The City of Miami may give even greater priority to local companies bidding on city projects if legislation currently on the drawing board ends up becoming law.
Existing Local Preference: Miami procurement law gives a "second chance" advantage to local bidders: if the low bid is from an out of city bidder, businesses with a "local office" are given the opportunity to match the low bid price, provided their original bid did not exceed it by more than 10%.
Proposed Change: Some city commissioners have suggested increasing the window of opportunity for local companies to match a low bid to 15%.
Concerns Voiced: While the system sounds like an all-around win for the city (local vendors get a leg up and the city still pays the lowest price), some are concerned that over time the policy may discourage competition, causing prices to creep up. "If I were a bidder outside the jurisdiction, I would be discouraged from bidding," said former Miami-Dade County manager Merrett Stierheim about the proposed increase, which he called "excessive" (as quoted in Miami Today).
More Resources:
Existing Local Preference: Miami procurement law gives a "second chance" advantage to local bidders: if the low bid is from an out of city bidder, businesses with a "local office" are given the opportunity to match the low bid price, provided their original bid did not exceed it by more than 10%.
Proposed Change: Some city commissioners have suggested increasing the window of opportunity for local companies to match a low bid to 15%.
Concerns Voiced: While the system sounds like an all-around win for the city (local vendors get a leg up and the city still pays the lowest price), some are concerned that over time the policy may discourage competition, causing prices to creep up. "If I were a bidder outside the jurisdiction, I would be discouraged from bidding," said former Miami-Dade County manager Merrett Stierheim about the proposed increase, which he called "excessive" (as quoted in Miami Today).
More Resources:
- Text of Miami Ordinance 11087, which establishes the local preference provision
- Coverage of the proposed Miami law from Miami Today
- In-State Bidding Preferences on the Rise, a past blog post of mine on the increasing use of state-level local preference, and some of the issues surrounding it
- In-State Bidding Preference Bill Passes Washington State Senate, a recent post of mine on Washington's local preference law, which was enacted into law last month
Mike Purdy's Public Contracting Blog© 2011 by Michael E. Purdy Associates, LLChttp://PublicContracting.blogspot.com
Posts
1 comment:
The State of Florida is currently considering adding a preference for in-state contractors.
http://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2011/0386
jgoldstein@shutts.com
Post a Comment