Tracy Municipal Code Art. 8 Local Hiring Preferences in Public Works Contracts

(a) The City Council finds and declares as follows:

(1) Due to the lack of local jobs, a percentage of the workforce residing in the City must commute long distances to find work, causing increased traffic on state highways, increased pollution, increased use of gas and other fuels, and other serious environmental impacts.

(2) Because of the lack of local jobs, many residents of the City must leave for work very early in the morning and return late in the evening, often leaving children and teenagers alone and unsupervised during the hours between school and the parents' return from work outside the area.

(3) Absentee parents and unsupervised youth can result in increased problems for families, communities, and the City as a whole, including, but not limited to, increased crime, more frequent and serious injuries, poor homework accomplishments, failing grades, and increased high school dropout rates.

(4) The City of Tracy and surrounding areas need an expanding employment base and a local hiring preference in public works contracts, which will benefit the City as a whole.

(5) The City spends significant amounts on purchasing personal property and materials, in contracting for services, and in constructing improvements to real property or to existing facilities. The funds used in making those purchases are derived, in part, from taxes, fees, and other revenues of local businesses in the City. To the extent possible, such funds should be placed back into the local economy.

(6) The construction industry is a potential path to middle income employment, and is therefore, a crucial opportunity to connect residents with economic opportunities.

(7) A local hiring preference in public works contracts will provide job opportunities to City residents, expand the area's employment base, lessen the drain on public assistance resources and reduce the impacts on the environment caused by the high unemployment and long commuting times to jobs outside the area.

(b) The purpose of this article is to ameliorate the foregoing by:

(1) Increasing the local workforce base by decreasing unemployment and thereby enhancing and retaining job skills; and

(2) Increasing local spending power, which will result in a stronger, more self-reliant economy.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

Except as otherwise expressly set forth herein, the following words and terms as used in this Article 8 shall have the following meanings:

(a) "Construction work hours" means the total hours worked on a public works contract by qualified individuals, whether those individuals are employed by a contractor or subcontractor.

(b) "Contractor" means the following:

(1) Any person or entity who submits a bid to the city for a public works contract; and/or

(2) Any person or entity who provides labor and/or materials for the City pursuant to a public works contract.

(c) "City" means the City of Tracy.

(d) "Days" means calendar days unless otherwise specified.

(e) "Local resident" means, for purposes of this Article 8 only, an individual who is legally domiciled in the City of Tracy and surrounding areas (as set out below) immediately preceding the date of the notice of solicitation or bid advertisement by the City. An individual's domicile is his or her one and only true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment. An individual shall verify his or her domicile upon request of the contractor or City by producing satisfactory documentation such as a rent/lease agreement, utility bills, a valid state-issued driver's license or identification card, or any other similar and reliable evidence. For the purpose of this Article 8 only, the residents from the following ZIP codes are considered to be a local resident: 95376, 95377, 95391, 95304, 95330, 95206, 95234, 95231, 95203, 95202, 95204, and 95205.

(f) "Public works contract" has the same meaning as set forth in Section 1101 of the California Public Contracts Code, as amended or supplanted, and as set out herein in Section 2.20.030(j).

(g) "Qualified individuals" means any and all skilled and unskilled workers, including but not limited to work site foremen, journeymen, technical engineers, apprentices, construction trainees, and construction helpers. Qualified individuals also include any and all other workers appropriate for construction activities regardless of level of skill.

(h) "Subcontractor(s)" means any person or entity that assumes by secondary contract some or all of the obligations of a contractor.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

(a) Every contractor submitting a bid to the City for a public works contract shall agree to make a good faith effort to hire qualified individuals who are local residents in sufficient numbers so that (with respect to such public works contract) no less than fifty (50) percent of the total construction workforce, including any subcontractor workforce, measured in construction work hours, is comprised of local residents.

(b) A "good faith effort" means a contractor will take the following or similar actions to recruit and maintain local residents as part of the construction workforce:

(1) Contact local recruitment sources to identify qualified individuals who are local residents;

(2) Advertise for qualified individuals who are local residents in trade papers and at least one (1) newspaper of general circulation within the City or the County of San Joaquin, unless time limits imposed under the applicable public works contract relative to the commencement and/or completion of work do not permit such advertising;

(3) With respect to any portion of a public works contract to be performed by a subcontractor, identify subcontractors whose workforce includes qualified individuals who are local residents; and

(4) Develop a written plan to recruit local residents as part of the construction workforce.

