cityofCINCINNATIInterdepartment Correspondence Sheet

October 22, 2015

FOR YOUR INFORMATION MEMO

To: Mayor and Members of City Council

From: Harry Black, City Manager~4 ~

Subject: Procurement

Over the last several months, the Administration has been working to centralize procurementwithin the City Purchasing division in order to maximize cost savings, competition, andinclusion. Because of this new modified centralized procurement process, individual departmentheads are no longer able to make unilateral procurement decisions, as had been the past practice.This is directly related to the goals of increased efficiency and inclusion that we have spoken offrequently in recent months that are important to us all. To that end, the purpose of this memo isto advise you of the process for handling inquires or engagement moving forward given our newprocesses.

In most instances, vendors that engage elected officials personally should be referred directly tothe City Purchasing division, led by Patrick Duhaney. If there is a perceived fairness issue witha particular vendor, you are welcome to contact me directly or the Assistant City Managers orthe City Solicitor. Feel free to introduce or direct qualified vendors for City business directly tomy office. This communication process will ensure that all interested parties receive accurateand timely information and are in contact with the final decision makers, and that we maintainmaximum integrity of the procurement process. Should a concern arise that appears to be of alegal-nature,-contacting-the-City-Solicitormay-also-be-appropriate.

As always, please feel free to contact me to discuss this process or any specific circumstances.We are all unified in this effort to improve the timeliness, efficiency, and inclusion numberswhen it comes to contracts with the City of Cincinnati.