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The South Hills Council of Government Purchasing Alliance
The South Hills Area Council of Governments operates a Purchasing Alliance which
provides joint purchasing services and support to over 100 municipalities in Allegheny County and
Peters Township in Washington County.
The Alliance conducts two rounds of bidding each year, in the spring and fall, for
commodities such as asphalt, traffic paint, traffic signs, pipe, swimming pool chemicals and rock
salt. Each municipality participates in the bid process by sending an estimate of the quantity of the
commodity it intends to purchase for inclusion in the bid material. A recent success of the Alliance
is the joint bidding of police cars.
Lehigh Valley Cooperative Purchasing Council
Lehigh County, Northampton County and the Lehigh County Authority are members of the
purchasing council along with ten other municipalities and municipal authorities. Among the items
that have been jointly purchased include public safety equipment and uniforms, various kinds of
paint, industrial and agricultural chemicals, recycled paper and fuels. In addition to savings from
bulk purchasing, members also benefit from sharing knowledge and expertise on specifications,
bidding and contracting.
Mercer County Regional Council of Governments
The Mercer County Regional Council has 20 member municipalities and Mercer County.
The Council administers a broad range of intergovernmental program including a purchasing
operation.
Multi-County Joint Purchasing Program
Four counties in western Pennsylvania (Armstrong, Clarion, Lawrence and Mercer counties)
have joined together in a formal joint purchasing program. Two other counties, Butler and Venango
are expected to join the purchasing program in the near future. Mercer and Clarion counties are
currently administering the program.
The Washington County Planning Commission administers the Washington County Joint
Purchasing Council. County Planning Commission staff collect bid estimates from municipalities
interested in a variety of commodities such as asphalt, pipe, motor oil, gasoline and diesel fuel. The
County then advertises for, receives and accepts bids for the participating municipalities. The
municipalities are responsible for making the awards directly to the low bidder.
In addition to these various types of local intergovernmental arrangements, the state has this
program which can produce economic benefits to local governments. One such program is a
piggyback arrangement whereby municipalities can purchase from state contracts entered into by the
state=s purchasing agentCthe Department of General Services.
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Revised May 2006