KALAMAZOO (WKZO) — A vote on a responsible bidders policy has been delayed two weeks, but it could be a race between the Kalamazoo County Board and the State Legislature on whether it happens.
The proposed policy would give the edge to bidders for county contracts who are not only local, but have training programs and provide benefits and are socially responsible in other ways.
It’s a popular idea with many local builders unions and trade groups who spoke in favor of it at Tuesday night’s county board meeting. But some say it will scare away bidders especially smaller local firms.
The end goal is to spend local tax dollars with local firms, but some in the State Legislature want to strip local governments of the right to make such local policies and a bill is pending right now that could toss the county’s plan into the dumpster.
