:  Wednesday, November 7

Objectives:

•  Differentiate between specifications types
•  Understand when and how to use specifications
•  Apply best practices in writing specifications
•  Translate the end-user's description into usable specifications

                                             Presenter: 
                                   
                              Robin J. Rickard, CPPO, OPBC
                                 Chief Procurement Officer
                                 Oregon Secretary of State

                                        Register Today 
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NIGP Code: State Adoption Grows

Periscope Holdings, Inc., sole custodian and marketer of the NIGP Code, recently announced that two new states, Maryland and Tennessee, have joined the family of NIGP Code users.  With the addition of Maryland and Tennessee, 33 states have now licensed the NIGP Commodity/Services Code for use in statewide financial and purchasing software systems used by agencies and local jurisdictions.

Both Maryland and Tennessee have sponsored the internal use of the NIGP 5-Digit Code for all state agencies.  They join Arizona, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin as leaders in standardizing statewide purchasing activities through use of the Code.

“We are very excited,” said John Walters, President of NIGP Code Services.  “Maryland and Tennessee are leading the charge toward standardized purchasing activities.  We look forward to rolling out the Code over the course of the year to all agencies within those states.”

Other public sector agencies recently adopting the NIGP Code include:

•   Chicago City Colleges, Illinois
•   City of Albany, Georgia 
•   City of Coral Gables, Florida
•   City of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada 
•   City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 
•   City of San Antonio, Texas
•   City of Santa Monica, California
•   City of Surprise, Arizona
•   County of Kane, Illinois
•   Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas 
•   Employees Retirement System of Texas
•   Georgia Institute of Technology
•   Lamare Consolidated ISD, Texas 
•   McKinney ISD, Texas 
•   New Braunfels Utilities, Texas 
•   South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy
•   Tacoma School District No. 10, Washington
•   Tomball ISD, Texas
•   Town of Palm Beach, Florida 
•   Tri-County Commuter Rail Authority, Florida 
•   University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
•   University of Wyoming Physical Plant
•   Valley Regional Transit, Idaho

Today, over 1,400 government agencies use the NIGP Code to support their purchasing, logistics and financial operations.  For more information about the NIGP Code and how it can improve your day-to-day operations and planning for the future, e-mail info@nigp.com or call (800) 757-6064.

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Forum 2008: The Winner's Circle is in Charlotte

                

And the NIGP Forum 2008 calendar is in the mail!

It’s not too early to get into gear for NIGP’s 63rd Annual Forum and Products Exposition July 26-30, 2008.  To keep your planning on track, the 2008 Forum calendar is on its way to all NIGP members and business partners.  This calendar will keep you apprised of all the critical dates and information you will need to register and to qualify for special discount opportunities.

Keep in mind that not only is the NIGP Forum the premier professional development experience, it is also the time when we recognize our distinguished colleagues whose vision and drive during the past year -- or throughout their career -- earned them a place in the Winner’s Circle.  Whether you know a current or future model procurement officer like Bill Irish, FNIGP, CPPO, C.P.M. (Albert H. Hall Award), an accomplished author of procurement-focused essays like John Mahin, CPPO, CPPB (2007 Diversity Essay & 2007 NIGP Code Essay), or a successful accredited agency like the Town of Blacksburg, Virginia (OA4), the NIGP Annual Forum offers an ideal venue to recognize a peer, your chapter or agency.

Reminder: IPPC Call for Papers

International Public Procurement Conference (IPPC) 2008
"Enhancing Best Practices in Public Procurement"
August 28 - 30, 2008
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

The International Public Procurement Conference (IPPC)  facilitates the international exchange of knowlege and know-how by bringing together academics and professionals from many countries throughout the world to share best practices and to discuss critical issues affecting Public Procurement.  

Call for Papers

To stimulate interaction and discussion, participants are invited to submit abstracts of either practical or academic papers.  There are two kinds of papers you can submit - full papers and short papers.

•  Full papers are academically focused and are approximately 10-20 pages
   in length.
   Deadline for full paper submission is November 1, 2007.

•  Short papers are based on everyday practices and are five pages in length.
   Deadline for short paper submission is March 1, 2008. 

For more details on abstract submission, visit IPPC Call for Papers.

To learn more about the conference or to register, visit  IPPC 2008. [ return to top ]

Register Today: NECCC 2007 Annual Conference

"A Revolution in the Making:  Government Services for the Next Generation"

eC3 11th Annual Conference
December 3 - 5, 2007
Austin, Texas

National Electronic Commerce Coordinating Council, eC3, is a consortium of national organizations and public and private sector leaders identifying best practices for strategic change within government.  This year's conference will showcase best practices and explore the role of changing demographics as they relate to strategic change within government.

The conference will unveil white papers that address the topics of "Government in the Age of You Tube" and a redaction piece entitled, "Today's Three P's:  Privacy, Public Access and Policymaking".  Other sessions will focus on topics such as multi-generational workforces, wireless government, election technology, and identity management.  

Register today for the eC3 Annual Conference. [ return to top ]