The Suffolk County Water Authority will now allow preference to small businesses that have their primary place of business in Suffolk County when considering bids on contracts. The new policy was adopted by a unanimous vote at its board meeting on July 26th. SCWA can now 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,” said SCWA Chairman Charles Lefkowitz. “We contract out for more than $115 million in goods and services each year. 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.”
To qualify for the local business preference, the enterprise must have at least one employee that works from a physical location within Suffolk County. It must also primarily do business in Suffolk County. This ensures that large national companies with offices in Suffolk do not qualify under the policy. Finally, the business must have less than 15 total employees.
SCWA says that it contracts out for a wide-ranging 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.
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,” added Chief Executive Officer Jeff Szabo. “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.”
About SCWA:
The Suffolk County Water Authority is an independent public-benefit corporation operating under the authority of the Public Authorities Law of the State of New York. Serving approximately 1.2 million Suffolk County residents, the Authority operates without taxing power on a not-for-profit basis.