Arlington Heights switching to more expensive custodial contractor

It's going to cost Arlington Heights more money than officials had planned to keep village buildings clean.

The village board tonight is expected to approve a contractor change for custodial services at buildings including village hall, the police department, senior center and fire headquarters because of what staff reported as poor service from the previously approved lowest bidder.

On May 20 the board awarded a two-year contract to Altima Maintenance, Inc., the lowest bidder at $7,155 a month. According to staff reports, there were immediate signs of poor service in the first few months of the contract.

Staff documented the work for three months and notified the company. After the problems persisted, the village gave the company a seven-day termination notice on Oct. 3, according to the report. As written into the contract, the village had been deducting 15 percent from Altima's monthly fee because of the substandard work, according to the staff report.

With the contract expired, public works staff is performing custodial duties, partially on overtime, according to the village.

Staff is recommending the board approve a contract with GSF USA of Buffalo Grove, the third lowest bidder at $11,249 a month for the next 18 months. Village documents indicate the public works budget includes enough funding for the additional costs through the end of fiscal year 2014.