Willows council adopts citywide contract template to standardize agreements

The Willows City Council unanimously adopted a standard contract template April 8 intended for city agreements over $10,000.

City Attorney presented the draft template as a “foundation” for future contracts and said a standardized agreement would protect the city while still allowing scope‑specific changes. Council approved a motion to adopt the template as the city’s standard for larger contracts; the motion passed 5‑0.

In discussion, council members asked whether the template addresses prevailing wage requirements for public‑works contracts. The city attorney explained that the template is intended to be modular and that specific requirements — including prevailing wage and other project‑specific terms — would be inserted into Attachment A (the contract’s scope of services) for the relevant solicitation or request for proposals. The attorney noted some vendors and state agencies sometimes insist on using their own forms and said staff would negotiate to preserve the city’s preferred terms where feasible.

Councilmembers praised the standardization as a time‑saver for staff and a way to ensure consistent legal protections across vendors. The motion to adopt the template specified use for projects or services that exceed $10,000; the motion passed unanimously.

The council directed staff to begin using the template and to flag any instances where negotiations require deviations from the standard form. No fiscal appropriation was required at the time of adoption; the template sets contracting practice but individual contracts will come back for approval as required.