# Cooperative Purchasing Vehicle A **cooperative purchasing contract** allows one public procurement unit to use a contract established through another qualifying public body's process. For covered municipalities, current Ark. Code Ann. section 14-58-104(20) recognizes specified cooperative purchases; the "Line 43" language in Little Rock records is a local form field, not the present statutory subdivision. State procurements rely on section 19-11-249 and implementing rules that require a State Procurement Director determination, economic justification, prior approval for an individual contract, and reporting. Competition by the host does not by itself prove every buyer-side requirement. (primary public record, [Arkansas Act 435 of 2021](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/arkleg.state.ar.us/arkansas-act-435-of-2021-municipal-purchasing.md)); (primary public record, [Ark. Code Ann. section 19-11-249](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/sas.arkansas.gov/ark-code-ann-19-11-249.md)); (primary public record, [19 CAR section 1-801](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/codeofarrules.arkansas.gov/19-car-1-801-cooperative-purchasing.md)) > "Goods or services if the governing body has approved by resolution the purchase of goods or services through competitive bidding or procurement procedures used by: a. The United States Government or one (1) of its agencies; b. Another state; or c. An association of governments or governmental agencies, including associations of governments or governmental agencies below the state level" (Tier-1 corpus, Arkansas Code § 14-58-104 §4 Line 43, as embedded in [[sources/city-of-little-rock/CLR-2026-778/_overview|CLR-2026-778]] competitive-bid exemption forms) The cooperative-purchasing vehicle is the dominant procurement mechanism for the **[[Little Rock Police Department]]**'s surveillance/investigative-technology stack in the [[sources/city-of-little-rock/CLR-2026-778/_overview|CLR-2026-778]] corpus. Separate productions document the mechanism at [[Arkansas State Police]], in the [[Arkansas Criminal Intelligence Network]]'s executed Peregrine package, and in the [[City of Hot Springs]]'s Skydio X10 purchase. ## Cooperative-purchasing vehicles documented in the corpus | Cooperative | Lead jurisdiction | Documented buyer and vendor route | |---|---|---| | **OMNIA Partners** | Cobb County, GA | Flock Safety (Contract #23-6692-03, via reseller Insight Public Sector); Cellebrite via OMNIA EDU R191902 (via reseller Carahsoft); Guardian Alliance Technologies via OMNIA R220802 (via reseller Strategic Communications LLC) | | **Sourcewell** | (multiple) | Motorola Watchguard M500 (Sourcewell #101223-MOT); Fusus 2022 contract (Sourcewell #081419-SHI, via reseller SHI Government Solutions); Apricot/Bonterra (Sourcewell #081419-SHI) | | **NASPO ValuePoint** | Oklahoma + States | LRPD: Motorola CommandCentral / iCloud Storage (NASPO OK-MA-145-010, AR Outline Agreement #4600050074) and Bonterra Impact Management (NASPO CTR060028); ACIN: Peregrine through Carahsoft under Arkansas contract `AR2472` | | **Texas DIR** | Texas | LRPD: Utility Associates (DIR-CPO-4799); Hot Springs: Granite Defense Technologies / Skydio X10 (DIR-CPO-4768, enabled by DIR-ICC-320) | | **(generic Sourcewell)** | — | (cross-cuts all of the above) | | **NCPA / Region 14 ESC** (see [[NCPA Cooperative Purchasing (Region 14 ESC)]]) | Texas Region 14 Education Service Center, Abilene TX | **Arkansas State Police** ([[Leonardo US Cyber and Security Solutions, LLC]] / [[ELSAG ALPR Systems]], NCPA Contract #05-68, via reseller [[John Wright Associates, Inc.]]) | ## How it appears in the corpus The corpus shows the cooperative-purchasing vehicle in three structural roles: 1. **As the legal basis for City Board ratification without competitive bidding.** Every cooperative-purchase resolution in the corpus (Res. 16,846 Flock; Res. 16,787 Utility; the Watchguard Resolution; etc.) cites the cooperative-contract number in its WHEREAS clauses and then resolves by majority vote — bypassing the multi-week public-bidding process Arkansas otherwise requires. 2. **As a discount mechanism.** The Utility Associates Quote 135031 ([[Utility Associates]]) makes the discount transparent: $470,490 list price less $391,490 cooperative discount = $79,000 contract. Approximately **83% of the apparent list price was rebated** through the Texas DIR vehicle. Similar large discounts appear elsewhere in the corpus. 3. **As a vendor-channel structure.