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Hernando Today

What Does 'Local' Mean And Who's In Charge?

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Hernando Today

Published: December 21, 2008

Updated: 12/21/2008 03:18 pm

We are in the deepest recession in the last 20 years and the Hernando Board of County Commissioners is having trouble defining the meaning of "local."

The county unemployment rate is among the highest in the state - standing at 10.2 percent as of November.

Why can't we decide to give county contracts to local companies and save local jobs? This is not rocket science. If locally based companies meet the qualifications, we should give them the work rather than give county contracts to out-of-county companies. The problem is that commissioners are led around by a staff that has taken control of the selection process for consultants that legally and rightfully belongs with the commissioners.

In the current fiasco, a local firm was awarded work over an outside firm until someone raised the specter of a possible lawsuit! Surely our Hernando County law firm (we have more lawyers than most private county firms) should be able to defend the BOCC. The argument was raised that an outside firm, because it may have some county residents on its staff could be considered local, is patently absurd. So is the statement by staff that the local firm had three firms in its group that were located outside the county.

Well perhaps that is so, but many times firms with specific expertise are not located in the county and they still report to the local firm that heads the team and usually gets the highest fee.

Try that argument in the city of Tampa and see how far you get. We believe "local" is a firm headquartered in Hernando County that employs, among others, local people and pays taxes to our county. This allows our businesses to grow and expand and hire more people to deliver their services.

The goal of the County's Economic Improvement Plan is to bring prime industries to Hernando County. It defines a prime industry as one that makes its products or provides service in or from Hernando County and sells its products or services outside the county. The money returns to Hernando County, creating jobs and wealth here. Well, that is the way the BOCC should look at firms competing for county contract work.

The state law known at the Competitive Negotiation Act (287.55FS) allows for the granting of preference to local firms as it does for minority consideration. The way we understand it, "local" is to be defined by the governing body and not by staff.

While we are at it, county commissioners ought to change another staff induced policy that states if the BOCC doesn't select the firms as they are ranked by staff the whole process has to start all over again. That is complete nonsense and, again not in keeping with the state law that states "the agency (BOCC) shall select in order of preference three firms deemed to be the most highly qualified to perform the required services." They are then free to choose the one they want and not the one staff has decided for them.

It's time for county commissioners to take back responsibility and accountability for the decisions of government. New commissioners ran on platforms of growing our economy, more accountability and responsibility in county government. We think this is a great time to show the public that it was not just campaign rhetoric.

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