The Williamson County Purchasing Department is working on simplifying its bid process for county projects.

Commissioner Lisa Birkman brought up her concerns with the county's existing bid system to the Oct. 29 Commissioners Court meeting.

"Our bidding documents have gotten to be really long," Birkman said. "I think we should work on making them a little less complicated."

Purchasing Agent Bob Space spoke at the meeting to say his department is working on shortening the process for bidders. He presented a shortened bidding packet prototype and said the paperwork would continue to decrease as he and the county legal team worked on it.

"The [bid] package can get rather lengthy, especially as the project gets more complex," Space said in a later interview. "I've always been a big proponent of trying to keep things as simple as possible."

The focus is to break up the process into steps to avoid requiring companies to submit large amounts of documents at one time, Space said. The goal is to create a simpler three-step bid process, in which companies interested in taking on a county project would first submit a cost estimate to complete a project.

Additional documents, such as proof of insurance or transmittal letters, would be submitted during the second step of the process, Space said.

"We know all those items are not necessary up front in step one for you to submit an offer to us," Space said. "I don't believe it's mission critical to have some of these documents and forms immediately. They are mission critical before I go to court and recommend you get a contract."

The third step of the process would involve bringing the recommended bid, which may be of lowest cost or best value, Space said, to the Commissioners Court for approval.

"The simple form will be much more user-friendly than what currently exists," he said. "I think we all believe this is going to be well received by the business community. It will be welcome and a huge cost saver for them. Those cost savings the businesses experience will be passed on to the county in better and lower bids."