Auburn officials and state lawmakers are looking to give local businesses and contractors a leg up on the competition. But according to some in the state Legislature, the proposal might not have any legs at all.

A bill that is currently in committee in Albany proposes to let the city of Auburn favor local businesses when awarding some of its municipal contracts.

Auburn would be able to award public works and purchase contracts for up to $100,000 to Cayuga County businesses whose bids are within 5 percent of the lowest bid, according to the proposal, known as A.7161 in the Assembly and S.5922 in the Senate.

For this to happen, legislators have to approve an amendment of the state's general municipal law, which currently mandates that municipalities award to the lowest bidder, according to Assemblyman Gary Finch, the bill's sponsor in the state Assembly.

“It would be based on the assumption that the local bidder pays local taxes, hires local people and has a local payroll,” Finch said

Auburn City Council passed a resolution Thursday requesting that state lawmakers approve the amendment.

Last week, City Manager Mark Palesh said that helping local bidders would hopefully aid in the area's economic development.

“I think if businesses are moving here, we should give them every opportunity to be competitive,” Palesh said. “And with gas prices, if they can deliver (goods and services) without going too far afield, that would be the way to go.”

Finch said the concept has been thrown around the Capitol for a while, with Auburn city officials first requesting such action as early as 1999. But a proposal has yet to make it to the Assembly floor for a vote.

Auburn is not the first community to ask for an exemption from the laws regulating bids, he said. Such bills often meet resistance in committee, Finch said.

For one, local bidders may not use union labor, he said, which brings opposition from union advocates. Others are generally against making exceptions for any law.

“Once you start creating exceptions, you sort of open the door to greater exceptions,” Finch said.

The state Legislature wraps up its current session June 23, and Finch said he does not expect a bill to reach the floor before then.

“It could well have another birthday,” he said of the bill.

While $100,000 is a lot of money, it is not a huge amount when compared with other municipal contracts. The city is paying a Saratoga Springs firm $116,000 to put together its comprehensive plan, a year-long project. A new compactor for the landfill recently cost the city more than $500,000. The current project on East Genesee street is a $6.3 million undertaking.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.