Measure G: Capitol Improvement Contracts

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League of Women Voters of California Education Fund

Orange County, CA

November 2, 2004 Election

Measure G
Capitol Improvement Contracts
City of Cypress

10181 / 61.9% Yes votes ...... 6274 / 38.1% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Information shown below: Yes/No Meaning | Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

Shall Section 1012 of the City Charter be amended to permit the use of the request for proposal process in connection with capital improvement project maintenance contracts?

A YES vote of this measure means:: Your YES vote means that you want Section 1012 of the City Charter amended to permit the use of the request for proposal process in connection with capital improvement project maintenance contracts.
A NO vote of this measure means:: " Your NO vote means that you do not want to change the existing language of Section 1012 of the City Charter.

Impartial Analysis from City Attorney

Section 1012 of the City Charter, adopted by the voters in 1975, describes the City's general guidelines for public works contracts. A "Yes" vote on this measure by City voters would authorize the City to award capital improvement project maintenance contracts to the most qualified bidder without regard to price. Generally, Public Contracts Code Section 21062 requires that public projects over five thousand dollars be contracted and let to the "lowest responsible bidder." Pursuant to this process, a local entity desiring to undertake a public project must issue a notice of invitation to bid and the contract is awarded to the bidder with the lowest responsive bid. However, general law provisions requiring cities to solicit public, competitive bids for public projects do not apply to a charter city where the subject matter of the bid constitutes a municipal affair and where the city's charter limits competitive bidding requirements. (R&A Vending Services, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1985) 172 Cal.App.3d 1188.) The alternative to bidding is allowing staff to negotiate contracts or to issue a request for proposals to solicit proposals from which the City Council may select the most qualified bidder without regard to price. The current Charter language requires that all public improvement projects involving an expenditure of three thousand five hundred dollars or more be let to the lowest responsible bidder, which precludes the option of requesting proposals to seek the most qualified bidder. Measure "G" has been placed on the ballot by the City Council to provide the City with the flexibility to use the request for proposal process for capital improvement project maintenance contracts when the City Council determines that the request for proposal process is in the City's best interest. Since the City Charter was adopted by voter approval, changes or amendments to the Charter also require voter approval. Your YES vote means that you want Section 1012 of the City Charter amended to permit the use of the request for proposal process in connection with capital improvement project maintenance contracts. To accomplish the revision, a new paragraph will be added at the end of Section 1012 to read: "For capital improvement project maintenance contracts, the Council may award the contract to the most qualified bidder instead of to the lowest responsible bidder." Your NO vote means that you do not want to change the existing language of Section 1012 of the City Charter. This Measure will not impose any new fees or taxes on any City resident, business or property owner.
s/ WILLIAM W. WYNDER City Attorney

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Arguments For Measure G

We, members of your City Council, are asking for your support for Measures D through H. These proposed changes to the Cypress City Charter are, in most cases, "cleanup" language to bring our Charter into compliance with modern conventional business practices and current state law. The Charter is the governing document for the City of Cypress and our City Attorney explains in his impartial analysis why these changes to the document are necessary. Since the adoption of our City Charter nearly thirty years ago, operational standards and practices have evolved and these amendments update the Charter to reflect current government procedures and language in place today. For instance, Measures F and G relate to changes in the requirements for our City's construction and maintenance contracts. Current language has the potential to require the City to enter a construction or maintenance contract that will not yield the optimum result. This could result in unnecessary or uneconomic costs. The proposed amendments will provide for the implementation of bestmanagement practices. This will help the City achieve quality construction results, while simultaneously controlling final costs. Measures D, E, and H are essentially "housekeeping" changes that will allow the language of our City Charter to accurately reflect the manner in which the duties of the City Clerk, Treasurer, and the Director of Community Development are presently managed. Your YES votes on these simple amendments will update our City Charter. Most importantly, these changes will not impose any new fees or taxes on our Cypress citizens or businesses. We strongly encourage your YES votes on Measure G.

(No arguments against Measure G were submitted)

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Created: December 15, 2004 13:32 PST
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