The City of Fremantle has ended a six-year working relationship with its electrical maintenance contractor, opting for a new provider despite the incumbent submitting a cheaper bid.
Evaluation Panel Favours Newcomer on Experience
Northlake Electrical, which had held the contract for maintenance and minor works since 2019 and successfully renewed it in 2021, was one of ten companies to bid for the new five-year agreement. However, at a council meeting on November 26, elected members voted 8-1 to award the contract to Surun Services.
The decision followed an evaluation by a panel of four city staff, which scored the submissions out of 100. Surun Services achieved 74.42, while Northlake Electrical came second with 59.66. Confidential pricing details revealed Northlake's bid was marginally lower, but it lost significant ground on qualitative criteria.
Contractor's Shock and Call for Review
Northlake Electrical owner and operator Tony Mangano addressed the council, expressing surprise and confusion at the scores. He stated the company had met all contract requirements and scored 100% on all Key Performance Indicators during its tenure.
"We do not understand why we scored less now in relevant experience, key personnel, skills, resources, demonstrated understanding, sustainability, than we did in the previous submissions where the documents called for the exact same details to be submitted," Mr Mangano told the meeting. He requested an independent panel to re-evaluate the bids.
Council Defends Process Amid Questions
City of Fremantle Director of Infrastructure, Graham Tattersall, defended the tender process, stating correct procedures were followed. He explained that tender evaluations focus purely on the submission documents, not on prior history or relationships.
"Timeframes change, people change and scoring evaluation methodologies sometimes change as well," Mr Tattersall said. "You did present a good submission. Nobody's disputing that. It's just there was a better one."
Some councillors shared the contractor's puzzlement. Councillor Andrew Sullivan noted it was difficult to understand how the current contractor could be marked lower on understanding the work. Councillor Geoff Graham said the low score in areas like relevant experience seemed "unusual" for an incumbent.
The move signals a significant shift for the City of Fremantle's infrastructure maintenance, ending a long-standing partnership in favour of a new provider deemed to have presented a superior tender submission.
