Constitution

Name: Niagara Public Purchasing Committee hereinafter referred to as NPPC or Cooperative.

Mission Statement: The Niagara Public Purchasing Committee is dedicated to providing optimum value and resources to its member agencies and client groups through innovative and progressive co-operative purchasing.

Purpose: The purpose of the Cooperative shall be to promote efficiency, economy, and effectiveness in the purchasing management field by:

General Information: The Niagara Public Purchasing Committee was formed in 1978, to act as a purchasing consortium and is not a legal entity. Its focus is to maximize value by combining requirements into cooperative contracts, realize further cost savings through reduction in administrative expenses, and serve as a forum for the exchange of resources and technical information. The program is voluntary and the members independently determine whether they will participate in each purchase. The NPPC represents tax-supported institutions and commissions within the Regional Municipality of Niagara and surrounding areas.

Membership: The membership will consist of the agencies listed in Agencies and one voting member will represent each agency. Consideration will be given at any time to extending the membership to include other publicly funded agencies within the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The expansion is to be agreed upon by resolution of the Cooperative. Any member may cancel membership at any time through written notification from the Agency to the NPPCA Com. The executive committee shall be made up of voting representatives from each participating agency. Agencies may send more than one representative to any meeting but voting is to be limited to one vote per agency.

Meetings: There will be nine (9) scheduled meetings annually (Hybrid or Virtual). A permanent meeting place shall not be established, it being the intent that members act as the hosts for meetings either in rotation or as convenient.

Officers: A Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Recording Secretary shall be appointed annually from the Executive Committee. Elections for the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Recording Secretary will take place annually in September with a final decision being made at the October meeting. Appointed positions will run from January to December.

Duties and Responsibilities

Chairperson: Vice-Chairperson: Recording Secretary:

Ethical Code

The members of the NPPC shall abide and conduct themselves in accordance with the published ethical codes adopted by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing - Ontario Public Buyers Association.

Basic Principles of Co-Operative Purchasing

To carry out the aims and objectives of the Cooperative, it shall be understood that a major function will be co-operative ventures as a means of reducing costs of goods and services by permitting purchasing in large volumes and at lower unit prices, and by avoiding possible duplication of effort.

The following principles shall apply to NPPC’s program for co-operative purchasing ventures:

Rules of Order

The NPPC executive committee shall conduct all executive meetings and other official meetings in accordance with the accepted “Robert’s Rules of Order” and other accepted widely used rules of conduct as approved by the Executive.

Conclusion

Membership shall, at all times, be recognized as being entirely voluntary in nature but beneficial in practice for achieving savings and efficiency in the best interests of purchasing for the participating agencies.