How do county and city purchasing departments operate compared to state agencies?

County and city purchasing departments operate with much more local control and often have different processes than state agencies, which typically follow statewide rules. My firm has bid a lot of janitorial work, NAICS code 561720, across Ohio counties and school districts. We see this difference all the time. Federal contracting follows the FAR, but state and local buys follow their own state procurement code, and then the county or city might have its own specific rules on top of that. This means you need to check each local government's state procurement portal and vendor guide carefully, even if you are used to state-level bids. Some counties will use a bid bond for service contracts, while others only require it for construction. Deadlines are often shorter at the local level because the dollar amounts are smaller, and they don't have the same review layers as a state agency. Local preferences, like favoring businesses within the county, are also common for local governments.