Audit: County could save more
August 08, 2011, 03:30 AM By Michelle Durand Daily Journal Staff
San Mateo County could save up to $8 million through smarter spending on everything from office supplies to vehicle fleet contracts, according to a report recommending departments better coordinate and consolidate their purchases.
The fact that hired firm Accenture didn’t uncover more potential savings could be because San Mateo County is already fairly efficient and getting pretty good deals in several areas, said Deputy County Manager Peggy Jensen.
“It’s not as much as we thought,” she said. “I think it’s fair to say Accenture expected to see greater opportunities in the county. The fact they didn’t means we are doing better than some other counties and cities they’ve looked at.”
But the possibility of saving anywhere from $4.21 million to $8.24 million is nothing to sniff at and Jensen said she and fellow Deputy County Manager Reyna Farrales are currently working with Accenture to see what recommendation might be put into practice.
The county paid Accenture $100,000 for the initial assessment but the cost will be waived if the two contract a second time to implement the suggestions.
“We’re really looking carefully at how we achieve the best use of our money,” she said.
One move might be consolidating or eliminating many of the county’s copiers. Accenture found that the existing 340 copiers are not being fully used.
Another is figuring out how to combine department needs to take advantage of purchasing power and volume discounts.
The county hired Accenture earlier this year as part of its ongoing effort to find savings and whittle away a $82 million structural deficit.
Of its $1.8 billion budget, the county spends approximately $228.5 million for goods and services across departments. Accenture’s savings were estimated from centralizing purchasing and reducing the costs of these goods and services. Other savings could come from bulk purchasing with cities although none have shown any specific interest, Jensen said.
Accenture recommends the Controller’s Office creates Accounts Payable Shared Services with electronic invoices and approvals. The company also recommends developing a way to provide statistics about purchasing, such as savings and departmental compliance, to give a bigger view of possible efficiencies.
While better contracts could bring better savings, the report also points to smaller tweaks such as establishing a contractor qualification process for capital projects and looking at contracts for commonly ordered items so premiums aren’t paid for emergency needs. The county could also consolidate volume with one supplier, make volume commitments to increase dealer discounts and share temporary staffing.
Although Jensen said the hope is for some “quick wins,” timing is an issue for some locked-in contracts. Another is known as nonsourcable contracts, agreements in which the county can’t necessarily go out for competitive bids such as care for mentally ill group homes and safety net services.
However, the county is getting optimal pricing in some areas already such as the vehicle fleet, Accenture found.
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