BANGOR — A measure that would have awarded the contract for the purchase of six police computers to a Virginia company was amended by the City Council on Wednesday to substitute the name of a local firm, even though it meant rejecting the low bid.

The Bangor firm Professional Computer Group got the contract for $9,582.50, $234.50 more than the bid by Custom Fit Inc. of Chantilly, Va.

Councilors spent more than an hour discussing the question before voting 5-3 to go with PCG. Councilors Joseph Baldacci, Michael Crowley, Gerry Palmer, Dan Tremble and Judy Vardamis voted for the amendment, while Michael Aube, Patricia Blanchette and John Rohman opposed it. Nichi Farnham was absent.

The issue was not the cost of the computers — to be paid for by drug-forfeiture funds — but the city’s purchasing policy, and how closely the council should follow one paragraph of the 24-page document: “Local vendors shall not be granted preferential treatment except if two or more bids received are for the same total amount or unit price — quality and service being equal. In such instances, their bids shall be preferred over those of outside vendors.”

City Manager Edward Barrett outlined the questions involved, and pointed out that several staff members had recommended the low bidder, Custom Fit — except for Information Services Supervisor Bill Lapan, who said he thought the contract should go to a Maine vendor.

Lapan told the council that Custom Fit was a broker which purchased computer components from several vendors, rather than a vendor itself. Further, he said, although the company would use as its service provider a local individual who already serves three offices in the city, he was concerned that the city might be a low priority because its contract would actually be with the Virginia company.

“There are some very difficult issues about what constitutes local,” Barrett acknowledged, while pointing out that in rejecting the low bidder, the city could end up eliminating competition in the bidding process.

Blanchette said that if the council wanted to take steps to review its purchasing policy, that would be fine. But at this point, she said, the only “fair and honest thing to do” would be to give the contract to the low bidder under current rules.

Baldacci said he believed it was legitimate to award the bid to PCG because of “service-oriented issues” that had been discussed in the finance committee. He also said that the policies were guidelines only.

Rohman, however, said that when an entity intended to give local preference, it was usually spelled out in the bid process — something that hadn’t happened in this instance.

If the council wanted to give preference to certain vendors, he said, “I wish the policy had defined the difference by percentages, and had defined the location by miles.”

Several councilors mentioned receiving phone calls from residents asking that the local company get the contract.

“That’s an easy vote,” Mayor Aube said after turning over the gavel to Crowley so he could speak on the issue. “What’s in the best interests of Bangor is to have a policy in place” that makes the city’s intentions clear, he said.

Otherwise, he pointed out, “on an ad hoc basis, if you can get five votes, you can get a bid awarded. That’s wrong.” Aube acknowledged that he, too, would like to see the money spent stay in the local area, but said that going against the policy now would create a precedent where a month from now, the council would be facing the issue again on some other purchase.

Also on Wednesday, the council:

Approved an 18-month contract for 50 union employees at the City Nursing Facility. The contract, which will run July 1, 1999, through Dec. 31, 2000, will give employees a one-time stipend of $200 and a 1 percent raise effective July 1, 2000.

Appropriated $66,014 from the airport fund to update the master plan for Bangor International Airport.