[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Whitpain 3-15-2022 by Ord. No. 394. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Township recognizes there is a need 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.
B. 
To effectuate the purpose of selecting responsible contractors for these public contracts and to protect the Township's proprietary investments in such contracts, prospective contractors, and subcontractors, should be required to meet preestablished, clearly defined, minimum qualification standards regarding past project performance in terms of competency, safety and law compliance, technical abilities, experience, and adequacy of resources.
C. 
Further, due to the critical impact that skilled craft labor has on the execution of public works projects, and the increasingly limited availability of such labor, it is necessary to require contractors and subcontractors to participate in proven apprenticeship training programs as a condition of bidding to promote successful project delivery and help ensure future workforce development.
D. 
Therefore, the Township shall require compliance with the provisions of this chapter by business entities seeking to provide services to the Township as specified herein. The requirements of this chapter are intended to supplement, not replace, existing contractor qualification and performance standards or other criteria currently required by the Township. However, in the event that this chapter conflicts with any law, public policy or contracting documents of the Township, this chapter shall prevail.
A. 
This chapter shall apply to all public works projects undertaken by the Township for construction, demolition, alteration, renovation, modernization, service or maintenance of buildings, structures, or facilities valued at or above $250,000. All contractors and subcontractors of any tier that perform work on such projects, regardless of the value of the individual contract or subcontract package, shall meet the requirements of this chapter.
B. 
All firms engaged in public works contracts subject to this chapter, including general contractors, construction managers, other lead or prime contractors, and subcontractors at any level, shall be qualified, responsible contracting firms 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 or otherwise participating in public works contracts shall also be required to have a satisfactory past performance record and a satisfactory record of law compliance, integrity, and business ethics.
C. 
The firm will pay all craft employees on the project, at a minimum, the applicable wage and fringe benefit rates, as established for the classification in which the worker is employed, in accordance with 43 Pa.C.S.A. § 165-1 et seq.
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, as specified herein. subcontractors used on the contract are likewise required to provide similar subcontractor responsibility certifications as provided by § 44-7 of this chapter.
B. 
The contractor responsibility certification shall be completed on a form provided by the Township 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, certificates, or other credentials required by federal, state, Township, or local law.
(2) 
The firm meets the bonding requirements for the contract, as required by applicable law or contract specifications, as well as applicable insurance requirements for the contract, 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 principals/owners have not been convicted of any crime relating to its contracting business in the past 10 years.
(7) 
Within the past three years, the firm has not 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 $5,000 or more.
(8) 
The firm will employ a sufficient number of craft labor personnel required to successfully perform any project work it self-performs or shall use qualified subcontractors to meet this requirement.
(9) 
The firm will ensure that all craft labor it employs on the project will have completed, prior to working on the project, the OSHA ten-hour training course for safety established by the U.S. Department of Labor.
(10) 
The construction manager, general contractor or other lead or prime contractor responsible for the project shall ensure that at least 70% of the craft labor workforce employed on the project workforce shall be comprised of either journeyperson, workers who have successfully completed an apprenticeship training program registered with and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency or registered apprentices currently enrolled in such programs.
(a) 
These craft labor requirements that the great majority of the craft labor personnel employed on the project have the requisite skills and qualifications to perform the project work as they will be participants in or graduates of bona fide apprenticeship training programs in each trade or craft in which their services are utilized.
(b) 
For purposes of this subsection, apprenticeship training programs may include those which are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq. ("ERISA"), or non-ERISA programs.
(c) 
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 the names and addresses of all applicable apprenticeship programs relating to craft personnel utilized on the project.
(11) 
The firm shall assign workers to perform only work in their respective craft or trade for which they have sufficient skills and training, or shall use qualified subcontractors to meet this requirement.
(12) 
The firm has all other technical qualifications and resources, including equipment, personnel, and financial resources, to successfully perform the referenced contract and shall maintain such capabilities throughout the duration of the project, or will obtain same through the use of qualified, responsible subcontractors or vendors.
(13) 
The firm shall notify the Township within seven days of any material changes in its operation that relates to any matter 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 Township may require any additional information it deems necessary to evaluate a firm's status as a responsible contractor, including information regarding the firm's technical qualifications, financial capacity or other resources and performance capabilities. The Township 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 § 44-5 of this chapter.
F. 
If the submitting firm has ever operated under another name or 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 an appendix 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 Township because of its refusal to accept a bid for this reason.
A. 
Each firm subject to the requirements of this chapter must submit a contractor responsibility certification at least 14 calendar days before the specified bid submission deadline. Failure to submit a contractor responsibility certification by the aforesaid deadline will automatically disqualify any firm from submitting a bid or proposal for a contract.
