§ 15-1-113 — Contracts for public improvements

(a) All contracts for any type of public improvement,
excluding contracts for professional services or where the
primary purpose is emergency work or maintenance, for any city
or town or joint powers board wherein at least one (1) member is
a municipality shall be advertised for bid or for response if a
request for proposal or qualification for construction manager
agent, construction manager at risk or design-builder is used,
if the estimated cost, including all related costs, exceeds a
bid threshold of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00),
except that a contract for the purchase or lease of a new
automobile or truck shall be advertised regardless of cost and
if there is an automobile or truck for trade-in, it shall be
included as a part of the advertisement and bid. The
requirements of W.S. 15-1-112(a) do not apply to any city or
town trading in an automobile or truck on the purchase of a new
automobile or truck.
(b) The advertisement shall be published on two (2)
different occasions, at least seven (7) days apart, in a
newspaper having general circulation in the city or town, or if
a joint powers board in any city or town which is a member of
the board. The published notice shall state the place, date and
time when the bids or proposals will be received and bids will
be publicly opened and the place where interested persons may
obtain complete specifications of work to be performed.
(c) If the contract is let for bid, the contract shall be
let to the lowest bidder who shall be determined qualified and
responsible in the sole discretion of the governing body. The
governing body may use alternate design and construction
delivery methods as defined under W.S. 16-6-701 if deemed
appropriate. The governing body may reject all bids or responses
submitted if it finds that none of them would serve the public
interest. For contracts in excess of five hundred thousand
dollars ($500,000.00), cities, towns and joint powers boards may
prequalify contractors who wish to submit bids or responses
based on such criteria as the project type and experience,
expertise, professional qualifications, past performance, staff
proposed, schedule proposed, financial strength, qualification
of supervisors proposed to be used, technical solutions proposed
or references.
(d) Every contract shall be executed by the mayor or in
his absence or disability, by the president or other presiding
officer of the governing body and by the clerk or designee of
the governing body. The successful bidder or respondent shall
furnish to the city, town or joint powers board a bond or other
form of guarantee in accordance with W.S. 16-6-112. A successful
bidder shall not be required to furnish a bond or other form of
guarantee if the contract is for the purchase or lease of a new
automobile or truck that costs less than one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000.00).
(e) Before advertising for a bid for any work on the
construction of any public improvements and except as provided
under W.S. 16-6-707 for alternate design and construction
delivery methods, detailed plans and specifications shall be
prepared, together with an estimate of the probable cost and a
form of the proposed contract. A city, town or joint powers
board may withhold a percentage of the calculated value of any
work completed as retainage in accordance with W.S. 16-6-702(b).
No progress payment may be made until the city or town engineer
or designated local official has furnished the estimate,
together with a certificate that the amount of work estimated to
have been done conforms in all material respects with the
requirements of the contract. A joint powers board may designate
an official of any member city or town to perform the functions
required by this subsection.
(f) In advertising for any bid, the forms of guarantee
required under this section and approved by the city, town or
joint powers board shall be specified. In addition, bidders
shall be required to accompany each bid with a bid bond or if
the bid is one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000.00) or
less, any other form of bid guarantee approved by the city, town
or joint powers board, equal to at least five percent (5%) of
the total bid amount, with sufficient surety and payable to the
city, town or joint powers board. Bidders shall not be required
to accompany a bid with a bid bond or other form of bid
guarantee if the bid is for the purchase or lease of a new
automobile or truck that costs less than one hundred thousand
dollars ($100,000.00). The bid guarantee shall be forfeited as
liquidated damages if the bidder, upon the letting of the
contract to him, fails to enter into the contract within thirty
(30) days after it is presented to him for that purpose or fails
to proceed with the performance of the contract. The bid
guarantee shall be retained by the city, town or joint powers
board until proper bond or other form of security satisfactory
to the city, town or joint powers board to secure performance of
the contract has been filed and approved. The right to reject
any bid is reserved in all bid advertisements. All bids shall
be numbered consecutively before they are opened and no further
bids may be received after the advertised time of opening bids
and any bid is publicly opened. The city, town or joint powers
board shall give all persons who desire an opportunity to
inspect all bids when they are opened. No bid may be considered
unless accompanied by a bid guarantee in the required amount.
