New legislation passed by the Binghamton City Council would change the way the city contracts with companies for construction projects.
When the city needs to hire a company to complete a particular project, such as a garage or park, it must go through a competitive bidding process if the job will cost over $30,000.
Companies apply to be considered for the project, and the city chooses which to contract with. Under the new law, contractors would be required to fill out a questionnaire detailing their company’s past performance.
Council Member Mike Dundon put forward the legislation. He said without it, the city would often go for the cheapest option for taxpayers, without taking into account whether a company had a history of good work.
“They would take the lowest bidder, and that's who they would give the contract to,” Dundon said. “There was no due diligence, there was nothing in line to be able to research a contractor.”
The questionnaire comes from a form developed by the New York state comptroller’s office. Dundon said this way, the city can use the comptroller’s process and database for looking into a company.
“That will tell you if the contractor’s a bad apple, if there have been OSHA violations, sued for anything,” Dundon said. “And in that way, we can look at bids and say, well, this contractor has been sued by two municipalities. They're not responsible. And go to the next lowest bid.”
The resolution passed unanimously during last week’s city council meeting. The mayor still has to sign the law. A public hearing will be held in early August.
“Our Office of Corporation Counsel worked extensively on the legislation with Councilman Dundon,” Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said. “I've received input from local labor and I support this updated language voted on.”
Several other local governments in New York use “lowest responsible bidder” language in their policies, including the city of Syracuse, Erie County, the town of West Seneca and the city of Olean.