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Lecturers, Performers, Consultants and
other Professional Services
by Donna Bertrand
As a dynamic place of learning, the University recruits individuals with unique and distinctive backgrounds to lecture and perform on campus. At times, we also need to utilize the service of business professionals to assist or advise us on the best way to proceed with a project. Which contract should be used for these purposes - The Service Contract or the Lecture Performance Agreement? If a contract is used for other than its stated purpose, it may not be enforceable.
The Lecture/Performance Agreement is aptly named. Its purpose is very specific. It can only be used for lecturers and entertainers. Because a lecture or performance usually involves a brief, time-limited presentation on campus, the Lecture/Performance Agreement was created to facilitate an easy, expedited process that would not be burdensome to the lecturer/performer or the college/department. The Lecture/Performance Agreement is not for consultants or other professional services such as staging or set-up for the performance. Improper usage or incomplete submissions of the Lecture/Performance Agreement will cause payment delays to vendors.
The Service Contract should be used for all independent contractors providing consulting and other professional services, excluding those covered by the Board of Regents Professional Service Contracts (i.e. architects and engineers). The first page of the Service Contract must be completed with all the required approvers and reviewers before it is submitted to Business Services with an approved AGS (requisition). For instance, Human Resources (HR) is not an approver on AGS but they are a required reviewer for the hiring of independent contractors. HR’s review is necessary to ensure that the contracted individual qualifies as an independent contractor based on the IRS definition. This is important for tax-reporting purposes to the individual and the University.
In summary, your cooperation is required to keep KSU out of the court room, and in compliance with IRS rules and regulations. It is important that we don’t use Lecture/Performance agreements for companies or the procurement of entertainment equipment. Also, foreign nationals must complete the required IRS forms prior to lecturing or performing on campus. Both the Lecture/Performance and Service Contract are available on the Financial Services/Business Services website. If you have any questions about the usage of these agreements, please send an email to procurem@kennesaw.edu and a purchasing officer will respond promptly.
by Donna Bertrand
Bid Splitting is one of the most common citations on a Procurement audit. Bid Splitting is intentionally dividing a purchase into two or more smaller purchases for the purpose of evading procurement law. The State requires that all purchases made by a State agency be subject to competitive bidding, whenever practicable.
Recently, the Department of Administrative Services provided the following clarification.
"$5,000 is the amount at which state law requires us to bid the contract. The State Purchasing Act addresses this as an exception to the competitive bid requirement. Specifically, Section 50-5-69 states, “If the needed supplies, materials, equipment, or service can reasonably be expected to be acquired for less than $5,000 and is not available on state contracts or through statutorily required sources, the purchase may be effectuated without competitive bidding.
The $5,000 threshold would certainly apply to a single purchase. However, when we know we will need more than a single purchase (i.e. if there are a series of expected print jobs over a period of time), we should initiate a competitive bid to comply with the spirit of the act. As a result, our auditors look for any series of purchases for the same goods and/or services within a given period of time.
It is not relevant whether the spend is with the same vendor or different vendors in applying the less than $5,000 exception. In other words, if I need $10,000 of printing services (and assuming these printing services are fairly similar) over the next six months, I must do a competitive bid. If I divide up the $10,000 among five vendors ($2,000 per vendor) as a result of negotiation (no competitive bid process), I have violated the state purchase act."
In light of the above, Procurement is charged with the responsibility for monitoring spend data across the University departments to determine whether a University contract is needed for a product or service.
In FY09, a number of University contracts were initiated to keep KSU in compliance with the bid splitting rule. Examples include the job-order contract for renovation and repairs, catering, promotional items, movers, parking citation system, group exercise classes and charter bus service. This effort will continue in FY10 with the development of University contracts for audio/visual equipment and supplies, bulk mail sorting and mailing, landscaping, equipment rental for events, carpet and flooring services, advertising, clinic and medical/nursing supplies, hotel/conference venues and other areas as indicated by aggregate spend data across departments/colleges and university needs.
Editor's Note: Update & Reprint of a February/March 2008 Article.
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