The City Council is expected to vote tonight to defer a local ordinance that would have given some preference to local bidders.
Jimmy Rodgers, a local attorney who represents several local labor groups, said the problem with proposed changes to the city’s current hiring ordinance is that they have no “teeth” and make hiring local contractors an “afterthought.”
Deferring the item will give an opportunity for all parties involved to find a “middle ground,” he said.
The new portion would state that any “comparable” local bid would be given preference. Mr. Rodgers said the word “comparable” is too vague.
For more information, read tomorrow’s edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.