Public Works Board broadens 'bid set‑aside' policy, renames it 'additional funding policy' to allow targeted supplemental awards

The Public Works Board voted July 10 to amend its long-standing bid set-aside account policy—renaming it the 'additional funding policy'—and to broaden when projects may receive supplemental funding during construction, emergency work or select preconstruction activities.

Max Whiting, reporting for the traditional committee, said the prior policy focused narrowly on awarding up to $500,000 to construction projects that received higher-than-expected bids. The committee and staff proposed broadening the policy to allow additional funding in several circumstances: to cover higher hard-bid costs for construction projects, to provide flexibility for emergency projects that did not go to bid, to allow component-for-component scope swaps that are comparable, and to permit certain preconstruction increases (design, land or easement inflation, regulatory-driven changes) within prescribed caps.

On construction costs, Whiting said the committee majority recommended limiting additional funding to actual hard costs rather than auxiliary costs such as construction management or inspection. "The committee was majority in favor of recommending only actual hard costs toward the bid," he said. Some members urged staff to add a clearer definition of 'auxiliary components' in the policy language so recipients understand what costs are eligible.

Board members voiced concerns about limiting the board’s exposure and about setting percent-based or dollar caps for fairness; staff acknowledged those concerns and said the traditional committee will continue to assess potential percent limits. The board moved and passed the staff recommendation to expand policy flexibility and rename the policy; the motion passed by voice vote.

The change aims to give staff and the board greater ability to respond to unforeseen costs during project delivery while maintaining guardrails against open-ended 'scope creep.' Staff said the policy preserves time-of-performance limits for projects and retains process controls such as attestation that applicants have governing-body approval for additional-funding requests.

Next steps: staff will prepare final policy language incorporating clarifying definitions (for example, auxiliary costs) and the board will consider any drafting amendments through the committee process before publishing the updated policy.