6.6 Standard Contract Requirements

Revised on 03-12-2025

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PURPOSE 

The purpose of this procedure is to identify the standard elements of a personal services contract and the Mayor and Council mandated elements. 

REFERENCES 

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RESPONSIBILITIES 

  • Personal Services Contracts Section of Project Award and Control Division (PAC): The Contracts Section must maintain and provide: (1) Standard Form Contracts developed with the approval of the City Attorney's Office, and (2) Copies of all existing 

  • Personal Services Contracts Project Manager (PM): The PM is responsible to utilize the Standard Form Contracts when negotiating with the selected Consultant and the expertise of the Contracts Section in resolving contracting problems. The PM must understand the requirements for both the Consultant and PM, see to it that the Consultant complies with the contract's requirements, and follow through on the PM's responsibilities under the contract. The PM must insure that the Required Insurance and Minimum Limits is valid for the entire contract. 

  • Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA), Office of Contract Compliance (OCC): OCC is responsible for certifying the Consultant is in compliance with the following City Ordinances and policies: Affirmative Action, Equal Employment and Non Discrimination; Equal Benefits Ordinance; Slavery Disclosure Ordinance; Living Wage and Service Contractor Worker Retention Ordinances; and the Minority Business Enterprise/Women Business Enterprise/Other Business Enterprise (MBE/WBE/OBE) Subcontractor Outreach Program, if applicable. The Special Research and Investigation Section (SRIS) is responsible for certifying the Consultant is in compliance with the Contractor Responsibility Ordinance. 

PROCEDURE 

Use of the Standard Personal Services Contracts 

When the PM needs to begin negotiations (see Procedure 6.5), a copy of the most up to date, appropriate Standard Personal Services Contract should be obtained from the Contracts Section of PAC. These contracts are also available on the Bureau's Intranet (Standard Personal Services Contracts webpage). However, the PM should check with PAC to verify that the latest version is uploaded on the intranet, obtain the latest version if it is not, and become knowledgeable on any revisions that might be in progress. It is important that the PM is familiarized with the various requirements of the contract and, if the requirements are not clear, discusses the matter with the Contracts Section of PAC or the Program Manager. The PM is expected to understand and see to it that all the terms of the contract are enforced. 

The PM should determine whether there have been any changes in the standard form contract since a copy was attached to the RFP/RFQ. If there have been any, they must be pointed out to the Consulting Firm. Also, the standard PM/CM scope may need to be expanded or modified for each particular contract and requested scope of services as necessary. 

Whenever the construction cost of a project exceeds $25 million, the City may require a third party QA/QC review of the construction documents at the 90 percent completion stage. As explained in Procedure 9.3, it is beneficial to have this independent review of the project plans and specifications. If the PM feels that the complexity of the project warrants this extra level of review, it should be included in the Standard Contract Requirements along with the method of acquiring the third party review firm which is identified in the project’s QA/QC Plan. 

Standard Contract Articles and Exhibits 

As of the publication date of this Procedure, the Table of Contents of the Standard Personal Services Contract for Pre-qualified On-Call Consultants lists the following Articles and Exhibits: 

ARTICLES 

ARTICLE 1 - SECTION HEADINGS 

ARTICLE 2 - DEFINITIONS 

ARTICLE 3 - PROJECT DESCRIPTION 

ARTICLE 4 - RESPONSIBILITIES OF AND TASKS TO BE PERFORMED BY THE CONSULTANT 

ARTICLE 5 - KEY CONSULTANT PERSONNEL 

ARTICLE 6 - RESPONSIBILITIES OF AND TASKS TO BE PERFORMED BY THE CITY 

ARTICLE 7 - TERM OF CONTRACT 

ARTICLE 8 - TERMINATION 

ARTICLE 9 - SUBCONSULTANT APPROVAL 

ARTICLE 10 - COMPENSATION, INVOICING AND PAYMENT 

ARTICLE 11 - AMENDMENTS, CHANGES OR MODIFICATIONS 

ARTICLE 12 - INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE 

ARTICLE 13 - INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS 

ARTICLE 14 - WARRANTY AND RESPONSIBILITY OF CONSULTANT 

ARTICLE 15 - OWNERSHIP OF DATA AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

ARTICLE 16 - NONDISCRIMINATION AND AFFIRMATIVE ACTION 

ARTICLE 17 - MINORITY, WOMEN AND OTHER BUSINESS ENTERPRISE OUTREACH PROGRAM 

ARTICLE 18 - SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS 

ARTICLE 19 - CONTACT PERSONS - PROPER ADDRESSES - NOTIFICATION 

ARTICLE 20 - EXCUSABLE DELAYS 

ARTICLE 21 - SEVERABILITY 

ARTICLE 22 - DISPUTES 

ARTICLE 23 - ENTIRE CONTRACT 

ARTICLE 24 - APPLICABLE LAW, INTERPRETATION AND ENFORCEMENT 

ARTICLE 25 - LOS ANGELES CITY BUSINESS TAX REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE REQUIRED 

ARTICLE 26 - BONDS 

ARTICLE 27 - CHILD SUPPORT ASSIGNMENT ORDERS 

ARTICLE 28 - LIVING WAGE ORDINANCE AND SERVICE CONTRACTOR WORKER RETENTION ORDINANCE 

ARTICLE 29 - AMERICANS WITH DISABLITIES ACT 

ARTICLE 30 - EQUAL BENEFITS ORDINANCE 

ARTICLE 31 - WAIVER 

ARTICLE 32 - PROHIBITION AGAINST ASSIGNMENT OR DELEGATION 

ARTICLE 33 - PERMITS 

ARTICLE 34 - CLAIMS FOR LABOR AND MATERIALS 

ARTICLE 35 - DISCOUNTS 

ARTICLE 36 - CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITY ORDINANCE 

ARTICLE 37 - BREACH 

ARTICLE 38 - SLAVERY DISCLOSURE ORDINANCE 

ARTICLE 39 - CONTRACT BIDDER CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH LOBBYING LAWS 

