Harrisburg, PA – Today, the Pennsylvania Department of General Services (DGS) announced that DGS' Bureau of Procurement recently saved taxpayers almost $15 million thanks to a successfully renegotiated COSTARS-enabled road salt contract that gives Pennsylvania's local public procurement units the opportunity to take advantage of the contract, receiving the same pricing and terms and conditions as state agencies.
COSTARS is the Commonwealth's cooperative purchasing program which allows local governments and eligible nonprofit organizations to partner with the state to gain better pricing in the purchase of commodities from participating suppliers. DGS' renegotiated road salt contract reduced spending for local governments across the state by a combined $8.8 million for 2023-24 through the waiving of potential storage fees and relief of outstanding tonnage of unpurchased salt. Additionally, the Commonwealth saved approximately $5.9 million this year by negotiating lower cost increases with several suppliers. Combined, the reductions saved Pennsylvania taxpayers nearly $15 million.
"The COSTARS program exists to help participating members achieve procurement savings through facilitating opportunities with the best value by partnering with the Commonwealth – and this renegotiated contract offers partnering organizations better pricing while saving Pennsylvania taxpayers millions of dollars," said
DGS Secretary Reggie McNeil. "DGS will continue to identify areas where its programs can save taxpayer funds and encourages COSTARS members to participate in the road salt contract for the approaching August 2024 – July 2025 season by submitting a new Salt Contract Participation Agreement by March 15, 2024."
COSTARS allows local governments and eligible nonprofit organizations to leverage the purchasing power of the Commonwealth to obtain more competitive pricing and choice than individual purchasers might be able to obtain on their own. Overall, there are 9,440 local public procurement units participating in the program. Local governments across the state participate in the COSTARS program to purchase anything from tires and power equipment to vehicle and office supplies.
"COSTARS exists to help members leverage the purchasing power of the Commonwealth – and this renegotiated contract will help our members do that while saving taxpayers millions of dollars," said
Brian Esposito, DGS Deputy Secretary for Procurement. "The Bureau of Procurement will continue to strive to provide savings to the Commonwealth, local governments, and nonprofit organizations across the state."
To participate in the Department of General Services (DGS) Sodium Chloride (Road Salt) Contract for the approaching August 2024 – July 2025 season, qualified organizations should submit a new Salt Contract Participation Agreement electronically through the Members section of the DGS COSTARS website at
www.dgs.pa.gov/COSTARS and select "I'm a Buyer/Members Area". The enrollment deadline is March 15, 2024.
If you have questions regarding participation in this contract, please contact the COSTARS Program team at our toll-free telephone number 1-866-768-7827 or by email at
GS-PACostars@pa.gov.
To learn more about COSTARS and DGS' other shared services programs, please visit the
DGS website.
MEDIA CONTACT: Eric Veronikis, DGS,
everonikis@pa.gov
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