Garden City Considering Joining Bi-County Purchasing Consortium

More than a dozen Nassau County municipalities and school districts have expressed interest in being part of the Long Island Intergovernmental Purchasing Council (LIPC), according to county executive Ed Mangano.

The council, created in August by joint resolution signed by Mangano and Suffolk County executive Steve Levy, aims to to help cut taxpayer costs and execute bulk purchases for common goods and services. Its mission is to reduce costs by achieving economies of scale created through volume purchasing and reduced or eliminated duplicative administrative costs, Mangano said.

Mangano extended an invitation to all of Nassau's local governments and school districts.

The Village of Laurel Hollow recently became the seventh municipality to officially join the consortium, which, Mangano said, will pool the buying power of several local governments in order to receive significant discounts on common products.

The villages of Roslyn Harbor, Hewlett Bay Park, Kings Park, Stewart Manor, Plandome Heights, North Hills, East Rockaway, Lynbrook and Upper Brookville and the City of Long Beach are all interested in joining.

The Village of Garden City is cautiously considering the idea. "We are looking into joining," village administrator Robert Schoelle told Patch, "just want to be sure that there aren't any downsides."

In addition, the East Rockaway, Elmont, Roslyn, Valley Stream #30, Levittown, Long Beach and Hewlett-Woodmere school districts are interested in becoming part of the consortium too, Mangano said, joining Nassau and Suffolk County governments, the townships of Oyster Bay and Brookhaven and the villages of Mineola, Patchogue and Northport.

The LIPC operates at no cost to participating members and the daily operations of the LIPC are performed by council members, with Nassau and Suffolk counties rotating responsibility for individual bids, Mangano said.

Membership in the LIPC is open to all municipal corporations within both counties who would be able to utilize any of the contracts competitively bid and awarded by the LIPC, the county executive notes. A municipality can opt into or out of any cooperative bid request.

The LIPC's first bid request was recently issued for multipurpose office paper. Six vendors responded to the bid and the figures are being tabulated. Municipalities that join the LIPC will be allowed to purchase off the paper contract and any other contracts that the LIPC enters into going forward.

"I am encouraged by support shown thus far and have confidence that the efforts of this group will help eliminate the waste of taxpayer dollars," said Mangano. "Together, we are stronger."