EXHIBITS 

EXHIBIT A - PROJECT SCHEDULE (SAMPLE BAR CHART) 

EXHIBIT B - PROPOSED PROJECT COST BREAKDOWN 

EXHIBIT C1 - MBE/ WBE/ OBE UTILIZATION PROFILE 

EXHIBIT C2 - SUBCONSULTANT UTILIZATION INVOICE ATTACHMENT 

EXHIBIT C3 - CHANGE AUTHORIZATION FORM – MBE/WBE/DBE/OBE UTILIZATION PROFILE 

EXHIBIT D - INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS 

EXHIBIT E - CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATIONS 

EXHIBIT F - CERTIFICATION REGARDING AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT 

EXHIBIT G - COMPLIANCE WITH EQUAL BENEFITS ORDINANCE AND SLAVERY DISCLOSURE ORDINANCE 

EXHIBIT H - HOURLY BILLING RATES EXHIBIT I - CONSULTANT TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION FORM 

EXHIBIT J - BIDDER CERTIFICATION CEC FORM 50 

EXHIBIT K - PRIME AND SUBCONSULTANT INFORMATION FORM 

Key Items in the Contract 

The Contract Articles require that the PM must see to it that the Consultants do certain things under the terms of their contracts with the City. Certain key items are listed below. 

Article 9, Subconsultant Approval: The Consultant is required to provide a list of all potential subconsultants to the PM prior to executing the contract. The list will be included in the contract as an exhibit. Prior approval must be obtained from the PM before the Consultant adds any new subconsultants to the contract. Substitution of listed subconsultants, which happens rarely, requires Board approval by Motion which is prepared by the PM. A listed subconsultant may have their scope reduced, even reduced significantly, or some or all of their scope may be transferred to a new subconsultant, but they remain on the proposal team and are not substituted. 

Article 10, Compensation, Invoicing and Payment: City must review and approve Billing Salary Rate or Hourly Billing Rate increases and “key employee” changes. Billing rates can change only once per year. Cost of living adjustments (COLAs) must be consistent with Bureau policy at the time the COLA is requested. The PM should consult with the Administrative Services Division to obtain the latest policy in this regard. Any proposed exceptions to the policy must be approved by the City Engineer. Unless the contract is to be paid on a lump sum, City will pay subconsultant expenses based on the actual amount paid by the Consultant plus a 5% administrative fee as stipulated in Article 10 of the contract. This 5% maximum administrative fee may also be applied to the actual amount paid consultants below the tier of subconsultant. Reallocation of funds between tasks in Cost Reimbursement contracts must be approved by the PM. Invoices must be reviewed and any exceptions noted by the PM must be brought to the attention of the Consultant within 15 days of submittal. An MBE/WBE/OBE Utilization Invoice Attachment must be included with each invoice. 

Article 17, Minority, Women and Other Business Enterprise Outreach Program: Consultant is to provide an expenditure plan including MBE/WBE/OBE usage at the start of the contract as Exhibit C (MBE/WBE/OBE Utilization Profile). 

Article 25, Los Angeles City Business Tax Registration Certificate Required: Consultant must have a current L.A. Business Tax Registration Certificate during the term of the contract. 

Article 27, Child Support Assignment Orders: Consultant must file a Certification of Compliance with Child Support Obligations as an attachment to the contract. 

Article 29, Americans with Disabilities Act: Consultant must file a Certification, required by City policy, as an attachment to the contract. 

Article 30, Equal Benefits Ordinance: Consultant must be in compliance with this Ordinance. Certification of compliance will be completed by OCC and included as an attachment to the contract. 

Article 36, Contractor Responsibility Ordinance: Consultant completes the Responsibility Questionnaire which is submitted to SRIS. If there are any changes to the Consultant’s answers on the questionnaire during the term of the contract, the Consultant has 30 days to provide the information to SRIS. PM is to file the “Contractor Evaluation for Service Contracts” form with SRIS upon completion of the contract (see Procedure 6.11 – Consultant Performance Evaluations). 

Article 38, Slavery Disclosure Ordinance: Consultant must file an Affidavit as required by Ordinance. Certification of compliance will be completed by OCC and included as an attachment to the contract. 

Article 39, Contract Bidder Certification of Compliance with Lobbying Laws: Any bidder for a contract shall submit with its proposal, a Bidder Certification CEC Form 50, proscribed by the City Ethics Commission, that the bidder acknowledges and agrees to comply with the disclosure requirements and prohibitions established in the Ordinance if the bidder qualifies as a lobbying entity under the Ordinance. 

Changing the Standard Form Contract 

The language of the Standard Form contract shall not be changed without the approval of the Contracts Section of PAC and/or the City Attorney. 

RELATED PROCEDURES 

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