Source: https://ecode360.com/7106700
Timestamp: 2018-04-21 09:57:32
Document Index: 244901605

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146', '§ 146']

Township of Falls, PA Contractor Responsibility Certification
§ 146-4 Qualified, responsible contractor requirements.
§ 146-5 Contractor responsibility certifications.
§ 146-6 Notice of intent to award contract
§ 146-7 Subcontractor lists, subcontractor responsibility certifications.
§ 146-8 Execution of contractor and subcontractor responsibility certifications.
§ 146-9 Contractor responsibility determinations.
§ 146-10 Public review process.
§ 146-11 Severability; effective date.
Chapter 146: Contractor Responsibility Certification
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Falls 2-20-2007 by Ord. No. 2007-1. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Chapter 146 : Contractor Responsibility Certification
This chapter shall be known as the "Falls Township Responsible Contractor Ordinance."
The following words and phrases as used in this chapter shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, unless the context clearly indicates a different meaning. The masculine shall mean the feminine, the singular includes the plural, and the plural includes the singular.
An agreement, whether oral or written, and whether contained in one or more documents, between a contractor and the Township or another contractor for the performance of work, including all labor, services and materials to be furnished and performed thereunder.
Any individual or person who undertakes or offers to perform construction, repair, maintenance, demolition, remodeling, rehabilitation, paving and any other improvement of construction or demolition work in and for the Township, whether as a general contractor, subcontractor, specialty contractor or otherwise.
Any individual, partnership, limited partnership, association, corporation, trust or any other legally recognizable entity.
Any individual or person who undertakes a specific part of the work to be performed by the principal contractor or subcontractor for the construction, repair, maintenance, demolition, remodeling, rehabilitation, paving and any other improvement of construction or demolition work in and for the Township.
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that all work on public construction and maintenance contracts is performed by responsible, qualified persons that maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and other qualifications necessary to successfully perform such contracts in a timely, reliable and cost-effective manner. Any and all contracts to be performed for public construction and maintenance contracts shall be performed in compliance with this chapter. The requirements of this chapter are intended to supplement, not replace, existing contractor qualification and performance standards or criteria currently required by law, public policy or contracting documents. However, in the event that any of the provisions of this chapter conflict with any other ordinance of the Township of Falls, this chapter shall prevail.
All contractors and subcontractors of any tier which perform work valued at over $10,000 on any public facility or public work project, including construction, alteration, renovation, repair, service or maintenance, shall meet the requirements of this chapter.
All persons engaged in contracts covered by this chapter shall be qualified, responsible contractors or subcontractors that have sufficient capabilities in all respects to successfully perform contracts on which they engage, including the necessary experience, equipment, technical skills, qualifications, organizational and personnel resources. Qualified, responsible persons shall also have a satisfactory past performance record and a satisfactory record of law compliance, integrity and business ethics.
As a condition of performing work on any public works contract subject to this chapter, a general contractor, construction manager or other contractor which seeks award of a contract shall submit a contractor responsibility certification at the time it submits its bid or proposal for a contract.
The contractor responsibility certification shall be completed on a form provided by the Falls Township Public Works Department and shall reference the project for which the bid or proposal is being submitted by name and contract or project number.
In the contractor responsibility certification, the construction manager, general contractor or other lead or prime contractor shall confirm the following facts regarding its past performance and work history and its current qualifications and performance capabilities:
The contractor has not been nor currently is debarred by any federal, state or local government agency or authority in the past three years.
The contractor has not defaulted on any project in the past three years.
The contractor has not had any type of business, contracting or trade license revoked or suspended by a government agency or authority in the past three years.
The contractor has not committed a willful violation of federal or state safety laws as determined by a final decision of a court or government agency or authority in the past three years.
The contractor has not been found in violation of any other law relating to its contracting business, including, but not limited to, wage or hour laws, environmental laws, antitrust laws, immigration laws, licensing laws or tax laws, by a final decision of a court or government agency or authority in the past three years.
