The Council meeting originally scheduled for Jan 21 will take place tonight. I’ll be there to complain about this:
ORDINANCE 2014-01
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING
CHAPTER IV, DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, OF THE GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE
BOROUGH OF BELMAR PERTAINING TO SECTION 13, RECEIPT OF BIDS
WHEREAS, the Borough of Belmar finds that it is in its best interest to define the term “responsible” as contained in competitive bidding statues governing its purchases of construction goods and services;
WHEREAS, the Borough of Belmar wishes to ensure that contracts are awarded in an atmosphere that invites competition and guards against favoritism, improvidence, arbitrary conduct, extravagance, fraud and corruption so as to secure the best work or supplies at the lowest cost practicable;
WHEREAS, the Borough of Belmar possesses great discretion in determining the “lowest responsible bidder” and is entitled to specify the terms of the contract when it solicits bids and the criteria that bidders must meet in order to be considered a “responsible” bidder in the exercise of its proprietary duties and responsibilities;
WHEREAS, the contracting authority of the Borough of Belmar is entrusted with the power to determine whether a respective bidder is the “lowest responsible bidder”; and,
WHEREAS, the Borough of Belmar solicits bids and/or proposals on many different types of construction contracts with varying factors affecting each purchasing decision, and therefore must take into account reasonable benefits to the community’s welfare arising from each bid and in the exercise of its proprietary functions.
WHEREAS, the Borough of Belmar seeks to add a section to the General Ordinances to amend the ordinance section 4-13 pertaining to Receipt of Bids ;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED by the Borough of Belmar, County of Monmouth, New Jersey that Chapter IV, Department of Finance, of the Borough of Belmar, Revised General Ordinance is amended and supplemented as follows:
SECTION I. Chapter IV, Section 13, Receipt of Bids, shall have the following section added in its entirety:
c. Responsible Bidders
1. The Borough of Belmar, through its contracting authority, shall require an entity that bids on a public contract produce satisfactory evidence that the business entity is properly registered and authorized to conduct the type of work to be performed, including evidence that demonstrates that the entity possesses or complies with requirements of the Internal Revenue Service, New Jersey Departments of Treasury and/or Labor, as well as complying with the general business license requirements of the State of New Jersey prior to the award and during the term of the contract.
(a) The provision of satisfactory evidence by the bidding entity, is that it provides or participates in an apprenticeship and training program approved and registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship & Training, as well as benefit configuration being no less than required under the New Jersey Prevailing Wage Act is minimally required to demonstrate that a bidding entity is “responsible”.
2. The contracting authority, in order to make its determination as to whether the bidding entity is responsible, shall confirm and substantiate that the contract awardee can reasonably be expected to complete and perform under the contract specifications, and the contracting authority may require the successful bidder to post a bid, performance, wage/fringe benefit and/or material bond(s). The contracting authority shall also determine if the successful bidder can reasonably be expected to complete the project within the time constraints as delineated in the request for bids and/or proposals. The contracting authority shall also determine if the bidding entity maintains a satisfactory level of past performance and integrity as well as possesses the financial, supervisory, personnel, material, equipment and other resources and expertise to satisfactorily meet its contractual responsibilities and obligations.
3. The contracting authority may factor in its determination of whether a bidder is “responsible” such factors as bidder’s record of conformity with environmental, labor and health & safety laws including compliance with the requirements of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
4. All bidders shall be required to provide a certificate of insurance, designating the Borough of Belmar as an Additional Insured under all pertinent policies, specifying all required coverages, including general liability, workers’ compensation, completed operations, automobile, hazardous occupation, product liability and professional liability at such time as the contracting authority deems appropriate to protect the interests of the Borough of Belmar.
SECTION II. If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause or provision of this Ordinance shall be adjudged invalid, such adjudication shall apply only to the section, paragraph, subdivision, clause or provision so adjudicated and the remainder of the Ordinance shall be deemed valid and effective.
SECTION III.All Ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with or in conflict with the ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency
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With the Council granting itself the power to be completely subjective if it wants to, a lot fewer contractors are even going to bother trying to get work in Belmar.
One Comment
This sure does raise a lot of questions doesn’t it. I for one will be there and will be tuned in. I do hope my internal antenna can get good reception and that I like the tune…..I do however, not expect any “Gramies”.
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