To: BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMISSION
From: JENNIFER PAUL, FINANCE DIRECTOR
TITLE
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DISCUSSION OF THE UNIFORM PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT ACCOUNTING ACT AND OPPORTUNITIES TO STREAMLINE PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACT PROCUREMENT
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The procurement of construction contracts for the City's capital improvement activities is regulated by the California Public Contracts Code (PCC), the City Charter and the Redondo Beach Municipal Code (RBMC), which all require the use of competitive bidding procedures when making a contract award for a public works project. These regulations can be unintentionally cumbersome for contracts of smaller value that present both lower risk of and consequences from activity that would compromise public trust. Both the City Charter and the California Uniform Public Construction Contract Accounting Act (UPCCAA) have mechanisms in place that recognize the need for lower value contracts to have less restrictive competitive bidding and awarding regulations in order to balance regulatory safeguards with expedient service to the public. This report identifies the similarities in the City's Charter, RBMC and the UPCCAA and provides potential options for the City to increase bid limits to procure contracts for public works projects in a more efficient way, while continuing to safeguard the public's trust.
BACKGROUND
The PCC is the body of law that regulates construction contracts for activities deemed to be a public works project. The set of laws is intended "to eliminate favoritism, fraud and corruption in the awarding of public contracts"1 by implementing a formal, competitive process for awarding contract work. Competitive bidding aligns with good purchasing practice and the formalities associated with state law mitigate the potential for corruption. The PCC also states that the "California public contract law should be efficient and the product of the best of modern practice and research"2 and that it should "aid pub...
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