Outsourcing Leads the Way

With increasing regularity, cities across the nation decide to outsource their landscape maintenance to private landscape contractors. In a recent example, the Milpitas, California has contracted out to a local firm. The city contracted Terracare Associates to provide landscape maintenance services.

To decrease the fiscal budget, the Milpitas sought private contractor bids for their landscape needs. Terracare Associates was selected based on an intricate scoring system created to consider crucial factors such as, experience, reputation, qualifications, references, and price.

Outsourcing Complicated By Prevailing Wage Laws

In Attleboro, Massachusetts, the state Attorney General?EUR??,,????'???s Office recently threw out a $683,000 bid for school athletic field maintenance, saying the school department violated public bidding laws. At issue are prevailing wage laws, which are the minimum rates that can be paid in various labor classifications on public works projects in Massachusetts.

The decision could cost the city additional money because the project would be covered by prevailing wage laws. Assistant Attorney General Deborah Anderson wrote in her decision that grading and removal of sod come under Chapter 39M of state law, the public works bidding statute, which applies to contracts worth more than $10,000.