Posted by Citizen
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on May 21, 2018 at 6:33 am

[Post removed; keep it civil.]

Posted by Lynne Bramlett
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on May 23, 2018 at 9:30 am
Lynne Bramlett is a registered user.

Unless I've missed something, California State law does not support attorney Bill McClure's assertions regarding the competitive bidding process for public contracts. His comments are not accurate according to Public Service Ethics Laws (pg 64),Web Link The document states, "The contract for a competitively bid public project must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder. A responsible bidder is one who is able to perform the contract if awarded." According to this document, McClure's assertion -- that MP has to accept the "lowest bid" even if the "contractor is not adequately qualified or has a history of poor work" is not correct. That type of contractor would not be deemed "responsible" as per state law. MP staff needs to neutrally and accurately convey the facts in their staff reports and public comments. The public contracting laws exist to keep "contracts from being steered to business or individuals because of political connections, friendship, favoritism, corruption or other factors. It also assures that the public receives the best value for its money by promoting competition among businesses." Given the ongoing news, pertaining to possible ethical violations on the part of some of our elected officials, and questions about staff's overly strong role in the policy making process -- the document is a timely and useful source for residents.