Unlocking Best Value: Competitive Bidding Beyond Lowest Price
Implementing Best Value Award Methodology under NYS General Municipal Law
New York State law gives local governments and school districts the flexibility to award certain purchase contracts using best value rather than the lowest responsible bidder. Yet many agencies have not adopted Best Value—not because it lacks value, but because of uncertainty around legal authority, implementation, and audit risk.
This practical, statute-driven seminar is designed to help procurement professionals confidently adopt and implement Best Value in compliance with New York State General Municipal Law §103 and guidance from the Office of the State Comptroller. Participants will learn not only how Best Value works, but what must be in place before it can be used.
A key focus of this course is the required governing board action. Counties, towns, villages, and cities must adopt a local law, and school districts, BOCES, and fire districts must adopt a resolution authorizing the use of Best Value. Without this authorization, agencies may be limited in their ability to:
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Award contracts based on Best Value, and
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Piggyback cooperative contracts that were awarded using Best Value.
This seminar connects the legal framework to real-world procurement practice, showing how Best Value expands flexibility, improves outcomes, and supports compliant use of cooperative contracts — while still maintaining transparency, competition, and defensibility.
The course emphasizes practical implementation, including Requests for Competitive Offers (RCOs), evaluation criteria, scoring methodologies, award justifications, and audit-ready documentation, drawing directly from New York examples and oversight expectations.
Who Should Attend
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Municipal and school district purchasing officials
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Procurement and contract management staff
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Finance officers and auditors
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Department heads involved in evaluations
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Municipal attorneys and counsel
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Agencies seeking to adopt or expand use of cooperative contracts
If your agency is still relying solely on the lowest responsible bidder—or is using cooperative contracts awarded by Best Value without having formally adopted it — this seminar is essential.
Attending will give you the tools, documentation, and confidence needed to:
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Secure proper board authorization
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Implement Best Value correctly
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Expand your procurement flexibility
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Reduce audit and protest risk
Do not wait until a procurement is challenged or an audit raises questions.
Register now and position your agency to fully and lawfully unlock the benefits of Best Value.