Muskegon bidding

MLive.com's Printer-Friendly Page: "City sets policy on local vs. out-of-town bids
Friday, April 15, 2005By Robert C. Burns
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
The city of Muskegon's somewhat vague standard on the selection of local vs. out-of-town bidders has been solidified into a formal policy.
The policy gives notice to potential bidders that the city commission may give the nod to local suppliers or contractors if the local bidder comes within 1 percent of the lowest nonlocal bid.
This assumes the bids in question are deemed 'responsible,' while 'local' is defined as a company with a business location within the city limits.
While not absolute, the new policy gives potential bidders advance warning that local preferences are a possibility, all other things being equal.
'Before people spend money putting a bid package together, there should be absolutely no question about the criteria we are using,' said Commissioner Larry Spataro, who has advocated setting a definite policy and sticking to it.
Another aspect of the new policy gives the commission more latitude in purchases or construction contracts expected to exceed $1 million. In such cases, 'the city commission will be consulted on whether local preference may apply, prior to soliciting bids.'
City commissioners have split over the question of whether to award contracts or purchases based solely on the low bid, or to give added preference to companies that pay city taxes, hire and buy materials locally.
The most recent flareup occurred when the commission voted 4-3 to accept the second-lowest bid of Jackson-Merkey Contractors of Muskegon for a street paving project, rather than the lowest bid, submitted by a Ludington firm.
For several years, commissioners have been loosely following an unwritten guideline calling for l"