Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Towing RFP topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Deadlock on police towing contract: council fails to reject sole bid or award contract, continues item
Summary
Council debated whether to reject a single timely towing proposal and re-advertise, then considered awarding the contract to the sole bidder; both motions failed after split roll calls and the council continued the item to the next meeting to resolve recusal and procurement questions.
The Huntington Park City Council failed to reach agreement on a police-towing contract after a prolonged discussion over procurement process, vendor representation and a vice mayor recusal.
Staff told the council the city issued a 45-day RFP for police towing services and received one timely proposal; another proposal arrived after the submission deadline and was disqualified. City staff recommended rejecting the sole timely proposal and re-advertising to promote competitive bidding. Staff also noted the current contract had been administratively extended and that, without changes, the existing arrangement would expire mid-February. Sergeant Parsa confirmed the contract was set to expire in mid-February and that the police department manages operational oversight for towing services.
Council members raised multiple concerns: whether pricing was fixed or set by state authorities, how staff evaluates proposals when only a single bid is received, operational continuity if the contract were not immediately awarded, and whether any person appearing at the meeting had been acting as a registered lobbyist for an applicant. Legal counsel advised that if a person had engaged in lobbying prior to submittal they may have had to register under the city's lobbying ordinance; staff also warned that evaluating a late or incomplete proposal could expose the city to a legal challenge by a timely bidder.
After debate the council took the following procedural steps: - A motion to reject the sole timely proposal and re-advertise the RFP was moved and seconded; roll call produced split votes and the motion failed. Council members cited both the desire for competitive bids and concern about penalizing a timely bidder who complied with the process. - A later motion to award the contract to the sole bidder and allow the city manager to negotiate terms was also moved and seconded; that motion likewise failed in roll call.
With recusal issues (the vice mayor recused from the item because a vendor had made a donation to an organization connected to him) and unresolved legal questions about lobbying disclosure and procurement risk, the council voted to continue the towing-services item to the next regular meeting and asked the city attorney to provide additional legal guidance.
Council members asked staff to consider a short re-solicitation window if the council wants to seek additional bids and requested the police chief attend the follow-up discussion to answer technical questions about response times, lot capacity and other operational criteria listed in the RFP.
