Listen to this articleWhen considering bids on contracts, the Suffolk County Water Authority is now giving preference to local small businesses.
The new policy was adopted at the SCWA board meeting on July 26 by unanimous vote. Now, SCWA can consider local businesses to be the best value if they meet the criteria and are no more than 5% higher than the next lowest bid. The policy only applies to contracts for the delivery of goods and for professional services; it does not apply to construction contracts.
“We are all about supporting the Suffolk County economy and this measure will do just that,” SCWA Chairman Charles Lefkowitz said in a news release about the new policy.
“We contract out for more than $115 million in goods and services each year,” Lefkowitz added. “We’ve found that in a lot of instances smaller businesses based right here in Suffolk County are more responsive and get things delivered to us quickly. So, we are not only supporting the local economy, but we are getting a better value for our customers.”
SCWA contracts out for an array of services, including everything from water storage tank rehabilitation to bill printing to IT infrastructure. Contracts that exceed a certain threshold must go through a public procurement process that follows state law for municipal contracting. Contractors can bid on contracts and compete with others to provide service.
To qualify, eligible small businesses must have at least one employee that works from a physical location in Suffolk. They must also primarily do business in the county. This qualification is designed to ensure that large national companies with offices in Suffolk do not qualify under the policy. In addition, eligible businesses must have fewer than 15 total employees.
Generally, SCWA must choose the bid with the lowest cost. However, SCWA can consider several other factors when selecting a bid, such as vendor experience, responsibility, quality of product and whether the business is a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. Under this new policy, whether the bid is from a small local business is added to that list of considerations.
“This is all about getting the best value for our customers,” CEO Jeff Szabo said in the news release. “Giving a preference to local businesses is going to benefit Suffolk County. This policy brings us in line with local municipalities like the Town of Brookhaven, which has had a local business preference policy for years.”