A million-dollar "guaranteed work programme" has been signed off for Whitestone Contracting Ltd by the Waitaki District Council.
While the council-controlled organisation will benefit most from the recommendations carried by councillors at Tuesday’s full council meeting, other contractors can also expect a boost.
Council assets group manager Neil Jorgensen said the $1million injection for Whitestone Contracting and a possible $2.5million in contracts for other contractors in the district were put forward for consideration to help boost the North Otago economy.
"What the team is trying to do is ensure it can be a little bit more nimble with particularly our contractors and suppliers ...
"One of the key messages from Government has been to try and be nimble in our quest to re-stimulate the economy and make sure we’ve got work available, and get it procured as quickly as we can."
He said that would usually "take some time", but would be sped up by negotiating with Waitaki contractors.
The contracts would mostly involve water infrastructure projects and renewal works brought forward that had already been approved and allocated funding.
However, Cr Jim Hopkins argued the council could be seen as "playing favourites" in its commitment to Whitestone Contracting, a move Mr Jorgensen said was "entirely a governance or political decision" for councillors to make.
After a long discussion about the wording of one recommendation — whether contractors should be referred to as from "Waitaki" or "local" — a seemingly frustrated Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said that was not relevant.
"This is about making sure our people have got work, but it also covers making sure it’s a fair price we are getting work done for."
