Michael Edward Purdy finished his 69-year journey on this planet when his Creator called him home on August 2, 2023, at his home in Seattle, Washington. Despite a lifetime of excellent health, stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer eventually ended his grand adventure, following a May 2019 diagnosis. As a husband, father, grandfather, manager, historian, and writer, Mike had a profound impact on those around him. He was kind and gentle, an optimist, a deep listener, intelligent, and found humor in life. He saw all of life as ultimately theological and sought daily to live out his faith in his Lo ..read more

The Washington Legislature adopted a new law (Senate Bill 5301) that adds an additional criterion to the list of mandatory bidder responsibility criteria that public agencies must verify and document before awarding any public works project, regardless of cost.   Effective Date:  The new law became effective on July 23, 2017.  This means that public agencies must ensure that the required sworn statement is obtained prior to award of the public works project.  Minimum Wage Compliance by Bidder:  The new law establishes a new criterion relating to the contractor's ..read more

  Public Works Resource Guide: I have written a Public Works Resource Guide for Washington state's Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC). The online book is being edited now and hopefully will be available by late spring or early summer at mrsc.org. It is a best practices guide to everything about public construction contracting. The main sections of the book are as follows: Foundations Competition Bidding Documents Implementation Compliance Resources Memoir: I have also written a candid and vulnerable memoir titled Reflections of an Uncertain Journey about my now almost ..read more

Kitsap Transit Position: Purchasing Specialist Location:  Bremerton, Washington Closing Date:  Friday, June 30, 2017 at 4:00 pm Salary: $22.29 - $29.98 per hour ($46,363 - $62,358 Annually) Benefits:  Full-time employees receive a generous benefits package including subsidized medical insurance and fully paid dental insurance for employee and dependents, as well as disability insurance and life insurance.  This position participates in the Washington State Public Employees’ Retirement Plan with the option of participating in a state administered deferred compens ..read more

NIGP is sponsoring an all day class I've developed and will be teaching this coming Thursday, April 30, 2020 entitled "When Bad Things Happen to Bids: Strategies for Ensuring a Successful Public Construction Project." The course was originally scheduled to be an in-person class in Florida, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been switched to a virtual Zoom training, thus making it available to people across the country. The class will run from 8:00am to 5:00pm Eastern time. So, if you're on the west coast (like I am), it will be an early start to the day! Click here to go to NIGP's web ..read more

As our nation and the world grapple with managing the impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we are witnessing an unprecedented upheaval of the foundations of society. How should public agencies and contractors be responding and how does it impact construction projects?  Resources: I want to share a couple of articles posted online by Seattle law firms that have good discussions on the concept of force majeure (also known as acts of God), other legal concepts, and how this impacts contractual relationships. I hope these articles help provide a framework as you address the impacts o ..read more

A new reference book entitled "Procurement Methods: Effective Techniques" by Lourdes Coss, MPA, CPPO, will be published on April 25, 2016. Ms. Coss is one of the most highly respected and preeminent public procurement professionals in the nation. About the book:  "I decided to write the book I had been looking for," Coss notes.  "It's a desk reference for procurement professionals."  The book is applicable for both the manager searching for a tool to train procurement staff and professionals seeking to expand their knowledge. The book serves a resource for procurement professio ..read more

Tennessee construction attorney Matthew DeVries has described the outcome of an Alabama court case in which a bidder left out the word "thousand" in a bid price and was held to the significantly lower bid amount by the public agency. The contractor refused to execute the contract because they would loose too much money and the public agency collected from their bid bond. Allow withdrawal of bid if error is made:  Public agencies should generally allow a contractor who has made a mistake to withdraw their bid.  It is not in either the contractor's or the public agency's best interest ..read more

I was interviewed by and quoted in The Wall Street Journal on March 7, 2016 about some of the questionable practices that have been used by various public agencies across the country in piggybacking off of contracts for the purchase of police body cameras.   Click here to read the article: "For Cities After Ferguson, a Body-Camera Dilemma."   Presidential History Blog:  Check out my Presidential History Blog at PresidentialHistory.com and sign up for a free email subscription to it. Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog © 2016 by Michael E. Purdy Associates, LLC http://P ..read more

On November 16, 2017, I had the privilege of speaking before approximately 125 public procurement officials at the annual luncheon of the Central Ohio Organization of Public Purchasers in Columbus, Ohio.  Click here to listen to my talk. I spoke on the topic of "Leadership Lessons from the Presidents." Whether it's leadership from the Oval Office or leadership in adding value to the procurement process, there are common styles and principles that make for successful leaders. My 53 minute talk takes us back in history to examine successful and unsuccessful leadership styles of a handful ..read more