The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-10-01
PERCBNFAGE BIDDING
Street and Water Boards
New Plan to Stop Job
berry and Collision.
CITY WORK FOR LUMP SUMS
The Department to Furnish An
Estimate and State a Price
Proposals Rejected.

The Street and Water Board held
special meeting this afternoon and adopt
ed the following resolutions
Resolved, That in all specifications for
street improvements, sewer construction
whether the same be for new work or Ior
reconstruction, the Chief Engineer pc ana
Is hereby directed to insert therein an es-
innate of quantities for the several items
liable to be required for the doing OF the
work, together with a far detailed ap-
proximate (based on market rateS) or
what each of said items should cost;
and
Resolved, That when specifications so
prepared shall have been adopted and or
dered filed, the Clerk of this Board is
hereby directed to so advertise for pro-
pCSalS that a bidder will be required TO
submit a proposal for thes doing of the
entire work on a per cent. basis. The
prices denoted in the specifications to be
taken collectively at fixed standard OF
100 per cent, the bidder to state in his
proposal at what per cent. OF such stand
ard he will do all work required, and IN
case final award of contract be made,
the per cent quoded py pladep sha1i mi,i ioIm ha
made for any and all items comprehended
III the estimate of quantities, whether in
the doing of the work such estimate shall
be exceeded or lessened in any particular.
The resolutions will, it is hoped put an
end to unbalanced bidding by contractors
for public work and also break up the
combination the contractors formed when
schedule of prices for public work was
recently adopted.
Under the old schedule the contractors
were confined in their bidding. 1t COM
PEELED them to charge within certain linn
its for each kind of work. The outcome
of the scheme was that the. contractors
combined to submit bids which were alike
in every particular. 1t is against the law
to award a contract to any contractor
when there is another bid identical with
his The combination. consequently. by
bidding alike, made it necessary in a half
dozen Instances to readvertise for bids
The Commissioners held conference af-
ter conference, trying to hit upon a plan
whereby the contractors might be knock
ed out
The resolutions adopted at this after
Moons meeting will, 1t is expected, ac-
complish that end and result in pubic
work being done cheaper than it is even
now. The plan is this
The Chief Engineer, in preparing speci-
fications for all kinds of work, will fix
ncations. The price so fixed will be the
100 per cent basis on which all bids
must be founded. For instance, rock ex-
cavation may be fixed at $3.50 yard; In
submitting bids the contractors will have
to state at what percentage of the fixed
price they will do the excavating. The
rate may run from 10 per cent or even
one per cent up as high as the con-
tractor wishes to make It. An estimate
| of the quantity of each item will be given
| in the specifications. IT the quantity is
| less or more than was estimated, the
| contractor will be paid according to the
| percentage he offers to do the work for
| on the estimated quantity. The Commits
| sioners say that they see no way in
| which contractors can effect 'combi-
| nation under the new rules or submit un-
| balanced bids. Contractors are grum-
bling because the screws are being put
| ON them.
| The Commissioners say that they pro-
| pose compelling the contractors to do pub
| lie work at fair prices. The Board mas
| rejected several bids which were alike
| for various improvements. New bids are
| to be advertised for. All proceedings in
connection with the construction of a
sewer in Hoboken avenue were recalled.
| The specifications under which bids We're
received called for about loo feet of AZ
! that the sewer will empty into a 40-inch
/ connection. The blunder will cause con-
| siderable delay and involves the city in
| serdious expenses.