Whether the bids of local contractors get preference on city infrastructure projects will be a matter of debate for the Minot City Council in the future.

The council voted Monday to direct staff to develop a local preference policy for its review.

“There’s thousands of cities across this country that have a local bidder preference built into their procurement and project bidding policies,” council member Rob Fuller said. “It boosts the local economy. Hiring local contractors ensures that the tax dollars circulate within our own community. It supports local businesses. It creates jobs, and it helps stimulate economic growth within our community.

“If we don’t start to prioritize our local contractors, in five to 10 years, we will have no local contractors around here. They’re already starting to leave, retire or whatever, and so, if that happens, then we’re going to be paying whatever anybody wants us to pay whenever they have to come over here and do the work,” he said.

Fuller said he isn’t supporting a policy that requires accepting local bids, but depending on the value of the project, a local bid 5% to 8% over the low bid might be acceptable to keep the employment local.

City Finance Director David Lakefield said several years ago the city changed its procurement policy to add local preference. It does not address contracted work and cannot apply to projects in which federal dollars are involved directly or indirectly.

The procurement policy allows geographical preference as one of the tie-breakers if there is more than one low bid.

Council member Paul Pitner questioned paying more to hire locally instead of having that money go further or take more burden off taxpayers. If Minot already is having difficulties getting contractors to construct flood protection, discouraging contractors with an unlevel playing field won’t help, he said.

“I like our local contractors. I think they do good work, but I don’t necessarily ask for that in my line of work, and I don’t think they need it,” Pitner said.

Fuller clarified he is not concerned about contractors associated with flood control.

“I’m talking about local infrastructure projects that are using taxpayer dollars, not flood control money – taxpayer dollars that these people, their families, their employees have all paid in to us, that we continue to send out of the state. It isn’t fair to them and it isn’t good for our economy,” Fuller said.

A motion to have staff develop a proposed policy passed 4-2, with dissents from council members Pitner and Lisa Olson.

Fuller also raised concern about the state Senate’s consideration of $65 million for the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project in the coming biennium after the House had approved $125 million.

“The flood control project, all of a sudden, is going to slow down quite a bit if we don’t get any more,” he said.

Fuller pointed out the Perkett Ditch improvement bid of $177,230, approved at the council meeting Monday, was 46% over the estimate. He also noted the city is looking at a house purchase in the flood area that is 10 years away from a need for that property for flood control.

“The money we are spending here is crazy and I understand it has to be done, but again, if the state is not going to take our flood control project seriously, I think we need to look at every single dollar we are spending and make sure it needs to be spent right now,” Fuller said.

Legislators who have supported reduced funding for Minot’s flood control have pointed to the difficulty in getting contractors compared to Fargo, which Fuller said indicates legislators are prioritizing Fargo’s flood project.

“I don’t know if I believe any of it, but if they are going to start cutting the flood control funding, how are we going to pay these exorbitant prices for the flood control projects as they come up?” he said.