Item 3: Discuss and Approve Non-Unanimous IGR Positions

Home Browse Search

Comments: SB 806 creates entirely new statutory language that establishes specific criteria that work and projects must meet in order to be considered for external contracts rather than using employees and existing resources if available. Also requires that agency proves cost and performance benefits to contracting work out and requires that contractor hire an agency employee if that employee is displaced by establishment of contract. This language would add requirements to contracting processes. Bargaining unit contracts already have articles in place to cover the intent of this bill which is to ensure that entities consider assigning work in house prior to bidding work out. ContactRespondentDept Updated Priority Policy Poli Numb Recommendation Mike Penwell Mike Penwell CS-FAC 3/16/2009 Pri 2 Yes YesVIII. B Oppose Comments: I agree with comments made by Paul Klope, Mia Cariaga, and Jenifer Willer. This bill would add cost and bureaucratic process to City contracting with no real benefit. ContactRespondentDept Updated Priority Policy Poli Numb Recommendation Jenifer Willer Jenifer Willer PWE 3/12/2009 Pri 2 Yes YesVIII. B Oppose Comments: I agree with the comments made by Paul and Mia in opposition to this Bill. It seems that it would add significant administrative process without gain. Also, it is very prescriptive and should probably be opposed on home-rule grounds. ContactRespondentDept Updated Priority Policy Poli Numb Recommendation Paul Klope PWE 3/12/2009 Pri 2 Yes YesVIII. B Oppose Comments: This bill sets tight limits on the circumstances whereby public agencies are allowed to hire contractors to perform work, and may reduce the ability of public agencies to hire contractors. Typically for Eugene this includes consulting contracts for engineers, architects and surveyors, public improvement contracts and personal service contracts. The City contracts for this work because either it doesn't have the expertise, or adequate personnel or equipment, or in the case public infrastructure, because law discourages public agencies from constructing projects over a certain dollar amount. This law would make it difficult and require a considerable amount of staff time to generate paperwork to allow the City to contract for any work, no matter how obviously justified it is. The City does not contract out work that causes displacement of it's employees. This proposed law may have an honorable intention to protect workers of public agencies, but it is too broad, too general and will have very negative consequences for all public agencies. I recommend the City oppose this bill. Below are a list of key elements of the bill and a brief comment on each. 1. Bill Element: Requires public agency to demonstrate that contracting with a private contractor for work that would customarily be done by employees will be cheaper than having that work done by the employees. Prohibits the cost analysis from adding indirect overhead costs to the local agency costs, with a few exceptions. Requires public agency to add inspection, supervision and monitoring costs by the public agency to the contractor costs. Requires agency to prove that cost savings from contracting will not go away over the life of the contract, and that the amount of savings justifies the size and duration of the contract. 1.Comment: If it was necessary to contract this work, because of limited staff or the urgency of the work, the time necessary to complete this analysis would interfer with necessary service to the public. It doesn't take into account that staff retire or take jobs elsewhere which leaves an organization unable to provide necessary services for a time until those positions are filled. Also, even the rules for this analysis are skewed in that they don't compare like with like. Contractors and condultants include an element of indirect overhead in their bid prices--so should the public agencies costs. Also, if monitoring and supervision costs are added to the contractor costs, they should be added to the public agency costs, because monitoring and supervision would be the same regardless of who does the work. 51