Health & Fitness
City Bid and Contract Process Need Far More Openness and Transparency...And a Map to Find It
Councilwoman Schipske discusses improvements needed in the City's bidding and contracting processes - especially because City Manager now has contracting authority up to $250,000 without review.
Long Beach's disclosure of the bidding process and who is contracting with the City needs improving. This is especially important as the LB City Council authorized the City Manager's contracting authority up to $250,000.
If you click on the following you can view what bids the City is currently requesting. http://planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=15810#
To get there you need to wade through the City website and find Department of Financial Management and then to Purchasing. It's not easy.
Find out what's happening in Belmont Shore-Naplesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
We need to make this process more transparent and accessible.
We also need to give a preference to Long Beach based businesses who provide professional services. A preference is available for businesses that provide materials, but for advertising agencies and other professional services many, if not all contracts go outside Long Beach.
Find out what's happening in Belmont Shore-Naplesfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Finally, once a contract is awarded, we should list them on line so everyone can see.
Our current system is again not open and transparent. You need to 1) know where to find it (Not in Financial Managerment -- but the City Clerk for this one)
(http://citydocs.longbeach.gov/CityContracts/CustomSearch.aspx?SearchName=CityContracts) and 2) you can find a contract but you need to know specific information.
We need a visible listing by subject matter on the City website so that residents can quickly review all the contracts without having to play a hunting game.