[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of
Falls 2-20-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-1. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Falls Township Responsible Contractor
Ordinance."
The following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context clearly indicates
a different meaning. The masculine shall mean the feminine, the singular includes
the plural, and the plural includes the singular.
An agreement, whether oral or written, and whether contained in one
or more documents, between a contractor and the Township or another contractor
for the performance of work, including all labor, services and materials to
be furnished and performed thereunder.
Any individual or person who undertakes or offers to perform construction,
repair, maintenance, demolition, remodeling, rehabilitation, paving and any
other improvement of construction or demolition work in and for the Township,
whether as a general contractor, subcontractor, specialty contractor or otherwise.
Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, association, corporation,
trust or any other legally recognizable entity.
Any individual or person who undertakes a specific part of the work
to be performed by the principal contractor or subcontractor for the construction,
repair, maintenance, demolition, remodeling, rehabilitation, paving and any
other improvement of construction or demolition work in and for the Township.
The Township of Falls.
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that all work on public construction
and maintenance contracts is performed by responsible, qualified persons that
maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and other qualifications necessary
to successfully perform such contracts in a timely, reliable and cost-effective
manner. Any and all contracts to be performed for public construction and
maintenance contracts shall be performed in compliance with this chapter.
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 other ordinance
of the Township of Falls, this chapter shall prevail.
A.
All contractors and subcontractors of any tier which
perform work valued at over $10,000 on any public facility or public work
project, including construction, alteration, renovation, repair, service or
maintenance, shall meet the requirements of this chapter.
B.
All persons 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
engage, including the necessary experience, equipment, technical skills, qualifications,
organizational and personnel resources. Qualified, responsible persons shall
also 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 any public works
contract subject to this chapter, a general contractor, construction manager
or other contractor which seeks award of a contract shall submit a contractor
responsibility certification at the time it submits its bid or proposal for
a contract.
B.
The contractor responsibility certification shall be
completed on a form provided by the Falls Township Public Works Department
and shall reference the project for which the bid or proposal 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 contractor has not been nor currently is debarred
by any federal, state or local government agency or authority in the past
three years.
(2)
The contractor has not defaulted on any project in the
past three years.
(3)
The contractor has not had any type of business, contracting
or trade license revoked or suspended by a government agency or authority
in the past three years.
(4)
The contractor has not committed a willful violation
of federal or state safety laws as determined by a final decision of a court
or government agency or authority in the past three years.
(5)
The contractor has not been found in violation of any
other law relating to its contracting business, including, but not limited
to, wage or hour laws, environmental laws, antitrust laws, immigration laws,
licensing laws or tax laws, by a final decision of a court or government agency
or authority in the past three years.
(6)
The contractor participates in a Class A apprenticeship
program for each trade in which it employs craft employees and shall continue
to participate in such program or programs for the duration of the project.
A Class A apprenticeship program is an apprenticeship program which is currently
registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency
and has graduated apprentices to journeyperson status for each of the past
five consecutive years. The contractor shall provide proof of this qualification
standard by submitting appropriate documentation as an attachment to the responsible
contractor certification.
(a)
To permit development of recently registered programs,
the graduation requirement of this provision shall not apply to:
[1]
An apprenticeship training program registered within
the past 10 years; or
[2]
An apprenticeship program registered within the past
10 years if the program provides apprenticeship training for a craft or trade
that was not recognized as an apprenticeable craft or trade by the U.S. Department
of Labor or State Apprenticeship Council at the time the program was registered.
(b)
Any program not required to meet the graduation requirements
of this section shall, in addition to providing proof that it is currently
registered with federal or state government, provide evidence that the program
is actively engaged in bona fide apprenticeship training activity.
(7)
The contractor 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.
(8)
The contractor maintains all documents necessary to ensure
that all employees are United States Citizens or properly documented legal
aliens entitled to work under existing federal law.
(a)
The Township may require any other additional information
it deems necessary to evaluate a prospective contractor's technical qualifications,
resources and performance capabilities, as well as the type of impact its
operations will have on the local community impacted by the project. The Township
may require that such information be included in a statement of qualifications
and experience as an attachment to the contractor responsibility certification.
(b)
In the contractor responsibility certification, the submitting
contractor shall stipulate that if it receives a notice of intent to award
contract, it will provide the Township with a subcontractor list and subcontractor
information as specified herein.
(c)
If the submitting contractor is, or was in the past five
years, related to any other company or business entity that provided or provides
contractual services in the construction, maintenance, service or repair industries,
whether as a parent company, subsidiary or otherwise, it shall attach a separate
statement to its contractor responsibility certification that explains in
detail the nature of any such relationship.
(d)
If any person or entity that is a shareholder, owner
or partner of the submitting contractor owns an interest of 20% or more in
another entity or previously owned such an interest in another entity that
provides or has provided contractual services in the construction, maintenance,
service or repair industries, it shall attach a separate statement to its
contractor responsibility certification that explains in detail the nature
of any such relationship.
(e)
The Township may require that contractor responsibility
certifications and other information required by this act be submitted electronically.
(f)
The Township may charge contractors who submit bids or
proposals a reasonable fee to defray costs of processing and evaluating contractor
responsibility certifications and related information and documents.
A.
