The Jefferson County Council is about to amend its contractor bid incentives for projects costing more than $150,000.
The updated policy would include incentives for construction businesses that provide their employees with health care benefits and apprenticeship programs, among other amenities.
The council voted unanimously Dec. 18 to approve the amended policy in a preliminary vote. The council is expected to vote on whether to finally approve the measure on Jan. 12.
Councilman Billy Crow (District 2, Arnold) said the council has worked with staff since February to update the policy language.
“We are making sure that we are leveraging our dollars and our fiduciary responsibility as the stewards of the tax dollar, making sure that we leverage these projects to ensure that good wages and good conditions are provided (to contracted workers),” Crow said.
Bidding process
The contractor screening process and system for awarding a county project bid would change with the updated policy, Crow said.
In the new policy, county staff would recommend the most responsible bidder with the highest tabulated score calculated with standard criteria for a contract. Before, the “lowest and best responsible” bids were recommended to the County Council.
Staff must include a written statement to the council justifying the recommendation if the contractor is not the highest-scoring bidder, according to county documents.
At any given council meeting, the council could approve millions of dollars to contractors for various county projects, including improving roads and bridges, and updating government buildings, Crow said.
“That’s a significant amount of public money, and our constituents rightly expect us to spend responsibly, effectively and efficiently, and to make sure they know we care about the fact that we are spending their money for that reason,” he said. “When it comes to bidding and awarding policies, they must be clear and well-defined and consistently applied.
“Just as important, these processes should be fair and transparent so the public can have confidence that contracts are awarded based on merit and value, not personal relationships or favoritism.”
Incentive
If approved, a new section on incentives would be added to the policy for responsible bidders.
Bidders and their sub-contractors who go beyond pre-established criteria could receive a 4 percent bidding credit, meaning their bid proposals would increase by 4 percentage points in the standard criteria set by county staff.
The following comprises the criteria that could determine the 4 percent bidding credit:
■ They would not have been barred from bidding on any federal or state projects within the last year.
■ They would not have any state or county-issued business, trade or contracting licenses suspended within the last year.
■ They would have and would enforce a certified drug-testing policy for all on-site employees directly engaged in the construction.
■ They would fulfill the construction contract with only on-site employees and there would be no use of independent contractors or “leased employees” for on-site work.
■ All construction employees would have required licenses with the appropriate licensing authority.
■ All construction employees would receive the prevailing wages in the amount reflected in the State of Missouri Annual Wage Order in effect at the time the actual work is to begin for each occupational title.
■ All construction employees would have completed or would be enrolled in a 10-hour OSHA-certified program, at a minimum, in compliance with the then-current OSHA safety requirements before working on the project.
■ All employee supervisors directly engaged in construction would be at least 30-hour OSHA-certified.
■ They would comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, rules and regulations governing the conduct of business in Jefferson County and Missouri.
■ They would participate in, or maintain their own, active and compliant Department of Labor-approved and registered apprentice program.
■ They would provide health care for on-site employees at a minimum value standard, set out in the Affordable Care Act, to the vendor’s on-site employees, with the vendor paying 100 percent of the premium for health care coverage for each employee.
Apprenticeship
Clinton McBride, government affairs director for Laborers Local 110, which covers Jefferson County, said he favors the new legislation.
“This legislation ensures that the county is prioritizing responsible contractors in a reasonable way as it pertains to county contracting,” he said. “The legislation provides a 4 percent bid credit for those contractors that invest in training of best practices and safety standards for their workers and offer health care for their workers. These are things we should be encouraging with our county spending power.”
McBride said encouraging the use of contractors with apprenticeship programs also encourages workforce development and makes job sites safer.
“Things happen very quickly on the job site when workers either aren’t properly trained or they’re not working under the supervision of skilled journey-level workers,” he said. “That’s when people get hurt.”
Crow warned that there is a growing age gap between learned construction workers and younger, untrained workers.
“We need to train those who are younger than us so that we have a future built by us,” he said. “Some folks might feel like this is a handout, a giveaway to unions, but there are non-union contractors who also pay insurance, health insurance, and there are non-union contractors that also have apprenticeship programs that are recognized by the Department of Labor.”