Brown County uses both a decentralized and centralized approach to buying with $10,000 being the threshold between the two types. Individual departments purchase their own items that fall under the $10,000 threshold and the Purchasing Division facilitates the purchase of items over $10,000.
......
The MISSION STATEMENT of the Purchasing Division is to facilitate projects using the appropriate vendor selection process to obtain the best value for the taxpayers of Brown County. The Division ensures the County's process is fair, competitive, efficient, and conducted under strict ethical guidelines. Through a defined and streamlined process of competitive bidding procedures, Brown County strives to procure the highest quality goods and services at the lowest possible price.
......
It is our specific GOAL to adhere to purchasing procedures in a manner that builds public confidence and preserves the integrity of an open, fair, transparent and competitive procurement process. To achieve this, we maintain strict compliance with all federal, state, and local laws. All purchasing contracts are competitively shopped every 5 years to assure that the County is paying for the services using the current market price while obtaining up-to-date services.
Brown County Purchasing staff members belong to Wisconsin Association for Public Procurement (WAPP), VALUE Group, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) and Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC). The Purchasing Division adheres to a strict code of ethics as published in accordance with these organizations. For details please reference the code of ethics at the following website link: http://www.nigp.org.
......
| Brown County uses four (4) main vendor selection processes described below: | |
| 1. Brown County's Request for Bid (RFB) is a structured purchasing process for Public Works projects $5,000 and greater and used to determine source selection when price is the only factor. | |
| Click 'here' to view RFB flowchart. | |
| 2. Brown County’s Request for Proposal (RFP) is a structured purchasing process used to determine source selection when price is not the only factor. | |
| Click 'here' to view RFP flowchart. | |
| 3. Brown County's Request for Quote (RFQ) is a structured purchasing process used to determine source selection when price is the only factor. | |
| Click 'here' to view RFQ flowchart. | |
| 4. Brown County occasionally will use a Request for Information (RFI) to determine capabilities and costs of particular goods / services. | |
| Click 'here' to view RFI flowchart. |
Brown County welcomes the opportunity to do business with all interested vendors. Open RFBs / RFIs / RFPs / RFQs / Offer To Purchase (OTP) & Offer To Lease (OTL) are posted on the “Open Projects” webpage. The majority of these purchases result in term contracts up to five (5) years in length. When the purchasing solicitations are past the due date, they are moved to the “Closed Projects” link for your review.
In addition to posting open projects on Brown County’s website the majority of RFIs / RFPs / RFQs / OTPs and OTLs are also posted on the DemandStar website, utilizing automatic project notification features with details: www.demandstar.com
For FREE Vendor Registration
DemandStar brings together an extensive database of government agencies and vendors on the internet as a FREE service. Their services enable us to improve our service to you by promoting automatic project notification and instant access to detailed specifications via the web.
If you are interested in doing business with Brown County in any of these areas, please periodically visit this website(s).
For more Questions & Answers, please visit the FAQ page. Click 'here' to be redirected