After it has received bids or proposals, the Township
shall issue a notice of intent to award contract to the contractor offering
the lowest responsive responsible bid, or in the case of competitive proposals,
the contractor offering the most advantageous proposal in accordance with
the Second Class Township Code.
A.
Within 14 days of receiving such a notice of intent to
award contract, a prospective awardee shall submit to the Township a subcontractor
list containing the names of all subcontractors it will use 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 its subcontractor
list, it shall also submit subcontractor responsibility certifications for
all listed subcontractors to the Township. Subcontractor responsibility certifications
shall be executed by the respective subcontractors and shall contain the same
information and representations required in contractor responsibility certifications.
C.
A construction manager, general contractor or other lead
or prime contractor shall not be permitted to use any subcontractor on procurement
contracts subject to this section which is not on the subcontractor list,
unless it demonstrates compelling reasons for using an unlisted subcontractor
and obtains prior written approval from the Township.
D.
An unlisted subcontractor shall not be approved by the Township unless it executes a subcontractor responsibility certification as required by this chapter at least 30 days prior to commencing work. Any such certification shall be made available to the public as specified in § 146-10C of this chapter.
A.
Contractor and subcontractor responsibility certifications
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 all information submitted is true, complete and
accurate.
B.
If it is subsequently determined 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
for the truth, the contractor for which the certification was submitted shall
be prohibited from performing work for the Township for a period of three
years and shall be further subject to any other penalties and sanctions, including
contract termination, available to the Township under law. A contract terminated
under these circumstances shall further entitle the Township to withhold payment
of any monies due to the contractor as damages.
A.
Once a notice of intent to award contract has been issued,
the Township shall undertake a thirty-day agency review 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.
B.
As part of this review, the Township shall ensure that
the contractor responsibility certification, subcontractor list and subcontractor
responsibility certifications, as required by this chapter, have been submitted
and properly executed. It shall also ensure, to the extent practicable, that
the information provided by subcontractors is truthful and accurate and that
such subcontractors are qualified to perform the contract.
C.
The Township may further conduct any other inquiry to
independently verify that the prospective awardee has the technical qualifications
and performance capabilities necessary to successfully perform the contract
and has a sufficient record of law compliance and business integrity to justify
the award of a public contract. In conducting such inquiries, the Township
may seek information from contractors or other entities which have submitted
responsibility certifications to prior customers or from any other relevant
source. In conducting this evaluation, the Township may also consider relevant
information of any business entities that are found to be related to the contractor.
D.
During the review period, the Township shall also examine
the qualifications of the contractors on the subcontractor list to ensure
that all identified subcontractors have properly executed subcontractor responsibility
certifications, that the information contained in such certifications is accurate
and that such subcontractors are otherwise qualified, and responsible. In
conducting this evaluation, the Township may also consider relevant information
of any business entities that are found to be related to subcontractors.
E.
In the event that the Township determines that a prospective
subcontractor does not meet the qualification standards included in the subcontractor
responsibility certification or does not otherwise qualify as responsible
contractor, it shall inform the general contractor, construction manager or
other lead or prime contractor and permit it to self-perform the work of the
subcontractor or to substitute another subcontractor which meets the requirements
of this chapter.
F.
In the event that a subcontractor is disqualified under
this chapter, the contractor, construction manager or other lead or prime
contractor shall not be permitted to make any type of contractual claim against
the Township on the basis of a subcontractor disqualification.
G.
If, at the conclusion of its internal review, the Township 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 contractors on the subcontractor list are satisfactory, the Township shall issue a written contractor responsibility determination verifying that the prospective awardee is a qualified, responsible contractor. The contractor responsibility determination shall be issued no later than 30 days from the date the notice of intent to award contract is issued, unless extended in writing, signed by the Township and contractor. This responsibility determination may be revoked or revised in any manner at any time during the public review process set forth in § 146-10 of this chapter in the event the Township obtains relevant information warranting any such revocation or revision.
A.
To permit adequate public review of the procurement process,
the Township shall provide a thirty-day public review period commencing from
the date that the notice of intent to award contract is issued.
B.
During this period, the contractor responsibility certification,
subcontractor list, subcontractor responsibility certifications and the determination
of contractor responsibility, as specified herein, shall be subject to immediate
public inspection as they become available.
C.
These records shall be made available for public inspection
in a public document room or on a publicly accessible Web site. In the alternative,
copies of these records shall be produced or otherwise made available for
public inspection within five business days upon written request and in accordance
with applicable law.
D.
During the public review period, any person or organization
may protest a contractor or subcontractor for failing to meet the requirements
of this chapter or for any other legitimate ground by submitting a letter
with supporting evidence to the Township.
E.
A procurement contract subject to this chapter shall
not be executed until all requirements of this chapter have been fulfilled.
A.
If any provision of this chapter shall be held to be
invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, any such holding
shall not invalidate any other provisions of the ordinance and all remaining
provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
B.
This chapter shall be effective five days after it has
been approved by the Board of Supervisors, or in default thereof, five days
after it is deemed approved by operation of law.
C.
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to contracts
executed prior to the effective date of the ordinance, except that the exercise
of an option on a contract covered by this chapter shall be deemed to create
a new contract for purposes of this chapter.