The contractor participates in a Class A apprenticeship program for each trade in which it employs craft employees and shall continue to participate in such program or programs for the duration of the project. A Class A apprenticeship program is an apprenticeship program which is currently registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency and has graduated apprentices to journeyperson status for each of the past five consecutive years. The contractor shall provide proof of this qualification standard by submitting appropriate documentation as an attachment to the responsible contractor certification.
To permit development of recently registered programs, the graduation requirement of this provision shall not apply to:
An apprenticeship training program registered within the past 10 years; or
An apprenticeship program registered within the past 10 years if the program provides apprenticeship training for a craft or trade that was not recognized as an apprenticeable craft or trade by the U.S. Department of Labor or State Apprenticeship Council at the time the program was registered.
Any program not required to meet the graduation requirements of this section shall, in addition to providing proof that it is currently registered with federal or state government, provide evidence that the program is actively engaged in bona fide apprenticeship training activity.
The contractor has all other technical qualifications and resources, including equipment, personnel and financial resources, to perform the referenced contract, or will obtain same through the use of qualified, responsible subcontractors.
The contractor maintains all documents necessary to ensure that all employees are United States Citizens or properly documented legal aliens entitled to work under existing federal law.
The Township may require any other additional information it deems necessary to evaluate a prospective contractor's technical qualifications, resources and performance capabilities, as well as the type of impact its operations will have on the local community impacted by the project. The Township may require that such information be included in a statement of qualifications and experience as an attachment to the contractor responsibility certification.
In the contractor responsibility certification, the submitting contractor shall stipulate that if it receives a notice of intent to award contract, it will provide the Township with a subcontractor list and subcontractor information as specified herein.
If the submitting contractor is, or was in the past five years, related to any other company or business entity that provided or provides contractual services in the construction, maintenance, service or repair industries, whether as a parent company, subsidiary or otherwise, it shall attach a separate statement to its contractor responsibility certification that explains in detail the nature of any such relationship.
If any person or entity that is a shareholder, owner or partner of the submitting contractor owns an interest of 20% or more in another entity or previously owned such an interest in another entity that provides or has provided contractual services in the construction, maintenance, service or repair industries, it shall attach a separate statement to its contractor responsibility certification that explains in detail the nature of any such relationship.
The Township may require that contractor responsibility certifications and other information required by this act be submitted electronically.
The Township may charge contractors who submit bids or proposals a reasonable fee to defray costs of processing and evaluating contractor responsibility certifications and related information and documents.
After it has received bids or proposals, the Township shall issue a notice of intent to award contract to the contractor offering the lowest responsive responsible bid, or in the case of competitive proposals, the contractor offering the most advantageous proposal in accordance with the Second Class Township Code.
Such notice shall be issued as soon as practicable after bids or proposals are submitted and shall stipulate that the contract award will be conditioned on the issuance of a written contractor responsibility determination, as required by § 146-9 of this chapter.
Within 14 days of receiving such a notice of intent to award contract, a prospective awardee shall submit to the Township a subcontractor list containing the names of all subcontractors it will use for the referenced project, their addresses and a description of the work each listed subcontractor will perform on the project.
At the time a prospective awardee submits its subcontractor list, it shall also submit subcontractor responsibility certifications for all listed subcontractors to the Township. Subcontractor responsibility certifications shall be executed by the respective subcontractors and shall contain the same information and representations required in contractor responsibility certifications.
A construction manager, general contractor or other lead or prime contractor shall not be permitted to use any subcontractor on procurement contracts subject to this section which is not on the subcontractor list, unless it demonstrates compelling reasons for using an unlisted subcontractor and obtains prior written approval from the Township.
An unlisted subcontractor shall not be approved by the Township unless it executes a subcontractor responsibility certification as required by this chapter at least 30 days prior to commencing work. Any such certification shall be made available to the public as specified in § 146-10C of this chapter.
Contractor and subcontractor responsibility certifications shall be executed by a person who has sufficient knowledge to address all matters in the certification and shall include an attestation stating, under the penalty of perjury, that all information submitted is true, complete and accurate.
