Newtown’s Purchasing Agent Rick Spreyer has been on the job for a few months. On February 26, he had an opportunity to introduce himself to the Legislative Council.

During a brief update, Mr Spreyer fielded questions and reviewed a number of projects and purchasing initiatives that were on his to-do list.

Mr Spreyer occupies a shared post, and his duties are split between school district and municipal initiatives.

“In the three months I’ve been here, we have sent a total of four projects out to bid,” he said. Three of them have come back, and one — involving Edmond Town Hall safety improvements — is about to start, he added.

“The budget for that project was $234,000, and our bid came in at $163,000,” Mr Spreyer reported, adding that the safety railing component had to be split off from the main bid because none of the bidding companies do that type of work.

“So we’re in the process of quoting out three railing companies for that project,” he said of the approximately $6,000 to $9,000 component. “That still brings us in significantly under budget.”

Working with Rob Sibley, the community’s Deputy Director of Planning, Mr Spreyer helped complete bids for a substantial portion of a sidewalk and pedestrian safety project that is scheduled to be completed before this fall.

“That bid came in, and the numbers looked fantastic,” the purchasing agent said. “We had 11 bidders, and the low bidder is being vetted right now.”

Mr Spreyer also administered a bid for the Hawley School ductless splits and middle school cafeteria air conditioning projects. The low bidder, a Southington firm, came in at $78,000 — approximately $21,000 under budget.

“That project will be done the week of April vacation,” he said. The final bid for lightning protection for Sandy Hook Elementary School is due the first Friday of March.

Like Printing Money

Mr Spreyer said he was able to negotiate a markedly lower price for a commercial capacity graphics printer for Newtown High School. The original anticipated cost for the hardware was $9,000, plus a service plan premium and a per-print charge.

“I was able to negotiate Canon down to just over $5,000 for the same printer, including a service plan, which will save the high school about $3,500,” he said.

And he has migrated the entire town and school district to be part of a state contract for office supplies with W.B. Mason. That move is anticipated to save 25 to 28 percent in annual office supply costs.

Mr Spreyer is also beginning to include Newtown as part of a large-scale national purchasing co-op for other supplies to provide maximum savings due to the extreme economy of scale.

“When large companies respond to requests for quotes and large contracts are given — say the City of Los Angeles — we’re able to join and buy with the purchasing power of a much larger municipality,” he said.

The purchasing agent then told the council he is exploring other opportunities and avenues for future savings, including engagement of a third-party auditing firm. This company comes in and audits efficiency and economies at departments like the transfer station and the entire community’s energy providers.

Mr Spreyer said he is exploring moving the school offices to electronic data management, which would archive required files and digitize them.

“It will greatly reduce cost and our use of paper and increase efficiency, which I know is hard to monetize, but it will make it more efficient by putting files at people’s fingertips by having them available electronically,” he said.

On February 27, Mr Spreyer said he was scheduled to do a walk-through at the community center with a furniture distributor interested in bidding for furnishings and fixtures.

“The architects have given us their furniture estimates, which I think are way high,” he said. “They want you to use the best and to use the suppliers they always have used in the past.”

Relief For Department Heads

In talking with department heads, Mr Spreyer said he is taking over vetting suppliers and taking on negotiating for future commodity and equipment purchases, “so department heads aren’t bogged down in negotiating processes.”

“Spending money on the wrong thing is no better than spending too much on the right thing,” he said.

On a question from Councilman Dan Wiedemann, Mr Spreyer explained that in reviewing individual school purchasing practices, he found countless Amazon accounts open with various means of payment established. So he is in the process of creating a single commercial-type account for the entire district.

“It gives different users different permissions, so many people might be able to shop and put things into a cart, but only one person is authorized to make the purchase,” he said.

The practice will greatly reduce something called “spend leakage,” while giving Mr Spreyer an opportunity to see if the same purchases could be secured even more inexpensively through state or coop purchasing programs.

“If we can get better pricing through those, we can stop the Amazon purchase,” he commented.

In closing, Mr Spreyer stated that he has been welcomed by virtually all of the staff he has encountered.

“They’re happy that I’m there to make their life easier,” he said.