Auditor Says Voters’ Approval of 2 Measures Will Cut Costs

City Auditor Bob Fronke said the city will be able to cut costs because voters overwhelmingly approved two measures Tuesday that will speed up the city’s bidding process when buying computers and telephone equipment.

Proposition CC will allow the City Council, Harbor Commission and Water Commission to bid on complicated computer and telecommunications systems without publishing voluminous technical specifications. That way, Fronke said, bidders will have more flexibility in proposing systems and officials will have more latitude in accepting them.

Proposition DD will allow the city’s Gas Department to eliminate sealed bids for purchases of natural gas. Under the old system, Fronke said, bidders were loathe to commit themselves to fixed prices in a market that can change daily. As a result, he said, many tended not to bid at all or to come in with prices too high. The new system of open bidding, he said, will attract more bidders, thus creating a more competitive situation and ultimately driving the price down.

Neither proposition had organized opposition.