(g) No contract for which a bond or other form of
financial guarantee approved by the city, town or joint powers
board is required or for the purchase or lease of a new
automobile or truck that is subject to the advertising
requirements of subsection (a) of this section may be assigned
or transferred in any manner except by operation of law or
consent of the governing body endorsed on the contract.
Assignment by any other means renders the contract null and void
as to any further performance by the contractor or the assignee,
without any act on the part of the city, town or joint powers
board. The city, town or joint powers board may at once proceed
to relet the contract or may at its discretion proceed to
complete the contract as agent at the expense of the contractor
and his sureties.
(h) The city, town or joint powers board shall issue
payments to contractors in accordance with W.S. 16-6-116(a).
(j) Any officer or employee of the city, town or joint
powers board who aids any bidder or respondent in securing a
contract to furnish labor, material or supplies at a higher or
lower price than that proposed by any other bidder or
respondent, or who favors one bidder or respondent over another
by giving or withholding information, or who willfully misleads
any bidder or respondent in regard to the character of the
material or supplies called for, or who knowingly certifies to a
greater amount or different kind of material or supplies than
has been actually received, is guilty of malfeasance, which
renders his office vacant.
(k) If an officer or employee is charged under subsection
(j) of this section:
(i) The officer or employee:
(A) Is entitled to a hearing before the
governing body;
(B) Shall be served a copy of the charge at
least ten (10) working days before the hearing;
(C) May present a defense in person or by
counsel; and
(D) May have the finding of the governing body
appealed to the district court.
(ii) The governing body of the city, town or joint
powers board shall hold a hearing on its own motion or when the
charge is signed by at least ten (10) qualified electors of the
city or town, or in the case of a joint powers board ten (10)
qualified electors of any member city or town and:
(A) May compel attendance and testimony of
witnesses and production of papers;
(B) Shall make findings of fact and conclusions
of law; and
(C) Shall render a conclusive decision upon a
majority vote of the governing body.
(m) Any officer or employee of the city, town or joint
powers board found guilty of malfeasance with regard to a
contract shall be punished by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000.00).
(n) If any person to whom a contract has been awarded has
colluded with any person to prevent any other competing bids
being made, or has entered into an agreement by which he has
made a higher or lower bid than some other person for the
purpose of dividing the contract or profits therefrom between
two (2) or more bidders, the contract is null and void, and the
mayor or manager or joint powers board shall advertise for new
bids or upon approval of the governing body provide for the work
to be done under the mayor's, manager's or board's own
supervision and control.
(o) Any contract made in violation of the provisions of
this section is void, and any money paid on account of the
contract by the city, town or joint powers board may be
recovered without restitution of the property or benefits
received or retained.
(p) Every contract of the kind specified in this section
shall contain a provision expressly referring to this section
and making it a part of the contract.
(q) A public improvement shall not be divided into smaller
units for the sole purpose of avoiding the advertising
requirement of this section.
(r) For purposes of this section "related costs" includes,
but are not limited to, labor, labor burden, materials,
transportation, storage, equipment, associated overhead and
associated depreciation.
(s) As used in this section, a contract for public
improvement shall not include an arrangement in which a
municipality can accomplish an energy or water efficiency
project without upfront capital costs or capital appropriations
by compensating an energy or water efficiency contractor over
time from guaranteed savings in energy or water costs that
result from the project.
(t) If a city, town or joint powers board is unsuccessful
in acquiring a bid as provided by this section, the city, town
or joint powers board may proceed to acquire a vehicle or
equipment for which the bid was sought through a solicitation
process, provided that the cost of vehicle or equipment to be
obtained under this subsection shall not exceed two hundred
fifty thousand dollars ($250,000.00).