2201 / 73.3% Yes votes ...... 801 / 26.6% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote of this measure means:

A "yes" vote will increase the amount for formal bidding requirements on public works contracts to $50,000 and allow annually bid open-ended contracts for repair and maintenance types of public works of up to $1,000,000 per job order contracat per year.

A NO vote of this measure means:

A "no" vote means that the bidding amount and procedures will not be changed.

CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT REGARDING CONTRACTS FOR PUBLIC WORKS - MEASURE B

Following is the official City Attorney's impartial analysis regarding this proposed amendment to the Monterey City Charter, prepared and submitted pursuant to Elections Code Sec. 9280:

The proposed amendment to the Charter would do two things: (1) increase the threshold dollar amount for requiring formal competitive bidding of public works projects from the current $35,000 to $50,000; and (2) authorize annually bid open-ended contracts (called "job order contracts") for recurring repair or maintenance types of public works.

The Charter currently requires all public works projects exceeding $35,000 to be bid in a process requiring written proposals and compliance with other formal requirements, with the contract awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. This amendment would increase the threshold for requiring formal bidding to $50,000, and would increase this base by $5,000 every five years thereafter. Public works projects between $1,000 and $50,000 would still be subject to the competitive bidding process; however, the bidding process for these smaller projects would remain simpler with less rigorous procedural requirements.

The proposed amendment would also authorize "job order" contracts of up to $1,000,000 (adjusted in the future to reflect changes in CPI) for repair, remodeling, paving, sidewalk repair, or other similar repetitive work. These would be awarded to the responsible bidder with the lowest unit prices following a formal competitive bid process. This would allow the City flexibility to utilize the successful bidder to perform routine, repetitive types of repair and maintenance work without the necessity of having to bid each small repair or work separately. The term "job order contracts" as described in the proposed Charter amendment specifically excludes new construction and design or contract drawing work except for small projects under $50,000.

The City Council approved the submission of this Charter Amendment to the voters of the City of Monterey at their meeting of August 7, 2001. The proposed amendment will be put before the voters at the November 6, 2001 election.

The above statement is an impartial analysis of the proposed amendment to Monterey City Charter section 4.8. If you desire a copy of the measure, please call the City Clerk's office at 646-3935 and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.

These new guidelines will greatly improve the City's ability to build its Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP) projects quickly and at the lowest possible cost.

The proposed Charter Amendment creates streamlined competitive purchasing procedures for repetitive types of routine construction contracts. By consolidating this repetitive work together into larger contracts, the City is able to obtain better prices and use less staff time to manage the construction contracts. Projects can be delivered faster and at less cost. These contracts are called "job order contracts", and would be used primarily for street repair, drainage work, curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and other related street improvements.

In addition, the current City Charter requires that public works projects over $35,000 follow a formal bid process. The proposed Charter amendment does not change this bid process, but increases the limit from $35,000 to $50,000. Projects costing up to $50,000 still require a competitive purchasing process involving informal bids, but the less formal bidding procedures save staff time and speed up project delivery. The benefits of competitive procurement remain unchanged.

Help enhance your City's ability to implement the Neighborhood Improvement Program, and maintain its parks, streets, sidewalks, drainage and other Public Works facilities. Please join the entire Monterey City Council in voting YES on Measure B.

s/ Dan Albert, Mayor

s/ Theresa Canepa, Councilmember

s/ Don Edgren, Councilmember

s/ Clyde Roberson, Councilmember

s/ Ruth Vreeland, Councilmember

A CHARTER AMENDMENT AT THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION OF NOVEMBER 6, 2001 REGARDING SECTION 4.8 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF MONTEREY

Current Charter section 4.8 is deleted and in its place the following section 4.8 is inserted:

Sec. 4.8 Contracts For Public Works
The construction, reconstruction, or improvement of any public work in excess of $50,000.00, including the supplying of materials, supplies, and labor, shall be let by contract to the lowest responsible bidder after public bidding, except as set forth in this Section. The Council shall, by Ordinance, establish procedures for public bidding, including the contracting for public works less than $50,000.00 and the purchase of equipment, supplies, materials, or services.

The $50,000.00 limit set forth above shall be increased by $5,000.00 on July 1, 2005, and by the same amount on July 1st of each fifth year thereafter.

The City may contract with other governmental agencies or public utility companies for erection of public works, or for the purchase of equipment, supplies, materials. or services without the need for bidding if it first finds that the government agency or public utility has substantially complied with the City's bidding or purchasing process.

In the event of an emergency caused by fire, flood, earthquake, storm, or similar disaster, the Mayor or City Manager may order the suspension of normal bidding or purchasing requirements for projects related to abatement of the impacts or effects of such emergency. The City Council shall, if possible, ratify such emergency suspension of procedures within seventy-two (72) hours and consider whether further suspension of procedures is required to abate the impacts of the emergency.

Notwithstanding any provision above, the City Council may award individual annual contracts, referred to as "job order contracts", none of which may exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) adjusted annually on July 1st to reflect the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index, for repair, remodeling. paving, sidewalk repair, or other repetitive work to be done according to unit prices. No annual contracts may be awarded for any new construction; however, job order contracts may be utilized for new projects less than $50,000.00, adjusted as set forth above. The contracts shall be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder and shall be based on plans and specifications for typical work.

For purposes of this section, the term "unit price" shall mean the amount paid for a single unit of an item of work, the term "typical work" shall mean a work description applicable universally or applicable to a large number of individual projects, as distinguished from work specifically described with respect to an individual project, and the term "repair, remodeling, paving, sidewalk repair, or other repetitive work to be done according to unit prices" shall not include design or contract drawings.