PUBLIC INFORMATION — "Apparently, open warfare will break out among companies vying for city contracts if San Diego City Council hands them a potentially dangerous tool: the right to request the public records of their fellow contractors," writes Rani Gupta, reporting for VoiceOfSanDiego.org.
"They all get along when they come to our cocktail parties," Ryan said, "but when they're bidding against each other, they're not so friendly with each other."
A proposed ordinance drafted by former City Attorney Mike Aguirre would not have covered documents related to procure the contract, though they could become public if the contractor sought to amend the contract. Ryan detailed how he would use such a policy if he were a contractor by initially refraining from seeking a city contract. Then when the company that won the contract put in a relatively minor change order, Ryan said he would use the change as an excuse to use the city policy to request documents such as salaries, benefits and the schedule of the job.
He would store that away in a file. The next time the contract came up to bid, Ryan said he would use the information to figure out what his competitor would bid, then underbid the competitor by an incremental amount.
Councilwoman Donna Frye, who has advocated the measure to increase access to contractors' records, said she was "sort of shocked" by Ryan's deviousness, saying the proposal isn't meant to harass a competitor. "If that's how you guys operate, that's how you guys operate," Frye said. "You might not want to operate that way." Frye said she didn't understand why the public has a right to information when the government is performing a function, but not when taxpayer dollars are being sent to a private entity.
Is it possible some of these items might be considered trade secrets?
“request documents such as salaries, benefits and the schedule of the job.”
Probably not trade secrets in the strict sense, although with potential competitive sensitivity, as the contractor’s rep suggests. The question for contractors: how big is the risk of being eventually underbid on a contract down the road compared with the advantage of bidding on a contract and getting the award in the near future?