BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, May 7, 2025) - The City of Baltimore's Bureau of Procurement (BOP), which manages nearly $1 billion in purchases for the city, recently reported progress toward transforming its purchasing system for goods and services. Over the past two years, BOP has made significant progress with workload, staffing and capacity, and training while also bolstering its leadership ranks.

From 2023 to 2025, BOP has more than doubled the number of senior procurement specialists, increasing 5 persons in 2023 to 15 persons in 2025. As a result of staffing and process improvements, contracts are being registered faster, vendors are being paid faster, and the city is fully leveraging its $1 billion purchasing power for goods and services.

"The improvements we're making to the procurement process are about getting the most bang for the Baltimore taxpayers' buck," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "We take our financial responsibilities seriously, and that shows in the work we've done to modernize outdated systems and cut red tape for folks who want to do business with the city."

In July 2024, the bureau introduced web-based procurement training modules for City employees, as part of its effort to modernize procurement culture. Since the modules launched, more than 300 courses have been completed by employees. The Bureau of Procurement also continues to add to its leadership ranks by promoting seasoned procurement employee Bola Oluwasuji to the newly created position of Deputy Chief, Bureau of Procurement. The department also hired Kimberly Moeller to the role of Director, Procurement Contracts and Operations which was left vacant by Oluwasuji's promotion.

"Reforming our city's procurement system is a significant step forward in restoring trust, modernizing our government, and improving the delivery of city services. The next phase of our reform efforts will better leverage procurement as a strategic tool to foster innovation, expand opportunity to local suppliers, and spur economic growth in our city," said Faith Leach, Chief Administrative Officer.

"Our procurement specialists are essential to successfully sourcing critical goods and services for the City of Baltimore and its citizens. We've focused our efforts on ensuring that teammates have a balanced workload so that each solicitation receives the professionalism it deserves. People have been the missing ingredient, and we've intentionally invested here over the last few years," said Michael Mocksten, Director of Finance.

Mayor Scott's efforts to reform the procurement process began in early 2021, almost immediately after he took office. In March 2021, Mayor Scott directed the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to work in partnership with the Department of Finance (DOF) to assess the city's procurement policies, systems, administrative processes, technology, tools, capacity, and structure.