News for the Statewide Procurement Community from the State Purchasing & Contracts Office
From the CPO
Happy Government Public Procurement Month! This is your month, a time to recognize and celebrate the hard work and dedication of Colorado's public procurement professionals. Your expertise, integrity, and commitment to responsible stewardship ensure that the people across our state receive the goods, services, and public programs they need.
Thank you for your dedication to excellence in procurement - your efforts make a meaningful impact in Colorado every day!
Sincerely,
Sherri Maxwell, CPPB
Chief Procurement Officer
SPCO Staffing Update
The SPCO is excited to announce we've hired two Procurement Monitoring Specialists as part of our new Procurement Monitoring Program!
Danielle Deflorian worked at CDLE, beginning as a purchasing agent and contract administrator, eventually becoming the supervisor of CDLE’s Procurement and Contract Services Information Technology team. She has also practiced business law in-house at a technology firm, followed by working as an associate attorney in estate planning and workers' compensation litigation.
Sandy Schweitzer has been with the SPCO since 2021 as the Procurement Performance Specialist. Prior to that she was a Contract Compliance Manager with OIT and also spent 19 years working within the Judicial System.
Welcome, Danielle to the SPCO and Sandy to your new role!
CCU/OIT FY25 Year-End Deadlines
In an effort to streamline the year-end process, the Central Contracts Unit (CCU) within the State Purchasing and Contracting Office and the Office of Information Technology (OIT) have coordinated to establish a State Fiscal Year 25 deadline calendar for contracts/modifications that require action in order to be effective by July 1, 2025. These deadlines are for all submissions that require OIT approval, CCU approvals, or both OIT and CCU approvals. Please note that OIT and CCU cannot guarantee 7/1 approvals for any contract that is submitted after these deadlines, and it is the responsibility of your organization to timely submit these items for review. Please review the following deadline calendar:
4/25 – Last day to submit all new contracts that require OIT and CCU approval.
OIT approval is required for all IT contracts.
CCU approval is required for all high risk contracts.
5/2 – Last day to submit all new contracts that require CCU approval (no OIT approval needed).
5/9 – Last day to submit modifications that require OIT and CCU approval.
5/16 – Last day to submit modifications that require CCU approval (no OIT approval needed).
6/2 – Last day to submit any task order.
Please factor in additional time for any of the following:
- Contracts/modifications with high visibility
- Contracts/modifications with vendors that have historically needed additional negotiation time
- Lengthy contracts/modifications
Thank you for your timely submissions during this busy season!
 Colorado sent five representatives to the 2025 NASPO Exchange conference earlier this month: Sherri Maxwell (Chief Procurement Officer) and Barb Musick (Procurement Programs Manager) from the SPCO, Chelsea Gilbertson (Procurement Official, CDPHE), Scott Stephens (Procurement Official, OIT), and Brandon Giovanni (Vendor Relationship Analyst, OIT) attended the conference and met with more than 100 suppliers!
The NASPO Exchange builds relationships among the supplier community and state governments, the largest consumers of goods and services in the country. Each year, Colorado participates in this conference to learn, network, and develop business relationships to support public procurements that are effective, efficient, transparent, and fair.
Keep Jobs in Colorado Reporting
Reminder: Per C.R.S. 24-102-206 all state agencies are required to report contract performance outside the United States or the State of Colorado via our eSubmissions webpage. The SPCO then posts the notices for six months on our Keep Jobs in Colorado Notice webpage. You can email barbara.musick@state.co.us with any questions.
Reimbursements for UPPCC Testing
The NASPO Reimbursement Program was renewed for 2025, for all candidates who pass the CPPO or CPPB exams for first-time certification.
- All applicants must apply and pay upfront for the application and exam fee at UPPCC.org.
- Upon successful completion of the exam, in order to receive reimbursement, applicants must sign up for a Bill.com account. All reimbursements will be made as e-payments unless otherwise approved by NASPO finance.
- Applicants must complete the form at this link and provide the necessary documentation. All reimbursement requests must be submitted through the form/link provided. No other formats will be accepted.
- Applications for reimbursements must be submitted within 60 days of successful completion of the CPPB or CPPO exam.
- If you have any questions, please contact NASPO Finance at finance@naspo.org.
REMINDER: Accessibility & Procurement
As the State's accessibility standards continue to evolve, its important that we all stay up-to-date on the latest developments. OIT, who is responsible for these standards, has a webpage dedicated to Accessibility for Procurement. They also publish a monthly accessibility newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
Accessibility requirements are also included in the SPCO's solicitation and contract templates.
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