** The OMNIA, Sourcewell, NASPO, and Texas DIR vehicles are marketplace channels that resellers (Carahsoft, Insight Public Sector, SHI, Aercor, Strategic Communications LLC) populate with vendor product lines and pricing. The public buyer contracts through the reseller rather than directly with the product maker. The LRPD corpus shows OMNIA fees broken out — $401 on the Strategic Communications Guardian quote and $119.42 on the Carahsoft Cellebrite quote. ## ACIN's Peregrine route The ACIN final package contains an executed $3 million Peregrine subscription purchased through [[Carahsoft Technology Corp.]] under NASPO master contract `AR2472`. State approval is dated 2026-03-16 and Carahsoft acceptance 2026-03-17 ([[Peregrine and Carahsoft Executed Contract]], `CON-002_Peregrine_Carahsoft_Executed_Contract_2026-03-17.pdf`, pp. 2, 24). The package contains no separate competitive solicitation or scoring record. It also does not establish expenditure: kickoff and payment are triggered only after written notice that funds are available, and no such notice appears in the production (p. 3). ## Hot Springs's Texas DIR route The Hot Springs supplement shows the local paperwork behind a Texas DIR piggyback. City Finance Director [[Karen Scott]] and Texas DIR Executive Director [[Amanda Crawford]] executed Interstate Cooperation Contract `DIR-ICC-320`, which declares the City's eligibility to use DIR technology contracts and requires a City purchase order for each buy ([[Hot Springs Skydio Cooperative Procurement and X10 Purchase]], `INTERSTATE COOPERATION CONTRACT.pdf`, pp. 1-3). The HSPD cooperative-procurement form then names `DIR-CPO-4768`, [[Granite Defense Technologies]], and a "DRONE PURCHASE WITH SOFTWARE." It states that the Department reviewed the underlying competitive solicitation and found the price reasonable and competitive (pp. 7-8). The City issued purchase order `2024-00001161` for one [[Skydio]] X10 system at **$32,875.68** (pp. 15-17). This route is distinct from LRPD's Texas DIR purchase: Hot Springs uses a separate DIR contract, reseller, product, and interstate-eligibility instrument. ## Stakeholders - **Cooperative-purchasing platforms:** [[OMNIA Partners]], Sourcewell, NASPO ValuePoint, [[Texas Department of Information Resources|Texas DIR]], etc. Each vehicle has its own host and governing instrument. (OMNIA Partners is the corpus's most-used platform — the parent of NCPA since 2022 — and now has its own page.) - **Resellers riding the platforms:** Carahsoft, Insight Public Sector, SHI Government Solutions, Aercor, Strategic Communications LLC, and [[Granite Defense Technologies]]. Each fulfills orders for a product vendor under a cooperative contract. - **Vendors:** the actual product makers (Flock, Cellebrite, Motorola, etc.). The vendor's relationship with the City flows through the reseller. - **Public buyers:** the City of Little Rock, Arkansas State Police, the Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney's Office for ACIN, and the [[City of Hot Springs]]. Their authorizing instruments and performance conditions differ. ## Selected timeline - **2022-09-06:** First documented cooperative-purchase resolution at LRPD in the corpus — Resolution 15,763 (Fusus, Sourcewell #081419-SHI). - **2023-11-07:** Ordinance 22,331 (Motorola iCloud) — a hybrid cooperative + sole-source authorization. - **2024-01-09:** Resolution 16,202 (ShotSpotter, ARPA-funded). - **2024 / 2025:** Multiple cooperative-purchase deals (Cellebrite, Guardian Alliance, Watchguard M500, etc.). - **2024-11-18 / 2024-11-21:** Hot Springs and Texas DIR sign `DIR-ICC-320`. - **2024-12-06:** Hot Springs issues its $32,875.68 Skydio X10 purchase order through `DIR-CPO-4768`. - **2025-08-19:** Resolution 16,787 (Utility, Texas DIR). - **2025-10-21:** Resolution 16,846 (Flock LPR, OMNIA Partners) — the largest documented OMNIA buy. ## Comparison with the Conway pattern [[Sole-Source Procurement Language Avoidance]] documents Conway's terminology edit; Little Rock's records document local cooperative-purchase forms and Board resolutions. The routes reduce buyer-run competition in different ways, but neither the words on a local form nor the existence of a host contract alone adjudicates compliance. | | Conway pattern | Little Rock pattern | |---|---|---| | Procurement track | One-vendor bid waiver | Cooperative purchasing; local form field 43 | | Produced document | Conway ordinance | Little Rock Board resolution and cooperative-contract reference | | Local public-bidding step | Waived by ordinance | Cooperative route authorized by resolution | | Documentary outcome | "Sole source" word removed from ordinance | Cooperative contract number cited in resolution | | Competition-with-vendor reality | Single vendor selected administratively | Single vendor reached through the cooperative reseller | Both routes converge on a procurement where competition is structurally limited; they document differently. ## Comparison with the Arkansas State Police pattern (state-LE cooperative-purchasing piggyback) The [[arkansas-state-police/2026-06-05-batch-1-fiscal/_overview|Arkansas State Police `2026-06-05 batch 1` production]] documents the corpus's **fourth jurisdiction** using the cooperative-purchasing-vehicle track, and the **first state-LE-agency** to