Kathy Scarlett - Speaker - OMNIA Partners Connections 2021

Kathy graduated from Florida State University with a BS Degree in Mass Communications and a JD Degree in law. In 1989, she began her career with the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners as an Assistant County Attorney. In this role, her primary focus was the legal representation of the County's Purchasing Department, Water Utilities Department, and the Parks & Recreation Department. The majority of her legal work included contract law, constitutional law, and the drafting of local laws (ordinances), policies and procedures.

Due the need for uniformity, streamlining, and understanding County procurement contracts and procedures, Kathy was asked to serve as the Director of Purchasing. In 2002, she accepted this challenge and has remained in this position to date. The County's Purchasing Department procures non-construction related goods and services. In Fiscal Year 2020, the fourteen (14) buyers within the Purchasing Department procured a total of $363,811,217 non-construction related goods and services.

Kathy responds to and determines protests for all procurements, including construction procurements, and is well versed in the Cone of Silence, the Florida Public Records law, and the Florida Sunshine Law. She works very closely with the County's Office of Equal Business Opportunity in order to maximize the utilization of certified small, women owned, and minority businesses within Palm Beach County. She also spearheaded a program where the County's approximate 16,000 registered vendors receive email blasts when their registered commodities match advertised solicitations through the County’s Vendor Self Service Program.

As to emergencies and disasters, Kathy has a key role at the County's Emergency Operations Center, and was stationed there for one (1) entire year during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has instituted policies and procedures for the 400 persons stationed at the EOC to effectively utilize the State of Florida's WEB-EOC Program for emergency related procurements. Kathy is well versed in federal procurement law and has served at the EOC during every activation since Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne ravished Palm Beach County in 2004. Kathy is the first to recognize that being the Director of Purchasing is much more difficult and challenging, and requires much more patience, than being an Assistant County Attorney. That being said, she has found, and continues to find, the challenge very rewarding.