{"id":314136,"date":"2022-03-02T23:21:41","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T13:21:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=314136"},"modified":"2022-03-03T22:34:39","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T12:34:39","slug":"local-firm-wins-tender-after-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2022\/03\/02\/local-firm-wins-tender-after-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Firm Wins Tender After Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Most big engineering projects – such as Kingaroy’s wastewater treatment plant – are built by outside companies because the skills and capacity cannot be found locally … but the SBRC wants to see that change in the future<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 2, 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

A debate about paying a local company $130,000 more than a Brisbane firm to build a pump station switchboard led to a lengthy debate at the South Burnett Regional Council’s February meeting.<\/p>\n

In the end, the local firm was awarded the contract, but the decision was not unanimous.<\/p>\n

The Council had set aside $900,000 for the pump station project in this year’s Budget, and called tenders last November which drew several responses.<\/p>\n

At last week’s meeting, Councillors were told a local firm had submitted a tender lower than the amount Council had budgeted.<\/p>\n

However, that company’s bid was still $130,000 higher than the lowest offer Council received, which came from a Brisbane-based company.<\/p>\n

Cr Kirstie Schumacher opened the debate by moving Council accept the tender from AMG Electrical Solutions for $885,092.<\/strong><\/p>\n

She said the tender response showed AMG had the relevant experience and skills to undertake the project.<\/p>\n

Cr Schumacher also noted the total tender price was within the project’s approved budget and because the company was locally based, the outcomes would support the local economy and increase Council\u2019s local spend.<\/p>\n

Her motion was seconded by Cr Kathy Duff, which opened the debate.<\/p>\n

Cr Scott Henschen said the issue was “a classic example of a double-sided sword”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said Council already had a policy that gave a price preference to locally based suppliers, but the difference in this case was well above the 5-10 per cent the policy allowed.<\/p>\n

“Ratepayers want us to save money,” he said.<\/p>\n

And while he agreed awarding the contract to AMG would keep the money in the local economy, he understood that local clubs, motels and restaurants who would normally cater for outside contractors might take a different view.<\/p>\n

“Honestly, I struggle with this,” Cr Henschen said.<\/p>\n

Cr Kathy Duff said she supported Cr Schumacher’s motion because she “absolutely supported local”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish,” Cr Duff said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve spent a lot on economic development over the years, and now we have an opportunity to support a local business and lots of jobs.”<\/p>\n

Cr Duff said she got “hammered all the time about Council buying outside our area” but this was an opportunity to show that wasn’t always so.<\/p>\n

Cr Roz Frohloff said she was “all for supporting local businesses” but not when the price difference was so big.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“AMG already get work with Council, and the (Brisbane company) will also spend money in the area,” Cr Frohloff said.<\/p>\n

Cr Danita Potter said she was concerned the quote was well outside the local buying preference and thought it might set a bad precedent.<\/p>\n

Cr Gavin Jones said he had wrestled with the issue for a long time and while he initially backed the idea of awarding the business to a local firm, the $130,000 price difference had been too big to ignore.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said recent cuts to FAGs and TIDs grants, along with CPI increases, was already pushing the Council towards introducing a 3.5 per cent rate rise in next year’s Budget.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, he felt he could not support the motion.<\/p>\n

Summing up, Mayor Brett Otto underlined that the project came out of Council’s capital budget – not its operational expenses budget – so there would be no affect on rates whatever Councillors decided.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He said the Council had already set aside $900,000 for the project, and all tenders came in below that amount.<\/p>\n

He said the $130,000 difference represented just 0.37 per cent of the Council’s $35 million capital expenditure budget, which was negligible.<\/p>\n

However, the long-term benefits of awarding the tender to a local company could be found in supporting local trade jobs and apprenticeships, and building capacity.<\/p>\n

“Very rarely do we get the opportunity to award a big capital project to a local company,” Mayor Otto said.<\/p>\n

The Mayor noted the Council’s own Corporate Plan mandated the SBRC try to achieve a 50 per cent “local buy” target.<\/p>\n

Giving this project to a local firm would go a long way towards achieving that target, he said.<\/p>\n

In the end, the decision to award the tender to AMG was carried 4 votes to 3, with Crs Henschen, Frohloff and Jones opposed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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