Newtown’s newly hired purchasing agent may have only started his term of employment a few days ago, but the position along with hopes of seeing significant taxpayer savings as a result of his expertise, has been on the minds of local officials past and present for nearly a decade.

The Town of Newtown recently hired Rick Spreyer for the position after a months-long search and selection process. Mr Spreyer arrives on the job after more than a decade of work in purchasing, procurement, and supply chain management, along with experience in business management and contract negotiations.

He will be responsible for all administrative duties relative to the procurement and disposition of supplies and services for all Board of Selectmen and Board of Education departments.

“We are looking forward to Rick taking the lead in developing all policies and procedures that relate to methods of purchase as well as directing the bidding and award functions for purchases of commodities and services,” said First Selectman Dan Rosenthal. “This has been a goal for both the town and school board to jointly hire this position to streamline efficiencies in the purchasing function.”

Most recently, Mr Spreyer held the position of Purchasing Manager for Edible Arrangements International, where he managed a centralized purchasing system serving a franchise network of more than 1,200 locations. In his role, he was responsible for the bidding process, price negotiations, and contract execution for numerous vendors.

In addition to his purchasing and contract negotiation experience, Mr Spreyer has been a project manager and a business owner, providing him with strong leadership and strategic planning background, according to a release.

The creation of this new and first-of-its-kind position in Newtown marks the end of a near decade-long process during which the prospect of retaining a purchasing professional came up regularly — particularly during budget development.

A Decade-Long Aspiration

When voters endorsed the 2018-19 school and town budgets last April, their authorization included $100,000 to develop a brand new job that for years has been recommended and touted as a means by which both the school district and town could save money.

While talk of acquiring a purchasing agent, or procurement professional as they are also known, has percolated for around a decade, energy behind the effort got a big boost around this time two years ago.

In August of 2016, a Legislative Council committee charged with evaluating how Newtown municipal and school offices could merge services to reduce costs while improving efficiency and taxpayer services recommended and received unanimous approval to explore hiring a purchasing professional.

But it was back in 2008, on the repetitive request of former Councilman Dan Amaral and other supporters, that the council first took up a higher level initiative of examining how town and school district services and positions could be merged to enhance efficiency and reduce taxpayer costs.

The so-called “Danny Amaral Committee” was intensively focused and met frequently under the leadership of current council Chairman Paul Lundquist and former First Selectman Pat Llodra, who at the time was the council’s Education Committee chair.

The panel met 16 times after its formation in 2008 and generated more than 60 pages of minutes while meeting with 15 town officials or department heads. But each year since, budget challenges derailed any serious effort to create a new department head position, despite the concept that a purchasing agent could affect taxpayer savings. But a 2016 Shared Services committee was successful in reactivating the plan to develop a purchasing office.

Gaining Traction

That committee, chaired by Councilman Dan Wiedemann, tapped council colleagues George Ferguson and Chris Eide, town Finance Director Robert Tait, school District Business Manager Ron Bienkowski, and resident James Ritchie, a former Charter Revision Commissioner and retired Plainville superintendent of schools.

That committee’s number one recommendation was to create a position for a purchasing agent for the Board of Education and municipality to provide expert assembling of bid packages, including liability, insurance, bonds, and other legal requirements of the state and federal governments.

The purchasing professional would also be responsible for improving the town and school district’s capacity for research and vetting of products and services and reducing distractions from other professional duties required of current purchasing authorities in various departments.

In discussions about the addition leading up to the unanimous vote of support among selectmen last January, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said it would be his expectation that the position would essentially pay for itself by the second year by producing equivalent or greater savings for the town and school district.

The ideal candidate being sought was expected to have experience in municipal or business environment; a thorough knowledge of purchasing practices and procedures; the ability to deal effectively and positively with staff members and vendors; to negotiate detailed orders of materials, supplies, and equipment; and a knowledge of town and state procurement guidelines, according to the official job posting.

Mr Spreyer’s responsibilities will center around 20 core functions outlined in the job description. Among those responsibilities will be to attend meetings of various boards and commissions as required, including the Public Building and Site Commission, which handles project management on most school and municipal capital projects.