[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Town of
Secaucus 2-14-12 as Ord. No. 2012-1. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that all work on public
construction and maintenance contracts is performed by responsible,
qualified firms that maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and
other qualifications and resources necessary to successfully perform
public contracts in a timely, reliable and cost-effective manner.
The Town of Secaucus shall require compliance with the provisions
of this chapter by business entities seeking to provide services to
the Town of Secaucus as specified herein. The requirements of this
chapter are intended to supplement, not replace, existing contractor
qualification and performance standards or criteria currently required
by law, public policy or contracting documents. However, in the event
that any of the provisions of this chapter conflict with any law,
public policy or contracting documents of the Town of Secaucus, this
act shall prevail to the extent permitted by law.
A.
All contractors of any tier that perform work valued at over $5,000,000
on any public facility or public works project, excluding any road
improvement projects valued at less than $500,000 shall meet the requirements
of this chapter; and
[Amended 10-27-15 by Ord. No. 2015-44]
B.
All firms engaged in contracts covered by this chapter shall be qualified,
responsible contractors or subcontractors that have sufficient capabilities
in all respects to successfully perform contracts on which they are
engaged, including the necessary experience, equipment, technical
skills and qualifications and organizational, financial and personnel
resources. Firms bidding on public contracts shall also be required
to have a satisfactory past performance record and a satisfactory
record of law compliance, integrity and business ethics.
A.
As a condition of performing work on a public works contract subject
to this chapter, 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.
B.
The Contractor Responsibility Certification shall be completed on
a form provided by [insert name of procurement agency, e.g., public
works department] and shall reference the project for which a bid
is being submitted by name and contract or project number.
C.
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:
(1)
The firm and its employees have 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: (a) do business in the designated locale; and (b) perform
the contract work it seeks to perform. These shall include, but not
limited to, licenses, registrations or certificates for any type of
construction or maintenance trade work, or specialty work which the
firm proposes to self-perform.
(2)
The firm meets the bonding requirements for the contract, as required
by applicable law or contract specifications and any insurance requirements,
as required by applicable law or contract specifications, including
general liability insurance, workers compensation insurance and unemployment
insurance.
(3)
The firm has not been debarred or suspended by any federal, state
or local government agency or authority in the past three years.
(4)
The firm has not defaulted on any project in the past three years.
(5)
The firm has not had any type of business, contracting or trade license,
registration, or other certification revoked or suspended in the past
three years.
(6)
The firm and its owners have not been convicted of any crime relating
to the contracting business in the past 10 years.
(7)
The firm has not within the past three 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 or other similar laws, 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 $1,000 or more.
(8)
The firm will pay all craft employees that it employs on the project
the current wage rates and fringe benefits as required under applicable
federal, state or local wage laws.
(9)
The firm will employ craft employees in all classifications and individual
trades required to successfully perform the work related to this project.
(10)
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.
(a)
For purposes of this section a Class Apprenticeship Program
is an Apprenticeship Program that is currently registered with and
approved by the U.S. Department of Labor or a New Jersey apprenticeship
agency and has graduated apprentices to journey person status for
at least three of the past five years.
[Amended 10-27-15 by Ord. No. 2015-44]
(b)
To demonstrate compliance with this section, the firm shall
provide, with this certification, a list of all trades or classifications
of craft employees it will employ on the project and documentation
verifying it participates in a Class A Apprenticeship Program for
each trade or classification listed.
(11)
The firm has all other technical qualifications and resources,
including equipment, personnel and financial resources, to perform
the referenced contract, or will obtain same through the use of qualified,
responsible subcontractors.
(12)
The firm will maintain all qualifications, resources and capabilities
referenced in this certification throughout the duration of the project.
(13)
The firm shall notify the Town's Purchasing Department
within seven days of any material changes to all matters attested
to in this certification.
(14)
The firm understands that the Contractor Responsibility Certification
required by this section shall be executed by a person who has sufficient
knowledge to address all matters in the certification and shall include
an attestation stating, under the penalty of perjury, that the information
submitted is true, complete and accurate.
D.
Execution of the Contractor Responsibility Certification required
by this chapter shall not establish a presumption of contractor responsibility
and the Town's Purchasing Department may require any additional
information it deems necessary to evaluate a firm's status as
a responsible contractor, including technical qualifications, financial
capacity or other resources and performance capabilities. The Town's
Purchasing Department may require that such information be included
in a separate Statement of Qualifications and Experience or as an
attachment to the Contractor Responsibility Certification.
E.
The submitting firm shall stipulate in the Contractor Responsibility Certification that, if it receives a Notice of Intent to Award Contract, it will provide a Subcontractor List and required subcontractor information as specified in Section 31A-5 of this chapter.
F.
If the submitting firm has ever operated under another name or controls,
is controlled by another company or business entity or in the past
five years controlled or was controlled by another company or business
entity, whether as a parent company, subsidiary or in any other business
relation, it shall attach a separate statement to its Contractor Responsibility
Certification that explains in detail the nature of any such relationship
Additional information may be required from such an entity if the
relationship in question could potentially impact contract performance.