(c) Every contractor shall complete and sign under penalty of perjury a certification of good faith effort to hire local residents, on the form provided in the City's bid package, and shall submit the same with its sealed bid no later than the date and time of the bid opening.

(d) A contractor shall include in each and every subcontract relating to a public works contract, a provision whereby the subcontractor agrees to make a good faith effort to hire qualified individuals who are local residents. A contractor shall be responsible for a subcontractor's compliance with the provisions of this article.

(e) The Purchasing Agent or designee shall prescribe rules, regulations, or procedures relating to the application, administration, and interpretation of the provisions of this Article 8. Such rules, regulations, and procedures shall be consistent with the provisions of this Article 8 and may specify details and forms to be used.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

Each subcontractor for work, laborers or materialmen relating to a public works project subject to this article shall, in its contract with the prime contractor, promise to make a good faith effort (as defined in Section 2.20.340) to hire qualified individuals who are local residents and to maintain documentary evidence of such actions.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

There shall be a five (5) percent preference during the procurement process awarded to contractors that can and do certify under penalty of perjury at least thirty (30) percent of the workforce on a project are and will continue to be throughout the full duration of the project local residents within the meaning set out herein in Article 8.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

This Article 8 does not limit the contractor's or the subcontractor's ability to assess the qualifications of prospective workers, and to make final hiring and retention decisions. No provision of this Article 8 shall be interpreted so as to require a contractor or subcontractor to employ a worker not qualified for the position in question, or to employ any particular worker.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

The City may declare a bid to be nonresponsive under the provisions of this Article 8 for good cause including, but not limited to, the following circumstances:

(a) If a contractor fails to complete and sign under penalty of perjury the certificate of good faith effort to hire local residents and/or fails to submit the same with its sealed bid no later than the date and time of the bid opening; or

(b) If a contractor, or a subcontractor listed by a contractor, fails to comply with the good faith effort requirements set forth in Sections 2.20.340 and 2.20.350; or

(c) If it is determined that a contractor knowingly or recklessly submits false information in order to obtain the workforce development preference noted herein in Section 2.20.360.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

During its performance of a public works contract, a contractor, and subcontractor shall keep an accurate record on a standardized form showing the name, place of residence, trade classification, hours employed, proof of qualified individual status, per diem wages and benefits of each person employed by the contractor on the specific public works project, including full-time, part-time, permanent and temporary employees. A contractor shall require each subcontractor performing work pursuant to a public works contract awarded by the City to the contractor to maintain records of the same information for the subcontractor's workforce and shall require each subcontractor to provide a copy of such records to the contractor upon the contractor's request. A contractor shall make the records and documents set forth in this section available to the City, upon written request, within five (5) business days.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

All forms and documents required under this article shall be attested to as true as to the information set forth therein and shall be submitted under penalty of perjury.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

At least every ninety (90) days during the term of a project (or at any juncture at its sole discretion), the City may monitor and investigate compliance of any contractor and/or subcontractor with respect to the requirements of this article. The City shall have the right to engage in random inspections of job sites, subject to construction schedule and safety concerns. Each contractor and subcontractor shall allow representatives of the City, in the performance of their duties, to engage in random inspections of job sites and to have access to the employees of the contractor and subcontractor and the records required to document compliance with this article. The City, by and through the City Manager (or her/his designee) shall establish a procedure or policy for City monitoring of compliance with this article and to address allegations of noncompliance. The City shall have sole authority over the administration of this article. Violations of this article shall be subject to a penalty consistent with Chapter 1.04 of the Tracy Municipal Code. Moreover, a violation of Sections 2.20.340, 2.20.350, 2.20.360, or 2.20.380 may be referred to the District Attorney's Office or City Attorney's Office for prosecution.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)

The provisions of this article shall not apply under any of the following circumstances:

(a) When a state or federal law or regulation applicable to a particular public works contract prohibits a local hiring requirement;

(b) When the City determines (by the City Manager or her/his designee), in accordance with the requirements of this code or applicable state law, that a contract is necessary to respond to an emergency which endangers the public health, safety or welfare; or

(c) When the City determines (by the City Manager or her/his designee) that a suitable pool of qualified individuals who are local residents does not exist for a specific public works contract.

(Ord. No. 1380, 2-3-2026)