MANAGERS CORNER
ePROCUREMENT INSIGHTS FROM PALMDALE WATER DISTRICT’S SCOTT ROGERS 5 WAYS MODERN PROCUREMENT TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE GAME FOR SPECIAL DISTRICTS
By David Jones, OpenGov RFP Program Manager, in partnership with Scott Rogers, Palmdale Water District Engineering Manager
S
cott Rogers wears many hats. Despite having the official title of Engineering Manager for Palmdale Water District (PWD), Scott’s purview of responsibilities encompasses overseeing capital improvement projects like water pipeline replacements, facility upgrades, new wells, developer projects, exploring water supply alternatives, and, perhaps most remarkably, managing PWD’s procurement process. With more than 2,000 special districts in California, the challenges Scott faces in managing the procurement process are not unique to PWD. Special districts are tasked with some of the most critical and demanding needs of the communities they serve and often do so with limited resources and funding. As is the case with PWD, many special districts do not have a department solely dedicated to procurement, so the regular responsibilities of a procurement office often falls on staff members, like Scott, whose primary function exists outside the realm of purchasing goods and services. While revenue from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund is allowed to be transferred to special districts under the guidelines of the American Rescue Plan Act, the details of this funding plan are still being developed between the CSDA and the State Department of Finance, with clear 30
guidance expected to be released this fall. However, the projected $2.4 billion revenue deficit for California special districts by the end of 2021 still carries much uncertainty for special district leaders like Scott. Operating on limited budgets and tasked with important responsibilities, special districts hamstrung by inefficient and costly procurement processes face challenges that many other government entities do not. Perhaps, now more than ever, special districts are realizing the need for modern technology to more efficiently and practically manage the procurement process in a transparent, compliant, collaborative, and cost-effective manner. Scott and PWD are ahead of the curve. They updated to OpenGov Procurement, a leading cloud procurement solution, in early 2020. When asked to describe the procurement process when he first joined PWD in 2019, Scott chuckles at the recollection, saying, “It was so paper-based I could not believe it.” Much of the day-today, behind-the-scenes work was done manually and on paper outside of the district’s legacy software. This resulted in Scott and his staff spending hours creating solicitations, scanning contractual documents, uploading them to the website as PDFs, and mailing out hard copies to prospective bidders. In addition, the cost to publish California Special Districts • September-October 2021
