Aldermen advance new ordinance impacting bids for city contracts
Are they protections or red tape? That was the question at Tuesday night’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) meeting regarding a proposed ordinance change that would modify the city’s procurement process for construction contracts.
MANCHESTER, N.H. – Are they protections or red tape? That was the question at Tuesday night’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) meeting regarding a proposed ordinance change that would modify the city’s procurement process for construction contracts.
As proposed, the ordinance change would require any applicants bidding for city contracts to meet new criteria to be prequalified for the contract procurement process. These criteria include safety programs for workers, demonstration of workers’ compensation programs, compliance with non-discrimination laws and proper classification of independent subcontractors as well as provisions for things like unemployment benefits and social security withholding for employees.
During the meeting’s public comment session, Joshua Reap of the Associated Builders and Contractors of New Hampshire and Vermont Chapter asked for a delay on the ordinance change, asking that specific benchmarks be put within the ordinance change to avoid potentially violating the new ordinance unwittingly.
Ward 8 Alderman Ed Sapienza and Alderman At-Large Joseph Kelly Levasseur revisited the matter later in the meeting once it was time to vote up accepting the report of the BMA Committee on Accounts, Enrollment and Revenue Administration, which recommended passage of the ordinance change earlier in the night.
Ed Sapienza believed that the change would provide undue regulatory burdens on contractors and Levasseur felt that the change would be arbitrarily enforced and would result in higher costs for the city, also potentially disqualifying quality bidders.
This elicited a response from Ward 3 Alderman Pat Long stating that the change was focused on worker protection, with Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza stating that responsible contractors provide better quality projects for the city.
“If you’re a responsible contractor, you have nothing to worry about,” said Tony Sapienza.
Ed Sapienza then asked what spurred this change, with Ward 1 Alderman Kevin Cavanaugh replying that it came from several contractors violating labor laws in other states, most notably not paying their workers.
The change passed on a voice vote. Having passed the Committee on Second Reading earlier this month, it will return to the board one more time at a future date for final ordainment.
