WATCH: Why not choosing the lowest bid can be a better value for the taxpayer

• Should the lowest bid always get the contract?
• Could other factors ultimately save money?

Sometimes the person who can do it the cheapest isn’t always right for the job.

That’s been a recent change at Kelowna city hall when it comes to awarding multi-million-dollar tenders for infrastructure projects.

No longer are projects automatically given to the lowest bidder. Now, greater weight is given to the quality of the contractor through a request for proposal (RFP) process.

Previously price was everything, but now, 40 per cent of the final score is based on the price and the other 60 is the quality of the contractor, infrastructure delivery manager Brian Beach told lawmakers. Ten per cent of that 60 considers sustainability and equity programs. The other 50 is based on the quality of the team and experience.

“We find that even though the price may be low, it is not the best value for the city,” he said. “Eight or nine times out of ten it will go to the low price … but a couple of times a year it doesn’t go to low price because we know that contractor is that much better and will look to save us money.”

The new process provides greater flexibility, too, allowing teams to expedite projects even if it comes in slightly overbudget.

“It allows us to award the job, reduce the scope, or come back for more money but get on with the job,” he said. “If we get [more money], we increase the scope. If not, we’ll stay where we are.”

Beach said prior to the new process, opening a sealed bid in Kelowna or any other city was like “Russian roulette” and made it almost impossible to disqualify the lowest bid. Even if the contractor just started up the week before, disqualifying the lowest bidder could end in a lawsuit.

The new selection method, however, does lead to questions of transparency on how contractors are selected. Beach said bidders can ask the purchasing department for a debrief on why they didn’t get selected despite being the lowest.

When being evaluated, Beach said the price is left out of the bid to remove bias. The scores are then combined with the price by the purchasing department and considered.

“It’s just better value for the city,” Beach said. “I’ve had staff in the past threatening to quit, [saying], ‘I’m not working with that contractor ever again. It’s ruining my life. The stress. The fighting. The scrapping over quality of work.’ Now we don’t have to work with that contractor.”