It is hereby the policy of the City of Amherst, Ohio that, for all construction, alteration, renovation and/or public works projects exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), the following best bid criteria shall be utilized in determining whether a bid is the best bid:
(a) Each bidder shall supply information necessary to ascertain the pecuniary and financial responsibility, accountability, reliability, skill, capacity, judgment, integrity and moral worth to do business in our community, as set forth in subsection (b) hereof. In the event the apparent lowest bidder fails to furnish the requested information set forth in subsection (b) hereof, or any of the information provided is false, or the information provided demonstrates a lack of responsibility, the apparent lowest bidder shall be rejected and thereby is disqualified and the next lowest bidder shall become the apparent lowest responsible bidder.
(b) Each bidder shall supply and certify as to the accuracy of the following information:
(1) Description of its experience with projects of comparative size, complexity, and cost with recent years, demonstrating the contractor's ability and capacity to perform a substantial portion of the project with its own forces;
(2) Documentation from previous projects regarding timeliness of performance, quality of work, extension requests, fines and penalties imposed and payment thereof, liens filed, history of claims for extra work, contract defaults, together with explanations of same;
(3) Identification and description of any projects within the previous five years that the apparent lowest bidder was determined by a public entity not to be a responsible bidder, the reasons given by the public entity, together with an explanation thereof;
(4) An adequate demonstration of financial responsibility, to assure that the apparent lowest bidder possesses adequate resources and availability of credit and the means and ability to procure insurance and bonds required for the project;
(5) Disclosure of any suspension or revocation of any professional license of any director, officer, owner, or managerial employee of the apparent lowest bidder, to the extent that any work to be performed is within the field of such licensed profession;
(6) Disclosure of any and all OSHA violations within the previous three years, as well as all notices of OSHA citations filed against the apparent lowest bidder in the same three year period, together with a description and explanation of remediation or other steps taken regarding such violations and notices of violation;
(7) Disclosure of any and all violations within the previous five years pertaining to unlawful intimidation or discrimination against any employee by reason of race, creed, color, disability, sex or national origin and/or violations of an employee's civil or labor rights or equal employment opportunities;
(8) Disclosure of any litigation (including copies of pleadings) in which the apparent lowest bidder has been named as a defendant or third party defendant in an action involving a claim for personal injury or wrongful death arising form performance of work related to any project in which it has been engaged within the previous five years;
(9) Disclosure of allegations of violation of the prevailing wage law and any other state or federal labor law, including, but not limited to, child labor violations, failure to pay wages, or unemployment insurance tax delinquencies or unfair labor practices within the past five years;
(10) Disclosure of violations of the workers compensation law;
(11) Disclosure of any criminal convictions or criminal indictments involving the apparent lowest bidder, its officers, directors, owners and/or managerial employees, within the past five years;
(12) Disclosure of any violations within the past five years or pending charges concerning federal, state or municipal environmental and/or health laws, codes, rules and/or regulations;
(13) Documentation of the contractor's participation and contributions to a bona fide apprenticeship program, if applicable;
(14) A description of bidder's employees benefit program, including such things as the contractor's health insurance and pension benefits to its employees;
(15) Identification of whether the contractor's workforce is drawn mainly from residents of the counties of Lorain, Cuyahoga, Erie, Huron and Medina;
(16) Identification of all work to be subcontracted. All subcontractors are also subject to the above criteria;
(17) Disclosure of any failure to pay local income tax to the City of Amherst, including any notices received from the Treasurer's office and any documentation that the failure to pay has been adequately resolved.
(c) In the event the amount of the lowest bid appears disproportionately low when compared with estimates undertaken by or on behalf of the City of Amherst, and/or compared to other bids submitted, the City of Amherst reserves the right to inquire further of the apparent lowest bidder to determine whether the bid contains mathematical errors, omissions and/or erroneous assumptions, and whether the apparent lowest bidder has the capacity to perform and complete the contract for the bid amount.
(d) All bid invitations and specifications for construction, repair and renovation work shall advise prospective bidders of this section, its disclosure requirements, and all of the factors that will be taken into consideration in determining whether a bidder is not only the lowest but also a responsible bidder.
(Ord. 01-131. Passed 11-26-01.)