July
2, 2014
Imperial
Valley Press
By
Krista Daly
A year-long investigation from
the Imperial County civil grand jury revealed that the method in which El Centro
bids out certain street projects may have been intended for only one bidder to
win those contracts.
An Asphalt-Rubber
Aggregate Membrane (ARAM) seal and overlay rehabilitation project is the
preferred choice of the city of El Centro because it tends to last longer
in a high-temperature environment. It has been utilized in 10 of 14 projects
since 2005 and the city has awarded bids to contractors who could use ARAM,
which up until recently was only one contractor — Manhole Adjusting Inc.
The system is not used for new
streets, but it is a process saved for rehabilitation projects, said Abraham
Campos, El Centro senior engineer.
He said ARAM is just a piece of
the project. The street gets grinded, regular asphalt is laid down, then ARAM
is applied and the pavement system is the final piece.
“We like the material. We
shouldn’t have to take an inferior performing material,” said City Manager
Ruben Duran.
Duran explained that experience
is a requirement to be considered for a bid and some companies did not have the
experience of putting down the material. Two companies now have that
experience.
“When someone is producing
exactly what you need, do you downgrade your specs?” Duran asked. “The other
materials are not equivalent. If you’re asking us to take an inferior product,
is that good for the taxpayers’ dollar?”
After reviewing documents and
conducting interviews relating to the issue, the civil grand jury made two
findings. The first is the “pre-qualification forms used in bid documents for
all ARAM projects appears to have been written in a manner in which only one
contractor can meet the requirement” because the forms are so specific as far
as location and time frame of representative projects.
Secondly, the grand jury found
El Centro Public Works has given the appearance that proper procedures were not
followed.
“California has applicable laws
for such things which may have been violated,” according to the grand jury
report.
The grand jury made two
recommendations off of the findings. The first is that Public Works needs to
“eliminate the use of the pre-qualification forms or change the language to
allow for fair and competitive bidding practices that comply with California
Public Contract Code, specifically Section 3400.” Most importantly, El Centro
Public Works must ensure it is not in violation of California laws or any other
laws that apply here.
“I think we’re keeping with the
council and being good stewards of the public’s money,” said El Centro Council
Member Sedalia Sanders. “I don’t think any exclusive contractor was given this
option.”
Sanders said the ARAM portion
of the rehabilitation process was important in order to have the life
expectancy desired for the roads. Despite having a higher cost up front, in
looking at costs over five years or even 10 years, the ARAM projects will be
less expensive to maintain than other materials, she said.
Duran said the city has
struggled with the grand jury through this investigation because the jury did
not have one person who took the lead. He also said the city provided all the
documentation it had available, but the grand jury had asked for reports that
were not yet created, which the city could not do.
“We will absolutely comply with
the two (recommendations),” Duran said.
He said the city is working to
change the language of the bid documents to describe what they want in a more
generic way. Their original document language came from a collaboration of
input from the state Department of Transportation as well as other cities using
ARAM.
“We never intended to violate
any of the laws,” he said. A written response will be drafted and taken before
the City Council within 90 days.
Water/wastewater finances
El Centro’s Water and
Wastewater departments were also investigated by the grand jury in 2012-2013
with several recommendations made. The city responded as it was required to,
but stated it could not comply with one aspect of the findings.
That aspect, the
uncollectables, was investigated again this year. In fiscal year 2012, the city
had more than $500,000 in bad debt on its expense report, but it was a
culmination of four years of uncollectables.
The grand jury recommended
implementing new strategies including requiring valid identifying information
such as a Social Security number to open an account, having late fees based
upon a percentage of the total bill, requiring a deposit before re-establishing
service on a disconnected account and increasing reconnection fees to match the
expense to the city.
Duran said the city was
concerned about sharing Social Security numbers and needed to further look into
how to safely share that with collections agencies. The city does have a secure
system in place now to provide identities, he said.
As for the increases in fees or
requiring a deposit, Duran said the city does its best to work with the
individuals who are running late on payments. The uncollectables are
collected, but not to where it is going to cost the individual even more money
when they are usually already struggling financially.
El Centro staff also monitors
uncollectables on a monthly basis.
The grand jury concluded,
“...it appears the city has revisited policies and has considered changes that
might help manage its uncollectable putting them in a better position of
steward of public money and trust.”
No response is required from
the city in regard to this issue.
Staff Writer Krista Daly can be
reached at 760-337-3445 or kdaly@ivpressonline.com
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