Reccommending City's Board of Public works Update it's "Sewer Insurance Program Policy" to Include Suspension Provisions for and Required Reporting to Common Council Be Resumed Immediately

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Resolution Addressing Recommendations to the City Administration Page 2 y the Common Council recommends that the Board of Public Works immediately consider updating its Sewer Insurance Program Policy which the Board approved on November 12, 2013, to allow for the suspension of any contractor who is suspected of violating any federal or state law, or whose activities may indicate a lack of business integrity which may seriously affect the responsibilities and duties of a contractor to the potential detriment of the City, under this Program; and the Common Council notes that the U.S. Congress have held many hearings on suspension and debarment in light of the "magnitude of federal spending on contracts and reports that agencies awarded contracts to vendors who previously allegedly engaged in misconduct"; and the Council has found that the City of Indianapolis utilizes in their "standard general conditions" provisions on debarment and suspension whereby a contractor doing business with the City certifies that neither the entity or its principals are "...presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from or ineligible for participation in any federal assistance program... "; requires the contractor"... not to subcontract with any party which is debarred or suspended or is otherwise excluded from or ineligible for participation in and federal assistance program... "; and requires the contract to "...provide immediate notice .... if, at any time .... it is debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, voluntarily excluded from or become ineligible for participation in any federal assistance program [with] such event being cause for termination..."; and by analogy, at the federal level, the Code of Federal Regulations provide in part in Subpart 9.402 Debarment, Suspension, and Ineligibility that sanctions such as suspension may "...be imposed only in the public interest for the Government's protection and not for purposes of punishment ", and that "agencies are encouraged to establish methods and procedures for coordinating their debarment or suspension actions" (Emphasis added). r r Section I. The South Bend Common Council believes that the City of South Bend has a duty and responsibility to protect and safeguard all public funds by the most efficient mechanisms possible, which include having reasonable practices, policies, procedures and standards for all governmental contracts. Section II. The Common Council farther believes that in light of the amount of taxpayer monies spent on contracts, and the ongoing investigation of at least one contractor doing business with the Board of Public Works, that there is a need for the Board to immediately review and revise its Sewer Insurance Program Policy of November 12, 2013, in order to protect the public interest and regain the public trust. Section III. The Common Council therefore recommends that the Board of Public Works immediately review and update the Sewer Insurance Program's policies pursuant to all governing laws to ensure that contractors who fail to fulfill their legal or contractual obligations have their due process rights properly