B. 
Upon the receipt of the prequalification contractor responsibility certification, the Township shall determine whether the firm meets the requirements set forth in this chapter. Notice of the Township's determination shall be sent to the proposed firm no less than seven calendar days before the specified bid submission deadline. All firms that are determined by the Township to meet the qualification requirements of this chapter shall be entitled to submit a bid or proposal for the project.
A. 
After it has received bids for a project, the Township shall issue a notice of intent to award contract to the firm that has submitted the lowest responsible bid.
B. 
Such notice shall be issued immediately or as soon as practicable after bids are opened and shall stipulate that the contract award is conditioned on the issuance of a written contractor responsibility determination for the firm, as required by § 44-7 of this chapter, compliance with subcontractor certifications required by § 44-6 of the chapter, and any other qualification standards required by the Township.
A. 
Within 14 days of receiving a notice of intent to award contract, the prospective awardee shall submit to the Township a subcontractor list, which provides the name and address of the subcontractors it will use on the project, the scope of the work assigned to each subcontractor, and subcontractor responsibility certifications as required by this section.
B. 
The prospective awardee shall not be permitted to use a subcontractor on any work performed for the Township unless it has identified the subcontractor on its subcontractor list and provided a subcontractor responsibility certification in accordance with the requirements of § 44-3.
C. 
At the time a perspective awardee submits the subcontractor list, it shall also submit subcontractor responsibility certifications and applicable supporting information for all listed subcontractors to the Township.
D. 
A prospective awardee shall determine whether any firm on its subcontractor list is organized as a sole proprietership owned and operated by a single person. This shall apply to subcontractors at any tier. For any such entity, the prospectivee awardee shall ensure that the sole proprietership subcontractor is a legimate business entity and not a misclassified employee by requiring the subcontractor to supplement its subcontractor certification with its employer identification number and copies of any license, certificate, or registration it is required to maintain in order to do business in the state in which it is located.
E. 
Subcontractor responsibility certifications shall be executed by the respective subcontractors on forms prepared by the Township and shall contain the same information, representations, and supporting information required in contractor responsibility certifications, including verification of apprenticeship qualifications as required by § 44-3C(10), for each trade or classification of craft workers it will employ on the project.
F. 
Subcontractor responsibility certifications shall be executed by a person 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.
G. 
A subcontractor listed on a firm's subcontractor list shall not be substituted unless written authorization is obtained from the Township and a subcontractor responsibility certification is provided for the substitute subcontractor.
H. 
In the event that the Township determines that a subcontractor fails to meet the requirements of this chapter or is otherwise determined to be nonresponsible, 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, upon submission of a completed subcontractor certification for the substitute and approval of the substitute by the Township.
(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.
I. 
In the event 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 claim against the Township based on a subcontractor disqualification.
A. 
After the Township has issued a notice of intent to award contract to the lowest responsive bidder, it shall undertake a contractor responsibility review process to determine whether the firm is a qualified, responsible firm in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations. The time frame for conducting this review process shall be as determined by the Township.
B. 
As part of the review process, the Township shall ensure that the contractor responsibility certification and subcontractor responsibility certifications and applicable supporting information comply with the requirements of this chapter.
C. 
The Township 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, integrity, and business ethics to justify the award of a public contract. In conducting such inquiries, the Township may seek relevant information from the firm, its prior clients or customers, its subcontractors, or any other relevant source.
D. 
After the Township determines that all responsibility certifications have been properly executed and has verified that all other relevant information submitted in response to requests pursuant to the review process indicates that the prospective awardee and its subcontractors are qualified, responsible firms, it shall issue a written contractor responsibility determination for the prospective awardee.
E. 
In the event a firm is determined to be nonresponsible, the Township shall notify the firm and proceed to conduct a responsibility review of the next lowest, responsive bidder or, if necessary, rebid the project. A responsibility determination may be revoked at any time if the Township obtains relevant information warranting any such revocation.
A. 
A contract subject to this chapter shall not be executed until all requirements of this chapter have been fulfilled and until a contractor responsibility determination has been issued by the Township under § 44-7D.
B. 
Prior to the execution of a final contract under this Section, the Township shall publicly post the Notice of Intent to Award, contractor and subcontractor responsibility certifications, subcontractor lists, related supporting documentation, and the contractor responsibility determination, on the Township website for public inspection for a period of 10 calendar days after the issuance of the contractor responsibility determination.
If the Township determines that a contractor responsibility certification, subcontractor list, 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 disqualified from the project and shall be prohibited from performing work for the Township for a period of three years. The Township may withhold payment of any monies due to the firm as damages and impose other applicable penalties and sanctions, including contract termination, as permitted by law or contract.