Crystal Thomas
The State Journal-Register
Springfield City Council members unanimously voted Tuesday to strengthen an ordinance that encourages contractors to have city residents work on at least half of the hours needed for city construction projects worth more than $100,000.
With the changes, contractors who don’t make any effort to hire locally can be barred from bidding on city construction projects for up to three years, and those that do use a crew made up of more than 50 percent local workers will be awarded.
The changes were made to a local labor ordinance passed in 2016. It fined contractors who failed to utilize enough Springfield workers on city construction jobs. If a contractor used no local labor, it could be fined up to 2.5 percent of the total bid — a $25,000 penalty on a $1 million construction contract.
Now, contractors can be rewarded using the same formula. If all Springfield labor is used on a construction job, the company would receive an additional 2.5 percent of the total bid.
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Crack-filling delayed again
Part of the urgency to make sure the labor ordinance had teeth came after city council members learned Mokena-based Denler Inc., a contractor who won a bid to fill Springfield’s cracked roads last year, didn’t use any local labor and built the subsequent $14,000 fine into its bid.
The same contract to fill cracks in several roads in Springfield, including Chatham Road, is front of the city council once more. Members voted on Tuesday to delay awarding Denler the contract again, after an ordinance to do so appeared in front of council more than a month ago.
Denler was chosen this year because its bid was more than $80,000 less than two other competitors. Since the bid specified the company had to try to hire local, Denler said he will use PeopleReady, a local employment agency with an apprenticeship program, to find workers.
Office of Public Works director Mark Mahoney warned the council it was running out time to deliberate. Most city construction projects aim to be completed by Nov. 15.
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Denler Inc. provided council members with a certification of PeopleReady’s apprenticeship program and noted it has already identified the three to four local workers it would need to meet the 50 percent requirement.
Two aldermen, Ward 7′s Joe McMenamin and Ward 4′s John Fulgenzi, voted against sending the ordinance back to committee.
McMenamin said aldermen who voted to delay the contract were seeking to protect local labor unions. Denler Inc. did not choose to go to the local union hall to find workers.
“I think aldermen need to put our city, our neighborhoods and our streets first,” McMenamin said in an interview.
If a contract is not awarded soon, the roads will most likely remain unfilled and will deteriorate further, requiring more expensive and time-consuming repairs, Mahoney said.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 