Often it can, because an Illinois city, village or school district can buy on a cooperative contract that was competitively bid once for every member of the cooperative, instead of running a new bid. Pace Systems sells on TIPS contracts 230105 and 260202 and on OMNIA Partners contract 01-169, and Illinois public universities buy from us through IPHEC.
What Illinois law says about joint purchasing
The Governmental Joint Purchasing Act lets a governmental unit buy supplies and services jointly with other governmental units. The Act counts as a governmental unit any public authority with the power to tax and any other public entity created by statute, which takes in cities, villages, counties and school districts.
Section 2 sets the terms: a joint purchase must be made by competitive solicitation, and while a unit buys under the Act, the Act’s rules replace the purchasing rules in the other laws that unit works under. Section 4 adds that when a contract was awarded to several vendors, a unit may buy from the one whose contract best meets its needs.
A purchasing cooperative runs that competitive solicitation once, awards contracts to vendors and opens them to its members. TIPS, for instance, is the purchasing cooperative of Region 8 Education Service Center in Pittsburg, Texas, which awards every TIPS contract as the lead public agency.
School districts have one more rule to keep in mind. The School Code requires a public bid for supplies and work over $35,000, or a lower amount if the board’s policy sets one, and then lists exceptions, and item (vii) of Section 10-20.21 excepts “data processing equipment, software, or services and telecommunications and interconnect equipment, software, and services.” Cameras and door access are not in that item, but a district can still buy them from us on TIPS 260202.
Your purchasing office and your attorney decide how these statutes apply to you, so check with them before you rely on any of this.
Which contracts can a public body use to buy from Pace?
- TIPS 230105 covers technology products and services, for TIPS members.
- TIPS 260202 covers security systems, products and services, which we install around Chicago with crews from IBEW Local 134.
- OMNIA Partners contract 01-169 is held by Promark Technology, and OMNIA Partners lists it under computers and accessories and information technology services, so members buy from us through Promark on it.
- IPHEC, the Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative, buys for the 13 public institutions of higher education in Illinois, and we sell computers, networking equipment and AV through it.
Every quote we send names the contract it is bought on, and the order in the Pace Hub names it too.
What does it cost to join TIPS or OMNIA Partners?
Joining costs a public body nothing, according to both programs. A TIPS membership flyer says membership is free, with no purchasing obligation or liability, and OMNIA Partners says on Promark’s contract page that “There are no membership fees, minimums, or procurement costs to use contracts.”
A public body joins once, on the cooperative’s website, and after that it can buy on any of that cooperative’s contracts from any vendor awarded on them.
How does a purchase on a cooperative contract work?
- Join the cooperative, if your city, village or district isn’t a member yet.
- Send us your list and name the contract. A spreadsheet, a PDF or a list of part numbers is enough, and quotes for standard items usually go out the same business day.
- Check the quote before anyone signs: the vendor should be awarded on the contract, the items should fall within it (technology on 230105 and security systems on 260202), and the contract number should be on the quote.
- Put the vendor’s W-9 and certificate of insurance in your file, and when you ask us for ours, we send our W-9, insurance certificate and MBE certificates the same day.
- Issue your purchase order to us with the contract number on it, and we take purchasing cards and credit cards too, if you would rather pay that way.
- Track the order in the Pace Hub as it moves from Not shipped yet to Coming to Pace, At Pace, Shipped and Delivered. Our trucks deliver it around Chicago, and a carrier takes it anywhere else in the United States.
When is a cooperative contract the wrong route?
It’s the wrong route when your rules or your funding require a bid, and in that case we answer public bids and requests for proposals from school districts, universities, municipalities and public agencies.
In schools, E-Rate is one such case, because Wi-Fi and switches bought with E-Rate discounts follow USAC’s competitive bidding rules: the district certifies an FCC Form 470 and waits at least 28 days before it closes the bidding and chooses a provider.
Send us your list and the contract you buy on, and the quote comes back with that contract’s number on it. Ask Pace for a quote, or read how to buy from Pace on TIPS, OMNIA Partners, IPHEC or a purchase order.
Questions
Is it free to join TIPS or OMNIA Partners?
Yes, TIPS and OMNIA Partners both say joining is free. TIPS’s membership flyer says membership is free with no purchasing obligation, and OMNIA Partners says there are no membership fees, minimums or procurement costs to use its contracts, and each program signs up members on its website.
Which TIPS contract covers security cameras and door access?
That’s TIPS 260202, Security Systems, Products and Services. We install cameras and door access around Chicago under Illinois Private Alarm Contractor Agency License No. 127001360, and Who may install cameras and door access in Illinois explains what that license covers.
Can an Illinois public university buy from Pace on IPHEC?
Yes, IPHEC buys for the 13 public institutions of higher education in Illinois, and we sell computers, networking equipment and AV through it, so the quote we send names IPHEC as the contract.
Does Pace answer public bids and RFPs?
Yes, we answer public bids and requests for proposals from school districts, universities, municipalities and public agencies, and our W-9, insurance certificate and MBE certificates go out the same day they are asked for.