Bill #116 which was amended and passed at last council meeting by 7-0 states "No city employee or elected official shall engage in conduct that gives the potential recipient of government funds an advantage over another recipient." The proposed RCO would go directly against this amendment by giving Union companies an unfair advantage over non-Union companies by eliminating qualified contractors.
This Ordinance is not about the city hiring more responsible contractors, its more about paybacks to the Unions. Has anyone researched any other cities that adopted this Ordinance? If so, it might open your eye to why NOT to adopt it! Most these Cities are in complete decay and suffer from the lack of responsible contractors being able to bid on their work. Unions are NOT the answer.
OPPOSE! You severely LIMIT bidders & will automatically INCREASE PRICING. Who pays for this? The Taxpayers! Now, assume A knows B, C & D (local small/minority owned business competitors) are disqualified, A's profit margins will increase since b/c limited/NO COMPETITION. I've seen it directly in other muni's where bids are rejected costing them thousands or hundreds of thousands, again all paid by the TAXPAYER. These are public bids and should be eligible to ALL QUALIFIED BIDDERS!!!
I am concerned that the City of Allentown is considering following the County's RCO that was approved during the pandemic, when almost no one was looking, with a direct negative impact on taxpayers. Construction Companies who strategically hire experienced personnel or train new employees “in house” are in fact, RESPONSIBLE. The choice to use an RCO will eliminate high performing companies who have served the city for decades and lead to a shrinking bidding pool and actually drive UP costs.
We kindly ask that you support open competition that welcomes all safe, qualified, and competitive contractors and suppliers to bid your projects. Thank you!
As a resident and a construction worker this will hurt on both levels . As for the city it lowers the opportunity to get competitive bids . As a resident it is already hard as costs go up all across the board . Now this would make it harder to work where I live .
Passage of this Ordinance will exclude small/minority owned businesses from working on City projects. In addition, the City will pay more for its services. Construction projects over $ 100,000.00 require Prevailing Rates and as such non-union companies do have an advantage. As of now you have the best of both 'worlds". Passage of the Ordinance shows a militant anti-small/minority business climate giving these businesses a reason to abandon Allentown.
This ordinance will not in any way help the citizens of Allentown. We are only causing the city to limit their options. This will take away the possibility for many residents, who work locally, to be able to do work in the same city they pay their taxes to.
Bill #116 which was amended and passed at last council meeting by 7-0 states "No city employee or elected official shall engage in conduct that gives the potential recipient of government funds an advantage over another recipient." The proposed RCO would go directly against this amendment by giving Union companies an unfair advantage over non-Union companies by eliminating qualified contractors.
This Ordinance is not about the city hiring more responsible contractors, its more about paybacks to the Unions. Has anyone researched any other cities that adopted this Ordinance? If so, it might open your eye to why NOT to adopt it! Most these Cities are in complete decay and suffer from the lack of responsible contractors being able to bid on their work. Unions are NOT the answer.
if passed this will severely limit bidders and automatically increase pricing. Makes no sense!
OPPOSE! You severely LIMIT bidders & will automatically INCREASE PRICING. Who pays for this? The Taxpayers! Now, assume A knows B, C & D (local small/minority owned business competitors) are disqualified, A's profit margins will increase since b/c limited/NO COMPETITION. I've seen it directly in other muni's where bids are rejected costing them thousands or hundreds of thousands, again all paid by the TAXPAYER. These are public bids and should be eligible to ALL QUALIFIED BIDDERS!!!
I am concerned that the City of Allentown is considering following the County's RCO that was approved during the pandemic, when almost no one was looking, with a direct negative impact on taxpayers. Construction Companies who strategically hire experienced personnel or train new employees “in house” are in fact, RESPONSIBLE. The choice to use an RCO will eliminate high performing companies who have served the city for decades and lead to a shrinking bidding pool and actually drive UP costs.
We kindly ask that you support open competition that welcomes all safe, qualified, and competitive contractors and suppliers to bid your projects. Thank you!
As a resident and a construction worker this will hurt on both levels . As for the city it lowers the opportunity to get competitive bids . As a resident it is already hard as costs go up all across the board . Now this would make it harder to work where I live .
Passage of this Ordinance will exclude small/minority owned businesses from working on City projects. In addition, the City will pay more for its services. Construction projects over $ 100,000.00 require Prevailing Rates and as such non-union companies do have an advantage. As of now you have the best of both 'worlds". Passage of the Ordinance shows a militant anti-small/minority business climate giving these businesses a reason to abandon Allentown.
This ordinance will not in any way help the citizens of Allentown. We are only causing the city to limit their options. This will take away the possibility for many residents, who work locally, to be able to do work in the same city they pay their taxes to.