An effort to reward contractors who reside locally and to make bidding more transparent stalled Tuesday night when the City Council voted 9-0 to delay it one more week.
PDF: City Council doc
Under the proposed ordinance, in case of a tie at bidding, the local bidder or the person using the most local resources would get preference. The ordinance defines local as any business or person within 75 miles of Chattanooga.
Councilman Peter Murphy, chairman of the Legal and Legislative Committee, said Tuesday he thought the ordinance carried merit because it serves as a tiebreaker.
“If it’s this or a coin flip, I think this makes much more sense,” Mr. Murphy said.
The proposed ordinance also states that the city would be responsible for putting up all bids on the Internet for 90 days.
Jimmy Rodgers, attorney for the Chattanooga Building and Construction Trades Council and the Chattanooga Area Labor Council, said this provision adds more transparency to the process.
“This just opens it all up,” Mr. Rodgers said.
Council members said they would defer the ordinance to allow Roger Tuder, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of East Tennessee, to look over it.
The ordinance change first was talked about two weeks ago but was delayed because some labor organizations posed questions about the original ordinance.
The city’s current bidding ordinance states that the City Council should consider the “lowest and most responsible” bid and then lists 13 criteria to follow.
Dan Johnson, chief of staff for Mayor Ron Littlefield, said he thought the ordinance might cost the city in quality if an automatic exception went to the local bidder. Not all businesses within the city can meet the criteria, he said.
He also said all bidding already is open to the public.
“I resent the fact that you think our purchasing department does this behind closed doors,” Mr. Johnson said.
IN OTHER NEWS
The City Council voted 9-0 Tuesday night to move back the appeal date on water quality, or stormwater, fees to June 1. The previous appeal deadline was March 1. City officials said property taxes still would be due on March 1.