Pittsburgh City Council soon will be discussing legislation to forge a citywide policy for hiring contractors, with an eye on normalizing the patchwork of policies used by Pittsburgh's authorities and departments. The goal is to encourage more bids from local firms, especially those owned by women, minorities and veterans.
Council Finance Chair Ricky Burgess said he's been meeting with the Civil Service Commission, as well as the city's various authorities, to draft a bill that would make contracting policy uniform across Pittsburgh city government.
"The goal is to bring to Council legislation that would then also be passed by all these city authorities, so we have one clear process of encouraging and detailing minority participation in contracts with the city," said Burgess.
The discussion was brought on by Council's preliminary approval Tuesday of a contract with "Employers Edge" of Denver. If the measure is passed, the company will be paid nearly $25,000 to manage the city's unemployment compensation claims over the next four years, starting October 1.
City Council Human Resources Committee Chair Bill Peduto said this is a small contract that should've been awarded to a local firm, but no Pittsburgh companies even applied. He said that's proof that the city needs a better way of sending out requests for proposals (RFPs).
"A lot of companies don't even look to city contracts. They think it's a game that only some can play, and that if they haven't had a history then they don't even bother to try," said Peduto. "They don't know how to get in."
Nonetheless, Council approved the four-year, $24,849 contract for the Colorado-based financial company with seven votes. Councilwoman Theresa Smith voted no, and Councilman Patrick Dowd abstained. A final vote is scheduled for next Tuesday.
