Burnet County goes high-tech in buying and bidding

By Lew K. Cohn
Managing Editor

Two measures passed without much fanfare at Tuesday's Burnet County Commissioners Court could help bring greater efficiency to the county auditor's office.

Meanwhile, county commissioners received word Burnet County has been awarded the $350,000 grant it sought from the Texas Department of Agriculture to cover the cost of debris cleanup from the October 2018 Highland Lakes flood.

Commissioners gave their unanimous approval Tuesday to establish an electronic requisition system for the county as well as to establish procedures for receiving bids and proposals electronically from vendors competing for county projects.

County Auditor Karin Smith said the requisition system will be beta tested in County Clerk Janet Parker's office first before being made available to all other county departments.

“Electronic requisitions should improve efficiency in the purchasing and invoice process and will also give departments better access to budget and financial data,” Smith said. She said the change is not mandatory; county officials may still submit written purchase order requests.

In the past, vendors were required to send bids by courier (such as Federal Express or UPS) or hand deliver them to the county. Electronic bid submission will allow vendors to use email to submit PDF documents, saving mailing and paper copying costs, though vendors will still be able to submit bids manually, Smith said. . . .

Find more on the county commissioner's meeting, in the Friday, April 12 issue of The Highlander, the newspaper of record for The Highland Lakes. To offer a comment or news tip, email lew@highlandernews.com.