ABOVE: The Harford Road Bridge replacement during construction. Photo: Baltimore City Department of Transportation.
This November, Baltimore City voters have the opportunity to fix a fundamentally broken procurement system by voting “YES” on Ballot Question E.
Question E amends the Baltimore City Charter to remove a decades-old provision mandating the award of city construction and service contracts to the “lowest responsible bidder.” Question E replaces this rigid rule and gives local leaders the authority to choose “best value” procurement — allowing the city to evaluate contractors based upon overall quality, worker safety, fair wages and long-term reliability rather than on upfront price tags alone.
For years, the lowest-bid requirement has enabled contractors to submit artificially low estimates to win municipal contracts, only to jack up costs later through endless change orders.
Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen emphasized the need to close this loophole during a Sept. 2026 episode of the “C4 and Bryan Nehman Show” on WBAL Radio.
“Just because it says ‘lowest bid’ does not mean it is going to end up being the least amount of money for the residents,” said Cohen. “At the end of the day, we want projects that are delivered on-time and under-budget.”
LISTEN: Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen Talks About Cost Overruns on the Harford Road Bridge and the Perils of 'Lowest Bid' Contracting
Question E is supported by the Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council, which recognizes that procurement reform protects taxpayer investments in public infrastructure while upholding labor standards and fair wages for local workers.
Just because it’s the cheapest bid doesn’t mean it’s the best bid,” said Ray Baker, Maryland Director of the building trades council.
“Question E gives Baltimore City the opportunity to choose the best value for procurement,” he added, “as opposed to just going simply with the lowest bid. Best value ensures we get the project done on-time and on-budget.”
“Just because it’s the cheapest bid doesn’t mean it’s the best bid. Question E gives Baltimore City the opportunity to choose the best value for procurement.”
– Ray Baker, Maryland Director
Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council
“Just because it’s the cheapest bid doesn’t mean it’s the best bid. Question E gives Baltimore City the opportunity to choose the best value for procurement.”
– Ray Baker, Maryland Director
Baltimore-DC Metro Building Trades Council
Nowhere is the failure of the low-bid system clearer than in the reconstruction of the Harford Road Bridge. Back in 2018, the city awarded the bridge replacement contract to an initial low bidder, whose $18.9 million offer was $4 million under the city’s own engineering estimate.
What seemed like a bargain quickly turned into a financial boondoggle, with costs ballooning by over 33 percent, to more than $25 million, following a cascade of extra work orders (EWOs).
“I want to look at 2018, the Harford Road Bridge,” said Cohen during his Sept. 2026 appearance on WBAL Radio, “$6 million in cost overruns from, get this, 17 extra work orders… One of the extra work orders was for ‘excessive rock excavation.’ I don’t even know what that means, but they came back for more money.”
Baltimore City Councilman Jermaine Jones (District 12), Chair of the Labor Committee, also criticized how contractors exploit charter loopholes.
“What was the lowest qualified bid, at the end of the project, because of change orders and because of everything else, ended up being something even bigger,” said Jones, who appeared with with Cohen on the Sept. 2026 episode of the “C4 and Bryan Nehman Show” on WBAL Radio.
“And there’s a lot of people who know that,” he added, “and know how to game the system.”
“What was the lowest qualified bid, at the end of the project, because of change orders and because of everything else, ended up being something even bigger.”
– Baltimore City Councilman Jermaine Jones (District 12)
“What was the lowest qualified bid, at the end of the project, because of change orders and because of everything else, ended up being something even bigger.”
– Baltimore City Councilman Jermaine Jones (District 12)
Jones compared public procurement to everyday household choices: “Most parents won’t walk into the store and tell a child, ‘You know what? I’m going to get you the lowest shoe, the cheapest shoe we can find on the shelf.’… The government shouldn’t operate in that same way either.”
Beyond financial overruns, the Harford Road Bridge project severely disrupted the surrounding community. The bridge was completely closed for nearly four full years, forcing 22,000 daily commuters, local transit routes, and school buses to navigate lengthy detours. Construction ran into major hurdles when workers encountered 125% more rock than initial surveys predicted, tripling excavation costs from $65 to $188 per cubic yard and adding $1.6 million in a single work order.
Repeated flooding along Herring Run led to further payouts, including $41,000 in local taxpayer funds to cover a carpenter’s “loss of productivity” — a claim ineligible for federal reimbursement.