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Tenafly administrator proposes 10% cap on engineering fees and to avoid negotiated contracts after park overruns
Summary
In the wake of multiple change orders on capital projects, the borough administrator proposed capping professional engineering fees at 10% of project cost (15% in exceptional cases), discouraging negotiated construction contracts, and requiring engineer estimates before advancing capital projects.
Responding to recent cost overruns and numerous change orders, the Tenafly borough administrator recommended a set of policy changes intended to improve budgeting and procurement for capital projects.
The administrator proposed three principal measures: (1) cap professional engineering services at 10% of total project cost, with a maximum of 15% in extraordinary cases; (2) generally avoid entering into negotiated construction contracts and instead go back out to competitive bid even after multiple failed bids; and (3) require a professional engineer’s estimate — including conceptual design, bid documents, contract administration and inspection costs — to be produced and relied on for budgeting before a capital project advances.
The administrator said the recommendations mirror Department of Transportation practices that cap engineering costs and are intended to reduce surprises in project budgeting; council members asked clarifying questions about how exceptions would be handled and whether additional approvals would be required if engineering costs exceeded the cap. The administrator said any over‑cap engineering expenditures would still require council authorization.
The administrator also updated the council on a separate flood‑control scoping grant and mapping work being performed with drone mapping: staff reported the mapping was roughly 50% complete and covers the borough’s stormwater system including creeks, inlets and pipes.
Council members indicated support for tighter controls and asked staff to prepare potential ordinance language or formal policies to bring back for consideration.
