149.01 LOCAL PREFERENCE.
   Except as limited by subsection (f) herein, and except for any contract supported in whole or in part by the State or a contract financed in whole or in part by contributions or loans from any agency of the United States government, the price of any vendor’s or contractor’s bid or proposal for goods or services, shall be evaluated as though those proposed by local bidders were either five percent (5%), four percent (4%), three and one-half percent (3.5%), three percent (3%), two and one-half percent (2.5%), two and one-quarter percent (2.25%), or two percent (2%) lower than actually proposed in accordance with the following schedule:
   (a)   (1)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more received from companies, businesses or individuals whose principal place of business is within the corporate boundaries of the City shall be evaluated on a three percent (3%) reduction basis.
      (2)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) received from companies, businesses or individuals whose principal place of business is within the corporate boundaries of the City shall be evaluated on a five percent (5%) reduction basis.
   (b)   (1)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more received from companies, businesses or individuals that are located in the City but do not have their principal place of business within the corporate boundaries of the City shall be evaluated on a two and one-half percent (2.5%) reduction basis.
      (2)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) received from companies, businesses or individuals that are located in the City but do not have their principal place of business within the corporate boundaries of the City shall be evaluated on a four percent (4%) reduction basis.
   (c)   (1)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more received from companies, businesses or individuals that are located outside the City but within Erie County shall be evaluated on a two and one-quarter percent (2.25%) reduction basis, when not competing against a City bidder.
      (2)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) received from companies, businesses or individuals that are located outside the City but within Erie County shall be evaluated on a three and one-half percent (3.5%) reduction basis, when not competing against a City bidder.
   (d)   (1)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving forty thousand dollars ($40,000) or more received from companies, businesses or individuals that are located outside the City and Erie County but within the boundaries of the contiguous counties of Ottawa, Huron, Lorain and Sandusky shall be evaluated on a two percent (2%) reduction basis, when not competing against a City bidder or an Erie County bidder.
      (2)   Bids and proposals for contracts involving less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) received from companies, businesses or individuals that are located outside the City and Erie County but within the boundaries of the contiguous counties of Ottawa, Huron, Lorain and Sandusky shall be evaluated on a three percent (3%) reduction basis, when not competing against a City bidder or an Erie County bidder.
   (e)   (1)   A vendor, bidder or contractor principal place of business in Sandusky is an individual or business entity whose principal place of business is located within the corporate limits of the City. Registration of principal place of business in official documents filed with the Secretary of State, State of Ohio, or a valid vendor’s license which indicates that the principal place of business is located within the corporate limits of the City is prima facie proof of principal place of business. When proof of situs is required, the local bidder or contractor must provide proof of principal place of business to the City Manager in order to receive a preference provided herein.
      (2)   A vendor, bidder or contractor located but not principal place of business in Sandusky is an individual or business entity whose physical, viable place of business is located within the corporate limits of the City but not principal place of business within the corporate limits of the City. When proof of situs is required, the local bidder or contractor must provide proof of place of business to the City Manager in order to receive a preference provided herein.
      (3)   A vendor, bidder or contractor located but not necessarily principal place of business in Erie County is an individual or business entity whose physical, viable place of business is located within the corporate limits of Erie County. When proof of situs is required, the local bidder or contractor must provide proof of place of business to the City Manager in order to receive a preference provided herein.
      (4)   A vendor, bidder or contractor located within the boundaries of the contiguous counties of Ottawa, Huron, Lorain and Sandusky, excluding Erie County, is an individual or business entity whose physical, viable place of business is located within those counties. When proof of situs is required, the local bidder or contractor must provide proof of place of business to the City Manager in order to receive a preference provided herein.
   (f)   The maximum amount of preference given to a vendor or contractor shall be applied, based on the size of the contract, according to the following schedule. Where application of the local preference would result in a contract award where the actual cost of the contract is more than the amount specified below over the next low acceptable bid, the local preference shall not apply.
 

Contract Amount
Maximum Preference
Less than $500,000
$15,000
$500,000 or more but less than $750,000
$22,500
$750,000 or more but less than $1,000,000
$30,000
$1,000,000 or more
$37,500
Nothing herein shall be construed as increasing or decreasing the actual price of a bid or proposal and the resulting contract in accordance with their terms in this section is intended only to be used for purposes of comparing and evaluating bids and proposals for goods and services. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create any private rights, claims or causes of action on behalf of any person, including but not limited to bidders, proposers and contractors.
      (Ord. 06-020. Passed 2-27-06.)