City's New Procurement System Will Decrease Bid System Fees – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

June 12, 2017
City Council’s Audit, Finance, and Administration Committee will vote Monday for a new procurement system which will decrease fees for bidders.
The City will partner with Hamilton’s two English language school boards, and six public agencies in Halton on the system being designed by eSolutionsGroup Limited.
Businesses looking to bid on City of Hamilton contracts will pay $165 per year for access to the bids, with additional fees each time they bid to access the City bid documents.
The City charges anywhere from $35 to hundreds of dollars for businesses to access bid documentation.
Small businesses in Hamilton have complained these fees are a barrier to them bidding on City contracts.
The fees also serve to discourage the public from viewing the documents and being informed how the City is procuring goods and services.
Despite the obvious fact that businesses charge back the fees to the City in the costs of their bids, Council classifies the fees as “revenue generation” and includes this in their annual non-tax revenue figures.