RECOMMENDATION: (Summary)
Adopt an ordinance amending the debt provisions of Chapter 15 of the Code of Ordinance in an effort to streamline procurement paperwork and reduce barriers to doing business with the city.
SPECIFIC EXPLANATION:
Council’s acceptance of this ordinance amendment enables the consolidation of a number of forms that must be submitted by entities that respond to competitive procurements. One of the forms in-scope includes the Affidavit of Ordinance, which is required by Article VIII, Chapter 15 of the Code of Ordinances. This particular Request for Council Action helps simplify the process of determining indebtedness of vendors doing business with the City of Houston.
Since 2003, the City of Houston has required payment of debt by any entity seeking a city contract. To identify owners of such entities, the Controller’s Office promulgated a notarized Affidavit of Ownership form to be completed by any entity submitting a bid, proposal, or other response to a competitive solicitation. The standard for ownership for this form had been set at 5%.
The proposed amendment to Chapter 15 will eliminate the requirement of a notarized affidavit, as unsworn declarations have been determined the legal equivalent by the state legislature. The amendment will also change the ownership standard to 10% to be consistent with the Fair Campaign Ordinance requirement.
The proposed amendments also include two housekeeping items. First, vendors who wish to dispute the finding of delinquent taxes being owed will now do so with the delinquent tax collection firm. The appeals panel ascribed in existing ordinance had not been utilized and clerical appeals are currently handled by the delinquent tax collection firm. Second, the language regarding “qualified entities” has been removed.
These amendments will not affect the City’s collection of debt from potential vendors and contractors, but they will enable the Strategic Procurement Division of Finance to work with the Controller’s Office to update the related form and to merge it with other related vendor information requests, streamline the appeals process, and otherwise simplify the process vendors need to go through to be awarded a City Contract.