Council weighs purchase without bids

MONCKS CORNER -- Berkeley County Council is studying whether to approve the purchase of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of new bulldozers and other heavy equipment without the usual competitive bids.

County Engineer Frank Carson and Solid Waste Director Mark Schlievert want council to let them buy only Caterpillars. They told council's Public Works Committee on Monday that Caterpillars are a better deal because they're more rugged and have a higher resale value.

The local John Deere representative showed up to disagree. Mark Flanders of Industrial Tractor Co. in Ladson told the committee he sells John Deere equipment to 18 counties, and Berkeley County is the only one that would even consider locking into a contract without competitive bids.

He reminded council that he sold the county a bulldozer that was $42,000 cheaper than Caterpillar a few years ago, and it hasn't had any problems.

Several council members also questioned giving Caterpillar an exclusive contract.

"What's the incentive for Blanchard (the local Caterpillar dealer) to be more competitive, because they know they're guaranteed the contract?" Councilman Tim Callanan asked.

"I'm concerned about sole source," Councilman Dennis Fish said. "I don't like it."

The county's procurement ordinance states a sole-source purchase (without bids) is "not permissible unless the item to be procured is available from only a single supplier."

But the ordinance also states sole-source procurement may be justified "where the compatibility of equipment, accessories, or replacement parts is the paramount consideration."

Carson and Schlievert said it's important the county's heavy equipment be standardized.

The ordinance instructs council to decide whether to authorize a purchase without competitive bids. "In cases of reasonable doubt, competition should be solicited," it states.

The committee unanimously voted to delay a decision until next month. That will give Carson and Schlievert more time to gather evidence that Caterpillars will save money in the long run, they said. Committee members also said they wanted to give the local Caterpillar representative a chance to speak.

In other business Monday, council's Water and Sanitation Committee endorsed eliminating a rule that requires residents to hook into new waterlines that come near their houses. The change will be up for council's second-reading approval later this month. The actual wording of the new ordinance has not yet been drafted.

Dozens of residents who live near new county waterlines have been saying that hooking into the county system would cost them thousands of dollars, and many already have spent thousands installing new wells.