Pontiac City Council voted on Nov. 18 to adopt a Responsible Contractor ordinance that will require prequalification and workforce-development standards for contractors and subcontractors on city construction projects.

Administration framed the ordinance as a public-safety and workforce-development measure "to make sure that contractors with whom the city enters into contracts are responsible, that they treat their employees with dignity and respect, that they ensure safe working conditions" and that contractors engage in workforce development, an administration representative said.

The ordinance defines a construction project as a city-awarded contract with an estimated value greater than $25,000. Pro Tem William Carrington moved to amend the definition to raise the threshold to $50,000, arguing the $25,000 trigger could exclude small Pontiac businesses from city work. Council discussed intermediate options; the mayor suggested a compromise threshold such as $35,000. The amendment to raise the threshold to $50,000 failed (vote recorded as 2 yeas, 5 nays).

City Attorney Castro explained that the ordinance’s prequalification uses a scoring approach: a contractor that achieves a score of 80% or greater on the city’s prequalification criteria may be certified as a responsible contractor; certification is valid for two years. Castro also said that the scoring system means a contractor does not have to meet every single criterion to be considered eligible if other criteria compensate.

The council adopted the ordinance on final roll call 6–0. Administration and the mayor said staff would need to finalize the prequalification questionnaire and allocate staff capacity to implement the program. The ordinance as written takes effect 30 days after adoption unless council votes otherwise, allowing a brief window for staff to finish the scoring instrument.

Supporters said the ordinance establishes professional standards and a pipeline for workforce development and apprenticeship participation; critics argued aspects of the workforce-development requirement (specifically registered-apprenticeship participation) might be a barrier for very small, local contractors and asked for implementation flexibility.

Council members said the city reserves discretion under procurement law to reject awards if no bidders meet the responsible-contractor criteria, and that the ordinance includes language preserving options such as best-value determinations.

The council did not identify new staffing levels at the Nov. 18 meeting but flagged that the program will require additional administrative capacity to operate the prequalification and certification process.