Stop Talking About Procurement — Fix It
|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Why does it take a special task force to tell Miami-Dade County how to buy things? Seriously. We have a $14.3 billion budget, a mayor, 13 commissioners, thousands of employees, and a procurement department. Yet we’re still studying how to make procurement work. Enough already. Government has plenty of people whose job is to figure this stuff out. At some point, somebody has to stop talking about the problem and fix it.
What Actually Happened on September 1
The County Commission tackled a stack of procurement issues — bid protests, local and small-business preferences, conflicts of interest, related-party bidding, competitive-selection committees. Some items were changed, some were pulled back, others moved forward. Fine. That’s part of the process. But now comes the part I actually care about: What changes for taxpayers and the businesses trying to work with the county? I don’t want another study. I don’t want another committee. I want results.
Let’s remember what procurement really is. It’s our money. Every contract, every consultant, every construction project, every purchase — paid for with taxpayer dollars. We’re talking about billions of dollars. I’m not saying the county should always pick the lowest bidder; sometimes the lowest price isn’t the best deal. But the county should get the best value, make sure qualified companies can compete, and make sure the work actually gets done. That’s not complicated. That’s common sense.
A Fair Shot, Not a Free Pass
And yes, I want Miami-Dade businesses to get a fair shot. Why wouldn’t I? A local business employs local people, pays local taxes, and keeps money moving in our community. But let’s be clear: “buy local” doesn’t mean handing someone a contract just because they’re local. The taxpayer comes first. Give local and small businesses an opportunity, make the rules clear, and let them compete. If they can do the job and deliver the right value, give them the business.
What I don’t want is a procurement system so tangled that a small business owner takes one look and says, “Forget it — not worth my time.” A big company can afford employees whose full-time job is chasing government contracts. A small business owner may be doing everything himself. The county needs to make this process understandable: What are you buying? What are the requirements? How do I qualify? What do I submit? When will I get an answer? And if I don’t win, tell me why. A business can accept losing a fair competition. It shouldn’t have to accept a process it can’t even understand.
Put Up or Shut Up: Measure the Results
Now here’s where I want the county to put up or shut up: measure the results. How long does it take to award a contract? How many companies compete? How many are local? How many are small businesses? How many protests get filed, and how long do they take to resolve? How many contracts run late? How many go over budget? Put those numbers where everybody can see them. Don’t bury them in a report. Show us.
If the county says procurement is faster — show us. If it says small businesses are getting more opportunities — show us. If it says taxpayers are getting better value — show us. Don’t tell us. Show us. We’ve heard enough promises from government. What we need now is accountability.
And yes, protect the process. Conflicts of interest matter. Related-party bidding matters. Selection committees matter. The public needs to know contracts are being awarded fairly. But here’s the other side of that coin: more rules don’t automatically mean better government. If a rule protects taxpayers, keep it. If it protects the integrity of the process, keep it. If it just creates another delay, another form, another excuse for government to move slower than it should — fix it.
Our Money, Our Standard
We just approved a $14.3 billion budget. That’s a lot of money. Our money. I don’t want to hear next year that procurement is still too complicated. I don’t want another task force. I don’t want another report explaining why things are hard. I want the county to cut the unnecessary steps, make the process fair, give qualified businesses a real shot, and then measure whether it worked.
Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about paperwork. It’s about our money. And when Miami-Dade County spends our money, it better spend it like it matters.
Stop talking about procurement.
Fix it.
Questions or comments? Text or call Grant Miller, 305-323-8206.
