CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
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Conduct the first reading of the ordinance amending Section 1-9B of the Naperville Municipal Code to modify the City's purchasing policies and guidelines to incorporate changes pertaining to responsible bidders
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DEPARTMENT: Finance Department
SUBMITTED BY: Rachel Mayer, Finance Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In May 2022, City Council requested information from staff about the possibility of enacting a Responsible Bidder Ordinance (RBO) for the City. A sample ordinance and information were provided to Council in September 2022; a vote to draft an RBO for Naperville based on the sample ordinance failed in a 4-4 tie vote.
During a subsequent discussion in the fall of 2022, Council directed staff to receive input from the Financial Advisory Board (FAB); staff intended to discuss this topic with FAB in April 2023. In February 2023, Council voted 6-3 to have staff bring back the sample RBO for the first reading at the second Council meeting in March (March 21).
DISCUSSION:
At its most basic definition, an RBO is a local policy that establishes objective criteria and verifiable standards for contractors bidding on public infrastructure projects. Put another way, the goal of an RBO is typically to make public construction projects safer and ensure fair payment and proper training of the awarded contractors' employees. Naperville's Procurement Code (Title 1, Chapter 9, Article B - Purchasing Policies and Guidelines) has similar goals.
To achieve this goal, numerous criteria are part of an RBO, ranging from more straightforward means, such as insurance and references, to more stringent requirements, such as participation in US Department of Labor apprenticeship programs. The attached sample ordinance from the Village of Lisle is the same one brought before Council in September 2022 and includes the State of Illinois requirement for RBOs that requires bidding contractors for publicly funded p...
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