re: #213 Flounder

Yes Dark you are correct, however, under emergency work, the work can be accomplished under force account, which is time + materials + 10 percent.
Lowballing competitive bidding = losing your shirt.

Not if they have friends on the city council willing to shell out more money, nor is trying to force a large contractor to work easy (you have to go to court and they’ll have good lawyers). And even if you can and do force them to finish at the initial price, it will take time and generate ill will. Better to bid the job out correctly the first time. That’s what ‘best value bidding’ is about: Making sure that the accepted bid is actually going to deliver the needed value.