The Common Council met 06/05/2024. One of the items separated out for an individual vote was the resolution establishing an ordinance for a Responsible Bidder Policy. This policy will lay out the expectations the city has for contractors it works with, covering things such a licensure, insurance, and safety requirements. It also includes a requirement that “If determined to be appropriate in the discretion of the Direct of the Department of public Works […] where the public works contract exceeds one million dollars, the contractor must participate in a Class A Registered Apprenticeship Program.”
This resolution was passed by a vote of 12-1 with Alderperson Chad Doran (District 15) casting the dissenting vote. He did not explicitly state is reasons for voting against it, but he did ask questions that potentially indicated he was concerned that this policy was redundant and unnecessary and could potentially drive up the cost of contracts.
I’ve prepared a transcript of the discussion for download:
Alderperson Denise Fenton (District 6), the main author of the resolution, explained that the State of Wisconsin requires cities to take the lowest responsible bidder for any government project, but the state was fuzzy on what “responsible” means. This resolution would define and put in writing what Appleton considered to be responsible. She also noted that the requirement for contractors bidding on contracts over $1 millions to participate in an apprenticeship program was written in a way that provided broad latitude to the Public Works Director require or not require that of a contractor as considered appropriate.
Alderperson Sheri Hartzheim (District 13) said that she had initially viewed this as an example of excess government, but after discussing it at the Finance Committee, she now understood the importance of it. She was worried it would make it more difficult to get numerous bids on a project and could lead to more expensive prices, so she wanted the Council members to keep that in mind going forward.
Alderperson Doran asked if the requirements in the policy were already in place even if the city didn’t have a policy. Director of Parks and Recreation Dean Gazza said that some of the items in the policy were redundant and were things that the city already expected; the policy simply added more definition. He believed that all of the requirements in the proposed policy “would only benefit and protect us moving forward.”
Alderperson Doran asked if the city would have increased liability if it did not pass the resolution.
City Attorney Christopher Behrens believed formalizing the policy would benefit the city, saying, “by putting these different requirements into—basically codifying the requirements, if anything, it formalizes the process, and by doing so may reduce some of liability because it provides for a more formalized, standardized process to follow. But, as all of you know, anytime you ask any—you ask me or any of the other attorneys to opine on liability, it’s going to depend on the circumstances. And I can’t say with certainty that, that this affords any different level than past practices, but the formalization of it should benefit the city.”
Alderperson Doran asked if requiring contracts on projects over $1 million to participate in an apprenticeship program would increase the cost of bids for those projects.
Director Gazza responded, “The thing is that, would we want to take a bid from somebody who has an apprentice program that cost more than somebody that doesn’t have an apprentice program, that that would cost less? I’ll take the person from the apprentice program, especially when we’re dealing with public construction in public safety and public health and so forth. At this level, we want that level of expertise that comes with the apprenticeship. So that’d be my personal recommendation. Does a does a company that provides a apprentice program, say generally speaking, cost more than maybe one without? Most likely, but that’s what we’re asking for. That’s what we want delivered. So, you know, we pay what we get, you know, get what we pay, I guess.”
The Council proceeded to vote 12-1 to approve the resolution.
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1195549&GUID=622A4F4C-DDAD-4A7E-B001-F5356C5417F7
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