In Pursuit #8 | Mike Vichich & Milton Dohoney — 40 Years in Public Service: What Vendors Must Know

Milton Dohoney, Ann Arbor City Administrator, shares 40 years of public service insight on how cities buy tech, what vendors get wrong, and how government really works.Timestamps:00:00 Intro00:21 Milton's 40-year career across five cities01:34 Council-manager vs. strong mayor government02:41 Writing "It Always Begins With Leadership"04:06 The four layers of city law: charter, ordinances, resolutions & policy06:09 Who's the "Supreme Court" for a city?07:46 How charter amendments get proposed and approved09:23 Administrative regulations and how policy gets changed13:50 When well-intentioned rules create unintended consequences15:27 How Milton shortened council meetings from 7 hours to 318:57 How cities buy technology: the ideal procurement process end to end22:56 The role of finance in a tech purchase23:38 When to bring in procurement (and when it's too early)25:16 Co-op contracts and piggybacking on existing RFPs28:21 Budget reality: what happens when you don't have the money31:40 How grants factor into purchasing decisions33:45 Vendor win rates and the myth of the predetermined bid36:00 The #1 mistake vendors make: going straight to the city administrator38:06 When it does make sense to reach out to the city administrator41:31 When should a department actually pull in procurement?42:57 Do your homework: why 50 of 60 vendor emails get deleted45:43 Travel approval and bureaucratic sign-off chains47:17 How Ann Arbor builds its brand without local TV49:11 The city's relationship with the University of Michigan52:32 Practical advice for vendors selling into local government56:27 The RFP cutoff: when vendor engagement must stop57:58 What happens when a vendor implementation fails59:37 Where to find Milton's book