Ballot Measure A passes in Tuesday’s election, creating more flexibility for choosing contractors for major city projects.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—Santa Barbara voters strongly supported the measure a city charter amendment in Tuesday’s election— with a little over 73% yes votes counted. 

Ballot measure a has changed the city charter so that Public Works doesn’t have to pick the lowest bidder for every construction contract.

When it comes to complex projects like renovating historical buildings cheaper isn’t always what’s best for the city or its residents.

Public Works Director Cliff Maurer uses this analogy to explain the downside with low bidding model:

“If a normal brake job costs $300 and some mechanics said, I can do that for 100, you would probably be really skeptical as to whether you're going to get good value and whether you want to put your brakes on your car in the hands of someone who's doing it for a price it can’t be done for,” said Maurer.
 
The low bidding model deters contractors from submitting proposals for fear of wasting time on a project that will automatically go to the lowest bidder. 

Measure A will allow for more competition— because instead of basing a hiring decision off of price— Public Works will be hiring based on a variety of factors including efficiency and expertise. 

Best value contracting gives public works more options to choose from for complex projects like the Carillo Gym.
 
“ If you can bring more qualified contractors to the table in the end, the best value that our residents, our businesses receive out of this will be higher at a lower cost. So that's fantastic,” said Maurer.

Still, some taxpayers are still concerned that this would charge them more than they’re willing to spend on these projects. 
 
But Public Works says measure a will actually save taxpayers money in the long term. 
 
“The price, I think, will be very similar to what it was in the past with just low bid. But the difference is it'll be higher quality. Hopefully it will be delivered sooner. And because it's higher quality. The cost to own that building. So are the annual maintenance costs. The repair costs will be much lower,” said Maurer.
  
With Measure A now passed, the city council can adopt an ordinance with new contracting rules.
 
Low bidding options will still exist for more straightforward projects like sidewalk repairs. 
 
The more complex projects is where Measure A will make its mark.