Commissioners to look at bid policy

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November 16, 2009

Jamie Jones The Dalton Daily Citizen Mon Nov 16, 2009, 08:08 PM EST

Whitfield County commissioners are considering changing the way they award bids.

The heart of the discussion is how much preference should be given to local bidders. County policy allows commissioners to award bids to local companies that are within 2 percent of the low bid. The maximum dollar amount of the difference is $2,000. The county defines a local business as “having a place of business in Whitfield County, Ga.”

At their meeting Monday night, commissioners voted 2-1 to award a boiler bid for administrative building No. 1 to Jake Marshall Co. The business is based in Chattanooga and has an office in Whitfield County. The company employs county residents.

Lilburn-based Ostrom Boiler Service was the low bidder at $24,000. The original bid from Jake Marshall Co. was $24,673, but commissioner Randy Waskul asked a company representative if he would amend the bid to $24,480 to be within the county’s 2 percent local preference policy. The representative agreed. Waskul and Mike Cowan voted to award the company the bid; Harold Brooker voted against it, citing concerns about the bid being changed; Greg Jones abstained and commission chairman Mike Babb only votes to break ties.

Babb said he is worried out of town companies will stop bidding on county projects if commissioners deviate from the 2 percent policy, noting that having multiple bids “is in the best interest of the county.”

Brooker wants the policy changed.

“We need to get our act together and go to 3 percent,” Brooker said.

Waskul asked to discuss the county’s purchasing policy at the next commission meeting.

Earlier this month, commissioners disagreed about whether to award two special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) transportation construction projects to a local company that was not the low bidder. Babb, Cowan and Waskul voted not to award the contract to the local company. Brooker and Jones voted for the local company.

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