The City of Perth Amboy (the "City") has experienced considerable
difficulties in securing qualified and reliable contractors and project
professionals to complete and oversee significant construction projects
in a timely and workmanlike manner, consistent with the terms and
specification of the publicly awarded contract, thereby resulting
in delays and cost overruns that have been detrimental to the residents
of the City.
The City recognizes that there is a need to impose greater controls
over significant public construction to ensure that the work is performed
by responsible, qualified firms that maintain the capacity, expertise,
personnel, and other qualifications and resources necessary to successfully
perform and oversee public contracts in a timely, reliable and cost-effective
manner.
In order to effectuate the purpose of selecting responsible
contractors and project professionals for significant public contracts
and to protect the City's investments in such contracts, prospective
contractors, subcontractors and project professionals should be required
to meet pre-established, clearly defined, minimum standards relating
to contractor responsibility, including requirements and criteria
concerning technical qualifications, competency, subject matter expertise,
adequacy of resources, including equipment, financial and personnel,
and satisfactory records regarding past project performance of similar
magnitude, as well as safety, law compliance and business integrity.
Due to the impact that skilled construction craft labor can
have on public works projects, it is advisable to require contractors
and subcontractors to participate in established, formal apprenticeship
training programs as a condition of bidding, for the purpose of both
promoting successful project delivery and encouraging fair business,
employment and training practices that can have a positive impact
on local communities affected by such contracts.
Due to the impact that Construction and Project Managers, Architects
and Engineers ("Project Professionals") can have on the timely, economical
and proper completion of significant construction and maintenance
contracts, it is advisable to require that such individuals and entities
demonstrate the necessary qualifications, experience and financial
capacity to competently perform the required contract services.
The following shall be required of all contractors bidding and
submitting proposals on significant public building construction contracts
within the City of Perth Amboy and all project professionals seeking
contracts to assist or oversee significant public building contracts:
A. The City shall require compliance with the provisions of this Article
by business entities seeking to provide services to the City as specified
herein. The requirements of this Article are intended to supplement,
not replace, existing contractor qualifications and performance standards
or criteria currently required by law, public policy or contracting
documents. In the event of any conflict between this Article, any
other laws, public policy or contracting documents, the stricter provisions
thereof shall apply, to the extent permitted by law.
B. All construction contractors and subcontractors ("firm(s)") that
perform work on any significant public work project, including building
construction, alteration, or renovation, work, shall meet the requirements
of this Article. For the purposes of this Article, "significant public
work" shall be that which has a contract value of three hundred thousand
dollars ($300,000) or more.
C. Any architect, engineer, construction manager or project manager
("project professional") that performs work in connection with any
significant public work project, including building construction,
alteration or renovation work, shall satisfy the requirements of this
Article that relate to project professionals.
D. All firms and project professionals engaged in contracts covered
by this Article shall be qualified, responsible contractors, subcontractors
and project professionals that have sufficient capabilities in all
respects to successfully perform the contracts on which they are engaged,
including the necessary experience, equipment, technical skills and
qualifications, as well as financial, personnel and insurance resources.
Firms bidding on public contracts, and project professionals seeking
such contracts, shall also be required to have a satisfactory past
performance record on projects of similar magnitude and a satisfactory
record of legal compliance, integrity and business ethics.
E. As a condition of performing work on a significant public works contract
subject to this Article, a general contractor, construction manager
or other lead or prime contractor seeking award of a contract shall
submit a contractor responsibility certification at the time it submits
its bid for a contract. Any project professional seeking a contract
in connection with a significant public works project shall submit
a project professionals certification with its proposal.
F. The contractor and project professional responsibility certification
shall be completed on a form provided by the City and shall reference
the project for which a bid is being submitted by name and contract
of project number.
G. In the contractor responsibility certification, the construction
manager, general contractor, or other lead or prime contractor shall
confirm the following facts regarding its past performance and work
history and its current qualifications and performance capabilities.
