Council suspicious of firm's unusually low bid
"We've also had numerous, numerous contractors who have gone belly up on us ..." - Carol Barrett Deputy Mayor
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A resolution awarding a landscaping job to a low-bid contractor reignited discussion on the nature of the public bidding process by the South Brunswick Township Council, leading that body to table it until more information about the company could be obtained.

The measure would have awarded Freehold-based J.H. Brothers a contract to construct some center islands in South Brunswick's Rowland Park. The company offered to do the job for $55,000, substantially lower than the other businesses which had extended offers of $95,000, $195,000 and $85,000 respectively.

While, at first glance, such an offer may seem a great bargain, Deputy Mayor Carol Barrett expressed skepticism over the choice of firm, wondering about the quality of the business's work when the offer made was so low. She urged caution, citing past examples of the township having huge problems with substandard work done by low-bid contractors, often leading to litigation.

"We've spent a lot of money on Rowland Park and we've also had numerous, numerous contractors who have gone belly up on us and it just, through lawsuits and everything else, has been a horrendous trip. ... I don't want to end up with egg on our face," Barrett said at the council's April 24 meeting.

Under state anti-corruption laws, government contracts must be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, that is, the firm that can do the work the cheapest and be relied upon to do it reasonably well. This is meant to discourage political cronyism and encourage fiscal discipline among government offices, preventing those in power from automatically awarding contracts to people who had supported them in the past.

South Brunswick officials have complained about the drawbacks of such a system, namely that sometimes a company is the low-bidder for a very good reason, several times, having been burned by problem contractors in the past. In March, the township sued two such contractors over improvements to Ridge Road and Rowland Park. In 2005, a similar suit was launched against another contractor over repairs to a sewage pump station along Route 27.

Challengers to this view have said that municipalities must also take the "responsible" part of "lowest responsible bidder" into account, stating that it's the burden of the town in question to determine whether the project might be problematic in the hands of a certain firm.

South Brunswick officials have contended that there is sometimes a lack of information about a low-bid contractor. This might be for a variety of reasons, such as a firm being new and untested, or from out of town with few local references. One of the ways to defend against this, to Barrett and other officials, is to have as much information as possible about a possible contractor before any work is awarded.

"We have lived through it before, and I just think that we have to really investigate this company," Barrett said. "I want to know facts. I want to know how long they've been in business, what their track record is. I want to know, do they have steady employees on payroll or [do they] get day workers off the corner of Main Street in Freehold?"

Township Chief Financial Officer Joseph Monzo tried to ease the council's concerns, saying that the Department of Public Works will be overseeing this project and will work to make sure everything is done to satisfaction. He also said that there can be many reasons for a disparity between bids besides just the quality of the work, such as access to equipment - if a firm has to rent equipment they don't have, the bid will be higher.

Despite this, the council still felt that more information was necessary before a reasonable decision could be made.

"They might be a great company, but the disparity in the numbers, and taking a look at the amount of work to be done ... I get very antsy about Rowland Park because it's a big investment," Councilman Charles Carley said.

Later during the meeting, council members discussed a resolution awarding a contract for roof repairs on an older section of the library, which is known to leak occasionally when it rains. They used this bid as a contrast to the last one, saying that it contained a lot of information about the businesses that had offered to do the work.

"It was a great job with providing us with references," Councilman Joseph Camarota said. "It made us able to make an educated decision."

Underscoring this, however, was still a concern over the lower of the two bidders who had offered to fix the roof. The two firms differed in their bids by about $250, though the lower bidder also, apparently, had a history of problems. Councilman Christopher Killmurray asked whether $250 really mattered if it came down to choosing between a firm with many negative reviews and one with many positive ones. Township Attorney Don Sears said it's possible, but that a hearing would have to be arranged for it.

"In the real world, you'd be able to exercise more discretion," Killmurray said.

The Rowland Park resolution was tabled until the council's May 8 meeting. In the meantime, the township will be looking into the company more thoroughly. Carley urged caution when making recommendations on public bids.

"I'd like to communicate to the folks making this recommendation to us, if these guys fall on their face, I'd like to have someone's head on a plate," Carley said.