That was City Attorney James "Bubba" Palmour's recommendation. Palmour concluded that an amended city purchasing ordinance might violate state law, but he added it could be discretionary.
"We have to send him my opinion," Palmour said. "Send him a copy of our charter and a copy of our code and just ask him if we can do this, and if so in what situations."
Council members say they feel they should support Gainesville's economy by giving local contractors preference on low bids if possible.
"Would they give us the ability to ask a local vendor if it's within 3 percent of the bid to roll his price back to the low bid?" Dunagan asked.
Councilman George Wangemann also favors giving local contractors a break, but added the city should abide by the Attorney General's opinion on the state law.
"Wherever we can we want to give it to somebody local because they do pay local taxes and we think we should work with them," Wangemann said.
Palmour advised City Council in his opinion that public works contracts are covered under the Georgia Local Government Public Works Construction Law, which applies to all construction projects exceeding $100,000.
SPLOST CHOICES
Gainesville City Manager Bryan Shuler questioned how Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars should pay for projects that benefit the entire county, not just Gainesville.
Shuler said the Hall County Commission wants all cities in the county to send their SPLOST choices in by next Monday.
"Regardless of where they're geographically located they have widespread benefit," Shuler said. "When you're trying to decide how to split up the money, those should not always fall to the city who happens to operate that facility."
Shuler said it's an approach to how SPLOST funds can meet community needs and how those funds should be allocated.
Shuler said heading Gainesville's SPLOST list is a new public safety complex for the fire department and police at an estimated $21 million.
Shuler also proposed listing street and park improvements for the new SPLOST, which would begin collection in July 2009.
Palmour, George Wangemann
http://accesswdun.com/article/2008/3/208448