Martin County Fiscal Court made a decision Thursday that should trouble every taxpayer, regardless of which contractor ultimately would have been best suited for the job.
The court chose Howell’s Recycling & Sanitation of Debord for demolition and restoration work on eight flood-buyout properties. Howell’s bids totaled $560,500.
West Brothers Contracting of Varney, West Virginia, bid $157,500 for the same eight properties.
The difference: $403,000.
Both companies met the county’s bid application requirements.
There may be legitimate reasons for rejecting a low bid. A bid can be unrealistically low. A contractor may misunderstand the scope of work. Questions can arise about experience, capacity, insurance, scheduling or whether all required costs were included.
Those questions should be investigated and documented.
What should never be the reason for spending an additional $403,000 is that the money comes from Washington instead of the Martin County treasury.
Yet that was part of the explanation offered Thursday.
When County Attorney Melissa Phelps pointed out the enormous difference between the bids and asked District 1 Magistrate Cody Slone to explain his choice for the record, Slone said he preferred the local contractor.
“I just think it’s a local person,” he said. “It’s federal money. I mean, it’s not like it’s coming through the local money.”
But federal money is taxpayer money.
It comes from working people in Martin County, Kentucky and every other community in the country. A federal reimbursement does not make an expenditure free. And it does not relieve local officials of their responsibility to seek value for the public.
We understand the desire to keep money in Martin County. Local businesses employ local people and contribute to the community and local institutions.
But a preference for local business cannot become a blank check.
The difference was not a few thousand dollars. It was more than three and a half times the low bid.
On one property, West Brothers bid $30,000 while Howell’s bid $143,500. On another, the bids were $20,000 and $97,500.
Numbers that far apart demand examination.
Phelps herself expressed concern that West Brothers’ bids might be too low and questioned whether the company had factored in all of the required costs.
The county should have asked the bidder how it calculated the price. Review the scope. Verify the contractor’s ability to perform. Compare the bids with the USDA demolition plans and cost estimates. Determine whether something was omitted.
If the low bid is deficient, say exactly how.
If it is not deficient, then taxpayers deserve to know why spending another $403,000 represents the better value.
District 5 Magistrate Ronald Workman voted against the award.
“I just can’t with that much difference,” Workman said.
His concern is understandable.
The Emergency Watershed Protection program exists to help communities recover from disasters. Martin County should use every available federal dollar to help residents recover.
Stewardship does not end when Washington picks up the tab.
The obligation should be the same whether the check is written from the Martin County treasury, the Kentucky treasury or the United States Treasury.
Public money belongs to the public.
Officials should spend it accordingly.