By Andrew Cass, The News-Herald
POSTED: 04/30/18, 3:22 PM EDT
A sizable group of labor union representatives packed into the Lake County commissioners’ chambers to show support for a resolution updating the county’s responsible contractor checklist for infrastructure projects
Commissioner John Hamercheck said the resolution was part of a yearlong process, gaining steam in the past three months. It passed unanimously at the board’s most recent meeting.
“It sets the rules for how we’re going to do capital improvements at the county level,” Commissioner Daniel P. Troy said.
Troy also said he thinks that it ensures that the taxpayers – who are paying for the projects, be it through federal, state or local funds – are getting the best return on their investment.
“The way I look at it, it’s putting this in place so we’re not sitting here trying to determine who is the lowest bidder and who is the best bidder,” he said. “It’s still the law, but sometimes that becomes very difficult.”
Basically, he added, they’re setting criteria that is going to help ensure they pay “the right people the right amount of money to do the job the right way the first time.”
“What we’re looking for in this responsible contract language is furnishing of records as to that contractor’s performance on other projects, how they have complied with statutes that we have to comply with in terms of prevailing wage, payments of benefits etc.,” he said.
