November 17, 2017
The South Burnett Regional Council (SBRC) will extend existing contracts with businesses on its Prequalified Suppliers list until June 30 so it can review current contracting arrangements.
At Wednesday’s monthly meeting, Councillors voted to extend existing contracts on a month to month basis to allow the review to be undertaken.
The SBRC uses a Prequalified Supplier Register to determine who to contact for quotes when it needs to hire wet or dry plant or purchase general goods and services.
The list is usually updated every two years, which provides an opportunity for local businesses to submit their details and bid for routine council work.
In 2012, former Mayor Wayne Kratzmann led a push for the Council to buy more goods and services locally.
The push came after the State Government made changes to the Local Government Act that allowed Councils to preference local suppliers.
In December that year, the Council introduced a local price preference of 10 per cent for amounts of $25,000 or less; 7.5 per cent for amounts between $25,001 and $50,000; 5.0 per cent for amounts between $50,001 and $100,000; and 2.5 per cent for amounts between $100,001 and $150,000.
Mayor Kratzmann said his aim was to increase the amount Council spent locally from $16 million to $22 million per year to help support local businesses and jobs.
The following month, the Council called for suppliers to submit their details for inclusion in its Prequalified Suppliers list for 2013-15, but the process was delayed until late that year by the 2013 floods.
The latest Prequalified Suppliers list was due to be called earlier this month with new contracts to commence in December 2017, but the Council now wants to conduct a review.
The review will examine:
- The ability for the Council to implement longer contract periods
- Greater flexibility to add and remove suppliers
- Renewal of suppliers every 12 months
- Revising the Prequalified Suppliers Registers categories to better meet Council’s requirements
The review is believed to be part of Mayor Keith Campbell’s push to ensure the Council’s systems run as efficiently as possible
A new date calling for applications to be included in the Prequalified Suppliers list will be announced once the review has been completed.
Related Articles:
- Locals Are Now ‘Preferred’ Suppliers
- Council Looking For Local Suppliers
- Preferred Supplier Meetings On Again
- Preferred Supplier Meetings Postponed
- SBRC Looking For Preferred Suppliers
- Council To ‘Think Local First’
- Local Purchasing Policy Adopted
- New Laws Will Help ‘Buy Local’ Policy
- Council Wants To Buy $6m More Locally
