Greater Reading Chamber Alliance wants changes to city's Responsible Contractor Ordinance

Sep. 26—Discussions about changing Reading's Responsible Contractor Ordinance are premature, City Council members say.

The ordinance passed in December sets forth certification requirements for contractors bidding on public projects over $250,000.

It requires contractors to maintain the capacity, expertise, personnel and other resources necessary to successfully complete public projects in a timely, reliable and cost-effective manner.

It also requires contractors to pay their workers prevailing wages and offer state-approved apprenticeship programs.

But Jim Gerlach, CEO of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance, said the ordinance is unclear and prevents most local contractors from bidding on public projects.

GRCA is asking council to consider making some amendments, Gerlach said at a recent council committee of the whole meeting.

"(We) hope that we can find some common ground and possibly a good solution to what we think are problems that exists with the current ordinance's language," he said, "particularly, its impact on fairness and the ability of local contractors to be able to compete for the projects."

Katherine Hetherington Cunfer, GRCA's director of government and community relations, and several contractors and developer Alan Shuman also spoke in favor of amending the ordinance.

Critics say the requirements keep local contractors from bidding and increase costs.

Council also heard from supporters of the law who say the apprentice-program requirement helps train the local workforce and that paying prevailing wages does not increase costs.

The issue is not one of union versus nonunion, said Patrick Dolan, president of Dolan Construction, but as the ordinance stands, only union contractors can meet the requirements.

"The language of the current ordinance does make compliance exclusionary," he said, "even for well-qualified nonunion contractors."

Nationally, he said, about 12% of the construction workforce is represented by a union.

"We feel that number is probably greatly diminished within our own county," he noted.

Dolan said his team reviewed his company's database of those local contractors that regularly work with his company on projects.

Of the 1,130 contractors in the database, he said, only 12, or a little over 1%, are union companies.

"So this clearly tells us that the ordinance language should be more inclusive to assist finding local construction workers who are qualified to perform the work," Dolan said.

"Making sure that people who live in Reading get the opportunity to work on projects in Reading should be the goal," she said.

As written, Hetherington Cunfer said, the ordinance has some key structural issues that lead to confusion for potential bidders on Reading city projects,

When the ordinance applies and other matters are unclear, Gerlach said.

Requiring bidding contractors to offer a Class A, or state registered, apprenticeship is a main sticking point of the ordinance, Hetherington Cunfer said.

"One of the issues with registered apprenticeships is the limitations on how many people can be accepted into them," Hetherington Cunfer explained in an interview after the meeting. "So that's a problem."

If a goal of the ordinance is workforce development, Hetherington Cunfer said, then such opportunities should come from more than just one pipeline.

There are apprentice programs that are not state registered, she said, but are still considered good programs.

In a March 9 letter addressed to council President Donna Reed and Mayor Eddie Moran on behalf of GRCA, Gerlach asked for clarification on issues, including the type of projects covered by the ordinance, goals of the ordinance, apprenticeship restrictions and other areas.

To date, there has been no response from the city, he said, and GRCA has filed a right-to-know request.

The city did not respond to the Reading Eagle's similar request for clarification.

Gerlach and others called for the formation of a committee of council members and stakeholders to consider changes that could increase the number of qualified local contractors eligible to bid on city projects covered by the ordinance.

But council members say it is still too early to evaluate and propose changes.

In the nine months since the law was adopted, only one public project has been subject to its conditions, Managing Director William Heim said.

That was for heating and cooling upgrades to the Plum and Franklin streets fire station, according to city Solicitor Fred Lachat.

"I'm not going to be supporting a committee," Councilwoman Melissa Ventura said. "I feel like it's too early to even tell if it's working."

Lachat agreed more information is needed before discussions of any major changes can take place.

He agreed, however, that some of the ordinance's wording should be revised for clarity.