Responsible contractor checklist updated

A sizable group of labor union representatives packed into the Lake County commissioners’ chambers.

A sizable group of labor union representatives packed into the Lake County commissioners’ chambers to show support for a resolution updating the county’s responsible contractor checklist for infrastructure projects.

Commissioner John Hamercheck said the resolution was part of a yearlong process, gaining steam in the past three months. It passed unanimously at the board’s most recent meeting.

“It sets the rules for how we’re going to do capital improvements at the county level,” Commissioner Daniel P. Troy said.

Troy also said he thinks that it ensures that the taxpayers — who are paying for the projects, be it through federal, state or local funds — are getting the best return on their investment.

“The way I look at it, it’s putting this in place so we’re not sitting here trying to determine who is the lowest bidder and who is the best bidder,” he said. “It’s still the law, but sometimes that becomes very difficult.”

Basically, he added, they’re setting criteria that is going to help ensure they pay “the right people the right amount of money to do the job the right way the first time.”

“What we’re looking for in this responsible contract language is furnishing of records as to that contractor’s performance on other projects, how they have complied with statutes that we have to comply with in terms of prevailing wage, payments of benefits etc.,” he said.

Other requirements in the 23-item checklist include: • Disclosure of any Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations within the previous five years, as well as all notices of OSHA citations filed against the bidder within the same period, together with a description and explanation of the remediation or other steps taken regarding such violations and notices of violations.

• An adequate demonstration of financial responsibility, which may include, in the administrator’s or their designee’s description, a certified financial statement prepared by a certified public accountant to assure that the bidder possesses adequate resources and availability of credit, and the means and ability to procure insurance and bonds required for the project.

• Documentation of whether the bidder has failed to file any required tax returns or failed to pay any required taxes to any governmental agency.

• Disclosure of any criminal convictions or criminal indictments involving the bidder, its officers, directors, owners, and/or managerial employees within the past five years.

• Documentation from previous projects regarding timeliness of performance, quality of work, extension requests, findings, fines and penalties imposed and payment thereof, liens filed, history of claims for extra work, and contract defaults, together with explanations of the same.

• Identification of whether the bidder offers or participates in an apprenticeship program, dual training program, or an internship program. If the bidder does participate in such programs, identify whether such programs are recognized, formal, accredited, and/or certified, paid, longterm training programs for skilled jobs.

Hamercheck praised the exhaustiveness of the resolution and the attention to detail paid to the language, going so far as to say the “Oxford comma was used very effectively in this document.”

“The reason I say that, in my time as a (Madison Village) councilman, I’ve seen attorney generals’ opinions and Ohio Supreme Court decisions that take what was the intention of a public body and pervert it because there was either a comma omitted or put in the wrong place,” he said.

The commissioners said that the updated standards are not expected to lengthen the bidding process.

Hamercheck said internal controls were what initiated the resolution.

“There are some people saying, ‘Well you really shouldn’t do this, you should find someone and pay them the lowest amount of money,’ and I always got a problem with why people want to say, ‘Let’s find a way to pay people less money in all cases possible,’ because if people are paid less money, that’s less money getting reinvested into our local economy,” Troy said.

“It sets the rules for how we’re going to do capital improvements at the county level.” — Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy