La. Admin. Code tit. 70 § II-537

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section II-537 - Guide to Invoicing Procedures for Utility Relocation Projects

A. General Information

1. When selecting a contractor, the DOTD is not allowed to pay interest, late charges, or any other related penalty fees.

2. The agreement is between the DOTD and the utility, contractors should not contact the DOTD directly about payments.

3. No invoices may be paid until evidence of compensable property is submitted (i.e., copies of right-of-way servitudes, deeds, or an affidavit stating the right to occupy the area).

4. It takes approximately four weeks to produce a check once the headquarters office submits a voucher to accounting.

5. When state funds are used, the project records of all parties involved on a utility adjustment project is subject to audit by DOTD auditors. This includes all utility company, consultant, and contractor records.

6. It takes one to three months for an audit once the headquarters office submits a project to audit. Note that all final invoices for actual cost agreements must be audited.

7. When invoicing the DOTD, the company must submit three copies of the invoice to the district utility specialist.

8. The purpose of lump sum agreements is to eliminate paper work on projects involving small costs (less than $25,000 on federal projects or $75,000 on state projects) to the state. Therefore, partial payments are not made on lump sum agreements.

9. Three copies of a final and complete invoice should be submitted to the district utility specialist, as soon as possible, after completing the utility adjustments specified in the utility agreement.

10. The following DOTD personnel examine, approve, or otherwise handle each partial invoice:

a. district utility specialist;

b. project engineer;

c. headquarters utility specialist;

d. utility and permit engineer;

e. DOTD accounting and Division of Administration personnel;

f. headquarters utility check processing clerks.

B. Final Invoice-Lump Sum Agreements. Final invoice requirements for lump sum agreements are as follows.

1. The invoice must be on company letterhead.

2. The first page of the invoice must contain:

a. the state project number for construction;

b. the agreement number;

c. the parish where the project was located;

d. a statement that it is a lump sum billing;

e. indicate the total amount requested for reimbursement (this amount must match the agreement).

C. Final Invoice-Actual Costs Agreements. Final invoice requirements for actual costs agreements are as follows.

1. The invoice must be in the same general format as the estimate (Exhibit A).

2. The invoice must be on company letterhead.

3. The first page of the invoice must contain:

a. the state project number for construction;

b. the agreement number;

c. the parish where the project was located;

d. a statement that it is a final billing;

e. the total cost of the adjustments, and the total amount requested for reimbursement;

f. the beginning and ending dates for the construction.

4. All supporting data should be attached with the final invoice.

5. If the final costs differ by more than 10 percent from the estimated costs, after adjustments for approved bids and change orders, an explanation for the overrun/underrun should be submitted with the invoice.

D. Partial Invoices (Actual Cost Agreements). Partial payments may be made on projects with actual cost agreements when the amount of state liability exceeds $25,000. Note that partial payment requests are submitted at the utility's option, and are not required by the state. The following is applicable for partial invoices.

1. Partial payment request for projects exceeding $25,000 may be made using one of the following procedures.

a. Percentage of the original estimate:

i. 25 percent invoice;

ii. 50 percent invoice;

iii. 95 percent invoice;

iv. final invoice.

b. Expenditures by item:

i. preliminary engineering;

ii. materials and storage;

iii. right-of-way and clearing;

iv. total amount (final invoice).

c. Additional partial invoices may be submitted when the state's liability is expected to exceed $250,000, or if the relocation construction time exceeds one year. However, all partial invoices must be in excess of 10 percent of the total costs of the project.

2. Partial invoices requirements are as follows.

a. The invoice must be on company letterhead.

b. The first page of the invoice must contain:

i. the state project number for construction;

ii. the agreement number;

iii. the parish where the project was located;

iv. the invoice number (i.e., the first invoice is Number 1, the second is Number 2, etc.);

v. a statement that it is a partial billing;

vi. indicate the total amount requested for reimbursement.

c. Supporting data should be attached to each invoice.

E. Utility Estimate

1. The initial estimate for Federal Aid Projects, used to initiate federal funding, is provided by the Federal Aid Unit, and is a percentage of the right-of-way estimate. The utility section has no input into this estimate.

2. The initial estimate for non-federal aid projects is based on an average expense of $25,000 per utility per project, with any large expenses, such as electrical substations, added. This estimate is only provided when requested.

3. After the preliminary plans and survey report are received, the district utility and permit specialist contacts each utility company for a rough estimate. Then this estimate is used to request funds from the state/federal aid administrator, for state projects, or the federal aid administrator, for federal projects.

4. The next estimate is prepared when all the utility agreements have been executed; usually about six weeks prior to the letting. This estimate is based on a detailed breakdown of the costs of the adjustments. If there is a significant deviation from the previous estimate, this estimate is used to adjust funds and to update the federal alternate procedure. At this point, the estimate is usually within 10 percent of the actual cost.

5. Additional estimates may be prepared when significant deviations occur during the construction phase.

F. Common Causes for Deviations

1. Additional utility facilities are found. This occurs when the survey list is old, construction plans are changed, when the letting is delayed for an extended period, and when the survey list is inaccurate.

2. Prices increase over time. This occurs when the letting is delayed for an extended period.

3. Additional adjustments are required, due to design modifications and field changes to highway construction, or due to unforeseen conflicts with other utility facilities.

4. The utility's contractor costs increase, usually due to design modifications and field changes to highway construction, or due to unforeseen conflicts with other utility facilities.

5. A high expense item requires adjustment, such as electrical substations, pipelines with special requirements, etc. These items are not apparent during the preliminary estimates, but usually appear in estimate in §537. F.3 as described above.

6. Insufficient right-of-way increases relocation expense. This occurs when existing utilities are not considered when purchasing right-of-way, when the consultant does not consider utilities when designing the project, and when construction servitudes are purchased instead of right-of-way.

7. Double Moves. Utilities are sometimes required to relocate twice on a project. This occurs in highly congested areas where space is at a premium, and when construction servitudes are purchased instead of right-of-way.

La. Admin. Code tit. 70, § II-537

Promulgated by the Department of Transportation and Development, Utility and Permit Section, LR 20:317 (March 1994).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 48:381.