The St. Mary’s County commissioners voted 4-1 Tuesday to give local businesses preference in doing business with the county government.

The change in the procurement policy also increases the amount of money county department heads can authorize be spent on outside goods and services.

St. Mary’s County joins Cecil, Garrett and Montgomery counties in Maryland for giving local businesses preference when awarding county contracts.

Any contract for at least $25,000 must go out for competitive bid. That’s up from $15,000.

However, a St. Mary’s County business can win the contract even if it is up to 10 percent higher than the lowest bid, up to a $50,000 differential.

For example, the low bid from outside St. Mary’s may be $100,000 on a project, but a local bidder can win with a bid of $110,000 or less, county finance staff explained.

A $1,050,000 local bid can win over a $1 million bid if the company is not from St. Mary’s County.

Commissioner Larry Jarboe (R) voted against the local preference policy. He said he saw “political benefit of ensuring more money for a few local businesses versus protecting the taxpayer by getting the best price for goods and services.”

On one side is a preference for local vendors, but on the other side, he said, “Competitors see ‘Bubba-deal’ discrimination.”

Commissioner Dan Morris (R) said, “Let’s give it a try and see what happens. Our local businesses are struggling.”

Elaine Kramer, chief financial officer of St. Mary’s County government, wrote of the purchasing preference policy, “There will likely be impact on costs of items purchased as well as staffing, in the departments as well as finance/procurement. However, these cannot be estimated at this time.”

Jarboe said, “But there will be an impact for sure. It’s going to cost us more to deal with this.”

“There may be more out-of-pocket cost,” Kramer said.

“And no doubt we’re going to run into some snags as we go along,” said Commission President Jack Russell (D).

But the policy can be reviewed for its cost and effectiveness, said Commissioner Cindy Jones (R), and changed if need be.

“Nothing is perfect. It might cost more; it might cost less,” said Commissioner Todd Morgan (R). It’s an opportunity to keep business in St. Mary’s County, he said.

In fiscal 2011, St. Mary’s County government spent $30.7 million for outside goods and service, with $10.8 million of it spent on local vendors.

The definition of a local vendor is a company that has identified St. Mary’s County as the county of residence with the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation.

County department heads will be able to make purchases up to $15,000 without competitive bids, up from the cap of $2,500.

jbabcock@somdnews.com