do so. ASP procured its [[ELSAG ALPR Systems|ELSAG]] / [[Leonardo US Cyber and Security Solutions, LLC|Leonardo]] ALPR system under **Arkansas State Term Contract 4600055190**, drawn against the **[[NCPA Cooperative Purchasing (Region 14 ESC)|NCPA / Region 14 ESC-TX Contract #05-68]]** cooperative-purchasing vehicle. The reseller is [[John Wright Associates, Inc.]] — the same firm that placed 3rd in PCSO's competitive RFP-23-003 (where it bid against Flock). The ASP procurement extends the cooperative-purchasing pattern to a fifth cooperative platform (NCPA, alongside OMNIA / Sourcewell / NASPO / Texas DIR) and demonstrates that the procurement-track is not municipal-only — state-LE agencies use the same mechanism. | Dimension | LRPD (cooperative) | Pulaski County SO (competitive RFP) | **Arkansas State Police (cooperative)** | |---|---|---|---| | Procurement track | Line 43 cooperative purchasing | Open RFP via ARBid | **Arkansas State Term Contract + NCPA cooperative** | | Vendor selection | Single (via cooperative contract) | 4-bidder competitive scoring | **Single (via NCPA Contract #05-68 cooperative)** | | Underlying competitive procurement | Done by the cooperative host | Done by Pulaski County | **Done by Region 14 ESC-TX** | | Legislative-body engagement | Board resolution | Not established by this production | **Act 1006 transfer required Legislative Council or JBC approval; transaction record not produced** | | Funding | Various (general fund, asset forfeiture, etc.) | General fund | **Federal ARPA pass-through (A.0960.ARPERR)** | ## Comparison with the Pulaski County pattern (competitive RFP) The [[pulaski-county-government/26-365/_overview|Pulaski County `#26-365`]] production adds a **third procurement track**: [[Competitive RFP Procurement (Arkansas Counties)|competitive RFP]] through the [[ARBid]] state portal. Where Conway used a one-vendor bid waiver after a documented terminology edit and LRPD used cooperative-purchasing piggyback, [[Pulaski County Sheriff's Office|PCSO]] used **actual competitive bidding**: RFP-23-003 issued April 2023, 4 bidders, scored evaluation, award to the highest-scoring vendor. | Dimension | Conway sole-source | LRPD cooperative purchasing | **PCSO competitive RFP** | |---|---|---|---| | Procurement track | One-vendor bid waiver | Cooperative purchasing; local form field 43 | **Open RFP via ARBid** | | Vendor field | Single (Flock) | Single (Flock via Insight Public Sector) | **Four (Flock, Utility, John Wright, Insight LPR)** | | Bid-evaluation visibility | None | None | **Public Supplier Scoring Summary** | | Legislative-body role | Council ordinance after contract | Board resolution | **Produced record incomplete on appropriation and county-order authority** | | Produced process record | Ordinance and drafting emails | Resolution plus cooperative-contract reference | **RFP, bids, scoring, award, and contract** | | Public-body record | Council vote post-contract | Board resolution | **No Quorum Court record in this production; absence is not proof of none** | The Pulaski County competitive-RFP track demonstrates that the cooperative-purchasing-vehicle path is one of multiple choices available to Arkansas governments. The County's choice to issue a formal RFP rather than to ride a cooperative contract reflects: (a) the County's existing procurement-rules infrastructure supporting RFPs through ARBid, (b) PCSO's relatively small camera count (6) that doesn't require the standard cooperative-purchasing-vehicle bulk-discount logic to be economically attractive, and (c) potentially the County procurement officer's preference for arms-length contract negotiation (see [[2023-10 PCSO-Flock MSA Negotiated|the October 2023 9-page MSA red-line process]]). ## Notes - See [[Competitive-Bid Exemption (Sole-Source Procurement)]] for the parallel procurement track that LRPD uses for Cellebrite Advanced Services, PowerDMS, and others. - See [[ALPR Procurement Below the Appropriation Line]] (synthesis) for the broader pattern. - The reseller fee structure varies. OMNIA charges ~2% on the Carahsoft Cellebrite quote and ~1.97% on the Strategic Communications Guardian quote. These fees are added to the LRPD invoice line; they are not absorbed by the vendor. - The Conway↔Little Rock procurement-mechanism comparison is a candidate for synthesis-essay treatment but is currently captured here and on the Conway sole-source page. ## Current-law authority crosswalk The 2026-08-10 legal audit uses these authorities only for the bounded propositions stated below: - (primary public record, [Arkansas Procurement Laws and Rules (July 2024), R1 and R2 to § 19-11-249](../../web%20archive/2026-08-10/sas.arkansas.gov/arkansas-procurement-laws-and-rules-july-2024-r1-and-r2-to-19-11-249.md)) — State Procurement Director determination, economic justification, prior approval, and reporting for state cooperative procurements.