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SACRAMENTO (SACRAMENTO COUNTY)local legislationAgenda Ready

Proposal to Bypass Competitive Bidding for North 5th Street Storm Drain Project

Original title: Suspend Competitive Bidding and Issue Request for Qualification for Use in Procurement of Construction Services for the North 5th Street Parallel Storm Trunk Main Project for Department of Utilities [Two-Thirds Vote Required]

Record date · April 14, 2026

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What This Bill Does

The City Council is considering a request to waive standard requirements for the North 5th Street Parallel project. Instead, the Department of Utilities would use a 'Request for Qualification' process to select a construction contractor.

Why it matters

This action changes the procurement method for a major infrastructure project, allowing the city to select a contractor based on qualifications rather than the lowest bid, which requires a two-thirds majority vote from the City Council.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Department of Utilities

The department is authorized to change its procurement process for the specified storm drain project.

Directly affected

Construction Contractors

Contractors will be evaluated based on qualifications rather than strictly on price for this project.

Key Facts

The City Council is asked to suspend standard competitive bidding for the North 5th Street Parallel Storm Trunk Main project.
The Department of Utilities proposes using a 'Request for Qualification' (RFQ) process to procure construction services instead of traditional bidding.
Approval of this measure requires a two-thirds supermajority vote by the City Council.
The item is currently classified as a 'Consent Item' on the City Council agenda.

Show all 6 facts

The file number for this legislative action is 2026-00803.
The item was introduced on March 23, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean to 'suspend competitive bidding'?

It means the city will not automatically award the contract to the lowest bidder, but will instead use a different process to evaluate contractors based on their experience and qualifications.

Why does this require a two-thirds vote?

The document specifies that a two-thirds vote is a legal requirement for bypassing the standard process for this project.

What else do you want to know?

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Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Procurement Method Change

The city is moving away from price-centric bidding for a major storm infrastructure project in favor of a qualification-based selection process.

Department of Utilities

Connected Entities

Department of Utilities, City Council, North 5th Street Parallel Storm Trunk Main Project

OrganizationDepartment of Utilities“The department overseeing the North 5th Street Parallel Storm Trunk Main project”Map →

OrganizationCity Council“The governing body responsible for voting on the suspension of competitive biddi”Map →

otherNorth 5th Street Parallel Storm Trunk Main Project“The specific infrastructure project subject to the procurement change.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

webapi.legistar.com

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance60
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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