Soliciting Firms on Small Works Roster to Bid

Public agencies in the State of Washington who chose to establish and maintain a Small Works Roster must follow the solicitation requirements outlined in state law (RCW 39.04.155).

Projects Not Advertised:  Small Works Roster projects ($300,000 and under) are not publicly advertised.  Instead, public agencies solicit the firms on the roster or appropriate rosters (if separate rosters by trade or geography have been established) when a project arises. 

Roster Solicitation Requirements:  The following chart identifies the requirements for soliciting firms on the Roster with bidding opportunities.  

For each dollar range threshold below, there are two options for solicitation: 

1. Solicit all firms on the Roster (or appropriate rosters), or 
2. Solicit five contractors, which comes with the requirement to "equitably distribute" opportunities to all firms on the Roster over time. 

In other words, it's not okay to simply go to the same firms on the Roster time after time, and ignore others on the Roster.

Audit Finding:  The Washington State Auditor's Office recently issued an audit finding against the Town of Woodway in Snohomish County regarding the use of their Small Works Roster.  The Town had a storm drainage project estimated to cost $184,765.  Because it was estimated to cost $150,000 or more, the Town had an obligation to either solicit from all the contractors on the Roster, or to solicit from at least five contractors, and notify the remaining contractors on the Roster of the opportunity.  The Town solicited bids from seven contractors, but did not notify the other contractors on the Roster that it was soliciting bids.

Procedures:  Does your agency have procedures in place to ensure that the Small Works Roster is being used appropriately?

Additional Audit Findings:  The same audit report found that the Town of Woodway also failed to withhold retainage or obtain a retainage bond on a different public works project.  On a third public works project, the Town released retainage before receiving releases from the Department of Revenue, Employment Security Department, and the Department of Labor and Industries.

Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog 

© 2012 by Michael E. Purdy Associates, LLC 

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