They provide jobs in the township, pay taxes, and they are usually good corporate citizens – but when it comes to working for the township, they cannot get a break.
Councillor Walt Visser brought that issue to council as something that still bugs him about the township’s purchasing and tender awarding policies when Treasurer Wes Snarr reported on his strategic plan at a special council meeting Nov. 16.
Snarr reported a number of positive steps in his department, including implementing “best practices during the past year” which includes development of bid documents for building, repair, and renovation projects such as the Fergus Grand Theatre rehabilitation, the Sportsplex roof in Fergus, and replacing concrete block masonry at the Elora community centre.
A number of grant applications were submitted and successful, including new mobile and portable bleacher grant applications. He said the township is still awaiting the outcome of the application for the Elora sewage treatment plant.
Snarr also noted some challenges, including the work volume, and said in the report, “Purchasing in particular requires a lot of work in an open environment.” He would like to see the online bid system implemented sooner than its scheduled date of 2012.
Visser told Snarr he knows there are problems with tenders, but, “I still see that some of our industries in town can’t beat, or lose bids for very small dollar amounts. There must be some way to give an advantage to locals.”
He cited reconstruction of South River Road, which went to a Guelph company that bid just below a local company. “I know other municipalities have a clause if it’s within a certain percentage” the local bidder would get the contract.
However, when Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj challenged Visser to cite examples, he said he could not do it “offhand.”
Ross-Zuj then told council such a practice of favouring local bidders within a percentage of the low bid is “against the law.”
Snarr said the policy is to award the lowest bidder that qualifies with a tender. He said he follows that policy because “as [Chief Financial Officer] I don’t want to put the township in a position for a lawsuit.”
Other municipalities have found the cost of awarding contracts to local companies that did not have the low bid can later cost them plenty in court.
Snarr said that, in general, “Local vendors have the advantage. They know the market better.”
Chief Administrative Officer Michael Wood said he is sure most councillors are aware that there are some municipalities that do offer incentives to local bidders and give them the work if they come within a set amount of a low bid.
“They shouldn’t, but they do,” Wood said. “For the legality of the thing, we can’t do that.
