Consideration and Approval of Cooperative Contract: 2019-4 Cooperative Purchase Contract with Baker & Taylor, Inc.

The Baker & Taylor, Inc. ("Baker & Taylor") cooperative purchase contract provides for the procurement of library materials and services. The cooperative purchase contract allows the City to leverage its purchasing power and obtain a better value in the expenditure of public resources. Reduced fiscal resources have created an environment that supports increased levels of cooperation for the procurement of various materials and services. The materials and services provided by Baker & Taylor are a necessity for the City as the library must continue to supply the Flagstaff community with new resources such as books and DVDs in order to do business properly.

The City will be able to continue to use Baker & Taylor for its Library needs such as books, DVDs, and other services at a discounted rate that was negotiated from a formal solicitation process between the City of Mesa and Baker & Taylor. The Library budget for circulation materials totals $397,886 across all programs. This amount is approved in the FY19 budget. The financial impact is better than in years past.

None.

Strategic Plan:
Goal PF.2. Provide sustainable and equitable public facilities, services, and infrastructure systems in an efficient and effective manner to serve all population areas and demographics.
Policy ED.2.3. Encourage efforts to provide a full range of high-quality educational opportunities for life-long learning for all residents.
Policy ED.2.4. Promote science, technology, engineering, mathematics, liberal arts, and entrepreneurship education at all levels.

Yes. On August, 16, 2016, in the FY17 budget, the Flagstaff City Council approved a cooperative purchase contract with Baker & Taylor based on an agreement with the City of Mesa. That agreement has expired and is being replaced with this one.

1. The City Council approves this cooperative purchase contract for library materials and services; or
2. The City Council declines to enter into this cooperative purchase contract and directs staff to conduct a formal competitive solicitation.

The City had been ordering library materials from Baker & Taylor for many years. The City no longer has an agreement in place for these purchases. The City was able to find an agreement between the City of Mesa and Baker & Taylor. The City seeks to enter into a cooperative purchase contract based on that agreement in order to continue to purchase the necessary materials and services for the Library. This cooperative purchase contract will allow the City to take advantage of discounts and continue to provide the community with needed library materials and services.

The ultimate goal of this cooperative purchase contract is to maximize contract pricing through volume purchases of materials and services that help leverage purchasing power and to obtain maximum services quality provided by the contracted vendor. Other objectives are to continue a working relationship with Baker & Taylor that has been successful in the past and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the public procurement process.

None.

The local community will continue to use the City's libraries for educational, recreational, and other resources that are provided through this cooperative purchase contract. The City will be able to continue to meet the needs of the community. The materials and services provided by Baker & Taylor are extremely valuable and have been a great asset. The community benefits by a continued working relationship with the vendor and the discounted pricing that keeps the library services an exceptional resource for the community.

Inform the community on library services.
Involve the community by providing training, educational, and other materials.