Lafayette Engineering Department Saves City $2.9M

LAFAYETTE, CA — In Lafayette, saving money on road construction projects is standard practice. Municipalities typically spend 15% of construction costs on consultant services for design and surveying, and another 10% on consultant services for construction management and inspection.

In 2000, the Director of Engineering and Public Works for the City looked at his team of professionals and found they had all the skills, licensing, and experience necessary to do those jobs themselves. The department started the transition away from consultants in 2001 and by 2007 nearly all the design work associated with road infrastructure improvements had shifted to in-house staff.

“In the last five years, the City of Lafayette has saved more than $1.3 million in design consultant fees and more than $1.6 million in construction management and inspection consultant fees,” said City of Lafayette Engineering Services Manager Matt Luttropp.

“This has had a two-fold benefit: in addition to cost savings, we believe a Lafayette employee will have a stronger motivation to be responsive to citizen concerns and input than what could be expected from a consultant,” Director of Engineering and Public Works Mike Moran explains.

According to City Manager Niroop Srivatsa, “We have observed that staff members generally have a better understanding of residents’ concerns and share a history with the community. As such, they are better able to comprehend and address the community’s needs compared to an outside consultant.”

Srivatsa credits the Engineering Services and Public Works departments for doing an excellent job on design, construction management and inspection for the City of Lafayette. She also embraces the $2.9 million in savings.

“We have used the savings to cover some of the gaps in our funding. The cost of maintaining the City’s 92 miles of public roads in their current condition has increased by $1 million per year. This is due to various factors, with the main one being a 33% increase in the cost of contracted labor and materials for road paving in the past five years. This increase is balanced against a revenue increase of only 23% over the same period,” Srivatsa stresses.

For more information email LafayetteListens@LoveLafayette.org call (925) 299-3206 or go online to www.LoveLafayette.org.

About The City of Lafayette

Lafayette is a charming small community located in Contra Costa County 15 miles from the City of Oakland. It's known for its beautiful green hills, excellent schools and miles of hiking trails making it an attractive place to live. The City has a population of more than 25,000 highly educated residents, with 75.2% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. Additionally, 73.6% of the homes in Lafayette are owner-occupied. The median home value is $1,914,700, while the median household income is $219,250. The total area of the City is 15.22 square miles.