Mobility and Infrastructure Committee
March 12, 2026

2/26/2026
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RiversideCA.gov
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR EVALUATIONS PER THE CITY VENDOR PERFORMANCE EVLUATION POLICYMobility & Infrastructure Committee MeetingMarch 12, 2026Public Works Department RiversideCA.gov2
•City Charter Section 1105 and City Municipal Code Chapter 3.16, both require the City to have a Centralized Purchasing System. •Section 601(d) of the City Charter establishes the City Manager to prepare the rules and regulations for City contracts and purchases. •City Charter Section 1109 requires City Council to award Public Works contracts exceeding $50,000 to the lowest responsible bidder. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY 2/26/2026
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•The City’s Administrative Manual provides policy guidance and procedures to all City personnel for matters affecting more than one City department. •Section 7 of the Administrative Manual is dedicated to “Purchasing and Contracting” matters. •The City adopted a “Vendor Performance Plan” which became effective in December 2022 and is identified as Item Number 07.021.00 of the Administrative Manual.BACKGROUND RiversideCA.gov4
•On December 14, 2023, the M&I Committee received an update regarding the City’s Vendor Performance Policy relating to construction contracts. •The City’s Vendor Performance Plan was presented as a practical and enforceable method to evaluate contractors and their respective performances. •The Public Works Department agreed to return to the M&I Committee at a future date to provide an update on the results of the contractor evaluations. BACKGROUND 2/26/2026
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•The purpose of a Vendor Performance Plan is to give an agency the ability to track performances of a vendor on any given service or project awarded by the City. •The Vendor Performance Plan requires the documentation of the vendor's performance by completing a Vendor Performance Evaluation Form. •Previous vendor evaluations may be used when considering contract awards on future services or construction projects.DISCUSSION RiversideCA.gov6
•The Evaluation Form contains six categories including Administration, Scope, Staff, Communications, Schedule, and Health & Safety.•These categories contain a total of 23 unique “performance expectations” that may receive an evaluation score between 0 and 5, when applicable.•A vendor must obtain a minimum 50% threshold for the completed Evaluation Form total score. Otherwise, City Council may vote to disallow the vendor for proposing on future projects for a minimum of one year. DISCUSSION 2/26/2026
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•Prior to starting any work, contractors are notified of the City’s Vendor Evaluation Policy including the potential repercussions of performing poorly. •Public Works has completed contractor evaluations on 18 separate construction projects, and most contractors are performing work at a high level.•The average scores for each of the evaluation categories do range in the lower 80th percentile. DISCUSSION RiversideCA.gov8
•Tracking evaluations assist with improving contractor performance and provides a better project for the public. •The City’s Evaluation Policy has resulted in contractors being more responsive to the City’s requirements. •The contractor’s performance tend to improve on subsequent projects they are awarded. •Public Works continues to monitor evaluation results and support the City’s Vendor Evaluation Policy. DISCUSSION 2/26/2026
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•That the Mobility & Infrastructure Committee receive and file the presentation on construction contractor evaluations as part of the City of Riverside’s Vendor Performance Evaluation Policy.RECOMMENDATION