G.
If a firm fails to provide a Contractor Responsibility Certification
required by this section, it shall be disqualified from bidding. No
action of any nature shall lie against the Town of Secaucus because
of its refusal to accept a bid for failing to provide information
required by this section.
A.
After it has received bids for a project, the Town's Purchasing
Department shall issue a Notice of Intent to Award Contract to the
firm offering the lowest responsive bid.
B.
Such Notice shall be issued immediately or as soon as practicable after bids are submitted and shall stipulate that the contract award will be conditioned on the issuance of a written Contractor Responsibility Determination, as required by Section 31A-6 of this chapter and any other conditions determined appropriate by the Town's Purchasing Department.
A.
Within seven days from the date of Notice of Intent to Award Contract,
a prospective awardee shall submit to the Town's Purchasing Department
a Subcontractor List containing the names of subcontractors that will
be used for the referenced project, their addresses and a description
of the work each listed subcontractor will perform on the project.
B.
At the time a prospective awardee submits the Subcontractor List it shall also submit Subcontractor Responsibility Certifications for all listed subcontractors to the Town's Purchasing Department. Subcontractor Responsibility Certifications shall be executed by the respective subcontractors on forms prepared by the Town's Purchasing Department and shall contain the same information and representations required in Contractor Responsibility Certifications, including verification of apprenticeship qualifications as required by Section 31A-3C(11), for each trade or classification of craft workers it will employ on the project.
C.
Subcontractor Responsibility Certifications shall be executed by
persons having sufficient knowledge to address all matters in the
certification and shall include an attestation stating, under the
penalty of perjury, that all information submitted is true, complete
and accurate.
A.
After a Notice of Intent to Award Contract has been issued, the Town
of Secaucus shall undertake a review process for a period to determine
whether the prospective awardee is a qualified, responsible contractor
in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and other applicable
laws and regulations and has the resources and capabilities to successfully
perform the contract.
B.
As part of this review process, the Town's Purchasing Department
shall ensure that the Contractor Responsibility Certification, the
Subcontractor List and the Subcontractor Responsibility Certifications,
as required by this chapter, have been submitted and properly executed.
C.
The Town's Purchasing Department 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 Town's
Purchasing Department may seek relevant information from the firm,
its prior clients or customers, its subcontractors or any other relevant
source.
D.
If at the conclusion of its internal review, the Town's Purchasing
Department determines that all responsibility certifications have
been properly completed and executed and if it concludes that the
qualifications, background and responsibility of the prospective awardee
and the firms on its Subcontractor List are satisfactory, it shall
issue a written Contractor Responsibility Determination verifying
that the prospective awardee is a qualified, responsible contractor.
In the event a firm is determined to be non-responsible, the Town's
Purchasing Department shall advise the firm of its finding in writing
and proceed to conduct a responsibility review of the next lowest,
responsive bidder or, if necessary, rebid the project.
E.
This Responsibility Determination may be revoked or revised in any
manner at any time if the Town's Purchasing Department obtains
relevant information warranting any such revocation or revisions.
A.
A construction manager, general contractor or other lead or prime contractor shall not be permitted to use a subcontractor on any work performed subject to this chapter for the Town of Secaucus unless it has identified the subcontractor on its Subcontractor List and provided a Subcontractor Responsibility Certification in accordance with the requirements of Section 31A-5 of this chapter.
B.
A subcontractor listed on a firm's Subcontractor List shall
not be substituted unless written authorization is obtained from Town's
Purchasing Department and a Subcontractor Responsibility Certification
is provided for the substitute subcontractor.
C.
In the event that the Town's Purchasing Department determines
that a prospective subcontractor listed by the apparent low bidder
does not meet the responsibility standards of this section, it may,
after informing the prospective awardee, exercise one of the following
options:
(1)
Permit the awardee to substitute a qualified, responsible, subcontractor
in accordance with the requirements of this section;
(2)
Require the awardee to self-perform the work in question if the firm
has the required experience, licenses and other qualifications to
perform the work in question; or
(3)
Disqualify the prospective awardee.
D.
In the event that a subcontractor is disqualified under this chapter,
the general contractor, construction manager or other lead or prime
contractor shall not be permitted to make any type of contractual
claim against the Town of Secaucus on the basis of a subcontractor
disqualification.
A.
If the Town of Secaucus determines that a Contractor or Subcontractor
Responsibility Certification contains false or misleading material
information that was provided knowingly or with reckless disregard
for the truth or omits material information knowingly or with reckless
disregard of the truth, the firm for which the certification was submitted
shall be prohibited from performing work for the Town of Secaucus
for a period of three years and shall be subject to any other penalties
and sanctions, including contract termination, available to the Town
of Secaucus under law. A contract terminated under these circumstances
shall further entitle the Town of Secaucus to withhold payment of
any monies due to the firm as damages.
B.
A procurement contract subject to this chapter shall not be executed
until all requirements of this chapter have been fulfilled and until
Contractor and Subcontractor Responsibility Certifications and Subcontractor
Lists have been made available for public inspection for at least
21 days.