If it is subsequently determined that a contractor or subcontractor responsibility certification contains false or misleading material information that was provided knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, or omits material information knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, the contractor for which the certification was submitted shall be prohibited from performing work for the Township for a period of three years and shall be further subject to any other penalties and sanctions, including contract termination, available to the Township under law. A contract terminated under these circumstances shall further entitle the Township to withhold payment of any monies due to the contractor as damages.
Once a notice of intent to award contract has been issued, the Township shall undertake a thirty-day agency review to determine whether the prospective awardee is a qualified, responsible contractor in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations.
As part of this review, the Township shall ensure that the contractor responsibility certification, subcontractor list and subcontractor responsibility certifications, as required by this chapter, have been submitted and properly executed. It shall also ensure, to the extent practicable, that the information provided by subcontractors is truthful and accurate and that such subcontractors are qualified to perform the contract.
The Township may further conduct any other inquiry to independently verify that the prospective awardee has the technical qualifications and performance capabilities necessary to successfully perform the contract and has a sufficient record of law compliance and business integrity to justify the award of a public contract. In conducting such inquiries, the Township may seek information from contractors or other entities which have submitted responsibility certifications to prior customers or from any other relevant source. In conducting this evaluation, the Township may also consider relevant information of any business entities that are found to be related to the contractor.
During the review period, the Township shall also examine the qualifications of the contractors on the subcontractor list to ensure that all identified subcontractors have properly executed subcontractor responsibility certifications, that the information contained in such certifications is accurate and that such subcontractors are otherwise qualified, and responsible. In conducting this evaluation, the Township may also consider relevant information of any business entities that are found to be related to subcontractors.
In the event that the Township determines that a prospective subcontractor does not meet the qualification standards included in the subcontractor responsibility certification or does not otherwise qualify as responsible contractor, it shall inform the general contractor, construction manager or other lead or prime contractor and permit it to self-perform the work of the subcontractor or to substitute another subcontractor which meets the requirements of this chapter.
In the event that a subcontractor is disqualified under this chapter, the contractor, construction manager or other lead or prime contractor shall not be permitted to make any type of contractual claim against the Township on the basis of a subcontractor disqualification.
If, at the conclusion of its internal review, the Township determines that all responsibility certifications have been properly completed and executed and if it concludes that the qualifications, background and responsibility of the prospective awardee and the contractors on the subcontractor list are satisfactory, the Township shall issue a written contractor responsibility determination verifying that the prospective awardee is a qualified, responsible contractor. The contractor responsibility determination shall be issued no later than 30 days from the date the notice of intent to award contract is issued, unless extended in writing, signed by the Township and contractor. This responsibility determination may be revoked or revised in any manner at any time during the public review process set forth in § 146-10 of this chapter in the event the Township obtains relevant information warranting any such revocation or revision.
To permit adequate public review of the procurement process, the Township shall provide a thirty-day public review period commencing from the date that the notice of intent to award contract is issued.
During this period, the contractor responsibility certification, subcontractor list, subcontractor responsibility certifications and the determination of contractor responsibility, as specified herein, shall be subject to immediate public inspection as they become available.
These records shall be made available for public inspection in a public document room or on a publicly accessible Web site. In the alternative, copies of these records shall be produced or otherwise made available for public inspection within five business days upon written request and in accordance with applicable law.
During the public review period, any person or organization may protest a contractor or subcontractor for failing to meet the requirements of this chapter or for any other legitimate ground by submitting a letter with supporting evidence to the Township.
A procurement contract subject to this chapter shall not be executed until all requirements of this chapter have been fulfilled.
If any provision of this chapter shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, any such holding shall not invalidate any other provisions of the ordinance and all remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
This chapter shall be effective five days after it has been approved by the Board of Supervisors, or in default thereof, five days after it is deemed approved by operation of law.
The requirements of this chapter shall not apply to contracts executed prior to the effective date of the ordinance, except that the exercise of an option on a contract covered by this chapter shall be deemed to create a new contract for purposes of this chapter.