About Us
Our Mission
To facilitate the use of public funds to effectively procure goods, services, and
construction in an inclusive, transparent and equitable manner that best serves County residents, businesses, and the public interest
Message From Our Director
Avinash Shetty, Director
The Office of Procurement is comprised of hard-working, intelligent and thoughtful staff members. Some staff members have been here for 3 years, and others for 30 years. But our core values remain the same: efficiency, collaboration, transparency and empathy. We strive to embody those core values in our everyday operations and interactions with the public.
We also have fun in our office! Each week, we share a fun fact about each other. Did you know one of our staff members pulled someone from a burning car in the 1970’s? And another staff member sang in the opera Carmen for three years? We’re more than just procurement, we’re people too. And we look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Director Ash Shetty
Our Divisions
Operations
The core components of this program are to purchase goods, services, and construction required by County departments in the most timely and cost-effective manner possible. Program staff assist departments in the development of procurement strategies and documents to ensure a competitive, transparent, and fair procurement process in accordance with the County Code and the Procurement Regulations. Program staff also educate vendors about the County's procurement process and procedures. Procurement staff also provides County departments with training, assistance, and guidance of department contract administrators. Procurement Specialists develop contract administration procedures, research vendors, review contracts, and recommend revisions to County procurement policies and regulations to streamline the procurement process. In addition, testimony and other evidence regarding claims and contract disputes with contractors are reviewed to resolve issues. Procurement staff participates with local, State, and national procurement purchasing associations to promote and teach continuing procurement education and learning credits, latest industry trends, latest source selection methods, and cooperative purchases.
Staff also participates in and leads recognized professional purchasing organizations at the local, State, and national levels. The Information Technology (IT) staff provides support to develop and maintain information systems for the department's business operations. This includes purchase and maintenance of IT equipment, service and support for major end-use systems on a Countywide basis. IT management of applications, databases, systems, and department website design and maintenance is included in this program as well as coordination with the County's Department of Technology Services.
Business Relations and Compliance
The mission of the Division of Business Relations and Compliance (BRC) is to plan and implement programmatic strategies to expand business opportunities for minority, female, and disabled business owners as well as Montgomery County local and small businesses. The office administers the County's Wage Requirements and Prevailing Wage programs for service and construction contracts. The DBRC is responsible for ensuring County government contracting compliance with the socioeconomic laws, programs, and policies of the County.
Procurement Services
The Procurement Services section provides for departmental direction, oversight, and support for the Contract Review Committee, analysis, budget preparation, and monitoring. This section also manages contract scanning activities for documents, contracts, and subsequent contract actions, manages archiving standards, and provides departmental customer service assistance. Additionally, it centrally coordinates departmental training and tracking including national certifications and re-certification, expenditure control, escrow management, human resources activities, management of departmental knowledge based articles and MC311 service requests, and coordination of interpreter services for departmental activities or customer needs.
Visit our Org Chart page to see our full organization.