Council approves budget amendment to create vendor portal for grass-cutting on private properties

The New Iberia City Council on Sept. 2 approved a special ordinance amending the budget to fund a grass-cutting program aimed at contracting prequalified private vendors to mow overgrown private properties that the city would otherwise abate.

Staff described a portal-based, reverse-bid process: public-works will post photos and brief descriptions of properties to be cut, prequalified contractors with required insurance and qualifications will be able to place descending bids (reverse auction), and the city will accept the lowest responsible bid within a short bidding window. "It's a reverse bid. So if it starts at $200 the bid is going down not up," staff explained.

Council and staff discussed qualification criteria and timing. Staff said they will require minimum commercial automobile and liability insurance and certain contractor documents prior to bidding. The initial rollout will prioritize a batch of properties (staff noted more than 70 needing service) and use short bid windows of three or four days to keep pace with the demand. If no contractor bids on a property, public-works will perform the work and the city will attempt to rebid the property later.

Council members asked staff to solicit contractors broadly; staff said they had posted on Facebook and planned direct outreach to licensed grass-cutting services. Councilman David Merrill moved to open and later to adopt the budget amendment; Councilman Ron Davis seconded the main motion. The council voted to approve the program budget and directed staff to proceed with outreach and to return with an operational plan.