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Council approves on-call consultant bench after questions about oversight and spending
Summary
The council approved a staff recommendation to add an on-call bench of four firms for project management, construction management and inspection services after staff said capital project volume justified the procurement and after council members pressed for more reporting on firm performance and selection criteria.
The Norwalk City Council approved a staff recommendation to establish an on-call bench of consultants to provide project management, construction management and inspection services citywide.
Public Services presented Request for Proposals No. 25-815, which drew 19 submissions. Staff proposed shortlisting four firms for a three-year term with two one-year extension options and described an estimated not-to-exceed annual allowance of $500,000 per firm for on-call task orders. Albert Mendoza, who presented the item for staff, said the council’s capital program this fiscal year totals roughly $180 million and that staffing needs justified prequalifying a pool to avoid delays.
Several council members pushed staff for more transparency about selection criteria, historical use of consultants and fiscal controls. Vice Mayor Margarita Rios asked for a spreadsheet showing active consultant contracts, past spending and anticipated project assignments; she also urged excluding firms with poor track records. Councilmember Anna Valencia and Councilmember Rick Ramirez said they wanted documentation on how the four firms were shortlisted and the scoring criteria used in the RFP evaluation.
Mendoza said staff uses a quality-based selection process, may interview top-ranked firms, and will return to council if task orders exceed identified funding thresholds. He added staff will bring back a report showing active contracts and clarify earlier questions about funding sources.
The consent calendar—including the item that implements the staff recommendation—passed on roll call with a 3–2 result after individual positions were recorded: some members expressed support conditioned on receipt of the requested documentation, while one member recorded a 'no' on item 5 and the vice mayor abstained on that item.
Looking ahead, council members requested a future report summarizing current consultant contracts, historical expenditures and the scoring criteria used to shortlist firms.