If the certifying entity or individual cannot confirm the accuracy
of each of the following criteria, it may submit a statement of explanation
on the City form and the governing body may evaluate those circumstances
and, in its sole discretion, waive a particular criterion for good
cause shown. The governing body's decision to exercise or not
exercise its discretion to waive a criterion of this paragraph shall
not be a basis to challenge the decision to award or not award a contract.
(1) The firm has all valid, effective licenses, registrations or certificates
required by federal, state, county or local law, including but not
limited to licenses, registrations or certificates required to do
(i) do business in the state; (ii) to do business in the City; and
(iii) perform the contract work it seems to perform. These shall include,
but not be limited to licenses, registrations or certificates for
any type of trade work or specialty work which the firm proposes to
self-perform.
(2) For construction contractors, the firm meets the bonding requirements
for the contract, as required by applicable law or contract specifications
and for construction contractors and professionals, the firm meets
any insurance requirements, as required by applicable law, services
contract or contract specifications as applicable, including, without
limitation, general liability insurance, workers' compensation
insurance and unemployment insurance requirements.
(3) The firm has not been debarred by any federal, state or local government
agency or authority in the past seven (7) years.
(4) The firm has not defaulted on any project in the past seven (7) years.
(5) The firm has not had any type of business, contracting or trade license,
registration, or other certification suspended or revoked in the past
seven (7) years.
(6) The firm has not been cited for a willful violation of federal or
state safety laws for the past seven (7) years.
(7) The firm and its owners have not been convicted of any crime relating
to the contracting business by a final decision of a court or government
agency in the past ten (10) years.
(8) The firm has not within the past seven (7) years been found in violation
of any law applicable to its contracting business, including but not
limited to licensing laws, tax laws, prompt payment laws, wage and
hour laws, prevailing wage laws, environmental laws or others, where
the result of such violation was the payment of a fine, back pay damages
or any other type of penalty in the amount of one thousand dollars
($1,000) or more.
(9) The firm will pay all craft employees that it employs on a project
the current wage rates and benefits as required under applicable federal,
state or local prevailing wage law under the Act.
(10)
For a public works project with a contract value of two million
dollars ($2,000,000) or more, the firm participates in a Class A Apprenticeship
Program for each separate trade or classification in which it employs
craft employees and shall continue to participate in such program
or programs for the duration of the project. For purposes of this
section, Class A Apprenticeship Program is an apprentice-ship program
that is currently registered with and approved by the U.S. Department
of Labor or the New Jersey Department of Labor and has graduated at
least one (1) enrollee in each of the past three (3) years (if the
program has been in existence for three (3) years; this requirement
shall not apply until the program has been in existence for three
(3) years, at which time compliance shall be required.)
(11)
For a public works project with a contract value of two million
dollars ($2,000,000) or more, the firm will have on site at all times
an employee with a minimum of ten (10) hours of OSHA training.
H. In the project professional responsibility certification, the construction
manager, architect and engineer shall confirm its past performance
and work history and its current qualifications and performance capabilities
in accordance with the requirements of subsection G(1)-(8) of this
section and that it has not been adjudged liable for professional
malpractice in the prior seven (7) years. If the certifying entity
or individual cannot confirm the accuracy of each of the following
criteria, it may submit a statement of explanation on the City form
and the governing body may evaluate those circumstances and, in its
sole discretion, waive a particular criterion for good cause shown.
The governing body's decision to exercise or not exercise its
discretion to waive a criterion of this subsection shall not be a
basis to challenge the decision to award or not award a contract.
I. The City may undertake a review process to determine whether the
prospective awardee is a qualified, responsible contractor or project
professional in accordance with the requirements of this Article,
and other applicable laws and regulations and has the resources and
capabilities to successfully perform the contract, including bank
references of financial stability.
J. The City may conduct any additional inquiries to verify that the
prospective awardee and its subcontractors have the technical qualifications
and performance capabilities necessary to successfully perform the
contract and that the firms have a sufficient record of law compliance
and business integrity to justify the award of a public contract.
In conducting such inquiries, the City may seek relevant information
from the firm, its prior clients or customers, its subcontractors
or any other relevant source.