NIGP Board Wraps Up Its Spring Meeting In St. Louis

The NIGP Board of Directors completed deliberations on several key strategic programs, appointments and governance issues during its Spring meeting in St. Louis – the host city for the Institute’s 2009 Forum and Products Exposition.

Governance Revisions

The Board adopted five revisions to the NIGP Bylaws and policies in order to gain enhancements to the governance process.  During the past two years, the Board has experienced critical turnovers in its officer positions due to retirements, career changes, and job pressures. Therefore, the Board’s recent revisions are intended to emphasize continuity in leadership while increasing membership access to the election process.

Board terms have been extended to a three-year term, renewable once, for a maximum of six years unless elected as a Board officer. (The prior term limits were also six years).  Board officers are now exempt from a competitive election.

Additionally, the Nominating Committee will now encompass both Board members as well as other national members who will actively recruit the very best leaders for the Institute on an ongoing basis. The Committee has also been authorized to offer as many as three candidates for election or appointments – including the slate of Board candidates who are presented to the membership for a vote. This expanded list of candidates eliminates the necessity of the petition process, which was used sparingly over the past several years.

Finally, the balloting timeline has been reduced to ten calendar days so that the voting process is not prolonged over a two-week period.

Key Appointments and Elections

Stephanie Creed, CPPO, CPPB, the Assistant Comptroller for Pulaski County, Arkansas, was elected by the Board as its Third Vice President effective July 2008.  Stephanie was first appointed by the Board in 2005 to fill a vacancy in Region 6 (the South Central States) and won her competitive election in 2006. She ran unopposed in 2008.  In addition to her service on the NIGP Board, Stephanie has also served as President of the Arkansas Chapter of NIGP in 2006 and as Vice-Chair of NIGP’s Forum and Products Exposition Committee in 2004-05.  Stephanie will assume the NIGP presidency in 2011-12.

Chris Klein, CPPB, the Purchasing Administrator for the City of Glendale, CA was appointed to a three-year term as NIGP’s Treasurer effective July 2008.  Chris will be the first treasurer to be appointed outside of the Board membership. Prior to this appointment, the NIGP Treasurer was the first sequential step as an officer leading to the presidency.  However, the Board decided to select a treasurer for a longer, three-year term from within the membership – providing both continuity and skill to this position.

John Coggins, CPPO, C.P.M., the Purchasing and Materials Manager for the Orange County Fire Authority, CA was appointed as one of three NIGP representatives to the UPPCC Governing Board – filling the vacancy of Rick Berry through December 2009.  John is a past president of the California Association of Public Purchasing Officials (CAPPO). He will join Norma Hall and Darin Matthews as the Institute’s representatives for governing the CPPO and CPPB certification programs in conjunction with our partners at NASPO.

Louis Moore, CPPO, CPPB (Purchasing Director for the City of St. Petersburg, FL) and Jack Pitzer, CPPO, Ph.D (Retired, City of Alexandria, VA) were re-appointed to represent NIGP on the LES Professional Development Foundation for another two-year term beginning July 2008.

Key Strategies

The Board agreed to fund the second phase of development for the Government Price Index (GPI) and the preliminary results should be available at the 2009 Forum in St. Louis.  The Board also discussed the value of ACE accreditation for members who wish to earn college credit for participating in NIGP’s educational program; and the Board has provided staff with additional direction so that a final decision can be made on this issue by Fall 2008.  The Board also supported its desire to create standards for the public procurement profession and asked staff to consider whether this should be accomplished via ANSI standardization or through other means – similar to the collaborative effort of GFOA and others to produce the GAAP standard.  Finally, the Board supported a two-phase leadership development program for the Board and national committees.  This program may be extended to chapter leaders in the future.

Key Decisions

Budget:  The Board adopted a low-growth budget for FY09 which includes no fee increases for the next fiscal year.  The only fee structure that will change effective July 2008 will be for Webinar participation; the often-confusing site fee and additional guest fees will be eliminated in favor of individual registration. This means that the current site fee of $110 for national members will be reduced to a $75 fee for each registered attendee.

Advocacy:  The Board adopted a resolution supporting the repeal of Section 511 of the United States Public Law 109-222; often referred to as the 3% withholding requirement when paying contractors.

Partnerships:  The Board agreed to enter into a three-year agreement with Penton Media to produce an official publication for NIGP.  Penton currently produces Government Procurement and this magazine will be converted to NIGP’s official publication; with the first edition anticipated in conjunction with the 2008 NIGP Forum and Products Exposition in Charlotte.   The Board also agreed to partner with the Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council as a means of promoting the value of public procurement as a career in Canada.

2011 Forum:  The Institute will return to the Metro DC area in 2011 – our first Forum in the U.S. Nation’s Capitol since the early 1980s.  The venue will be the new, first-class Gaylord National Harbor resort and convention center located in neighboring Maryland with easy access to DC attractions.