Meaning of being a local contractor

The cheerleading brigade was in full-force at the inaugural lunch meeting of the Manatee Tiger Bay Club, where a four-man panel debated this question: Does Manatee County Mean Business?

Two panelists at the Feb. 4 meeting were executives with the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, while a third was the head of the local convention and visitors bureau. So there was a good amount of backslapping and congratulations on the county's promise and potential, sprinkled between the obligatory 'we have more work to do' statements.

It was left to the lone private industry representative on the panel, Bill Robey, president of Lakewood Ranch-based construction firm DooleyMack, to talk about issues that truly impact how companies do — or don't do — business in Manatee County. Robey, whose firm had $134 million in 2009 revenues, down 13.5% from $155 million in 2008, chose to spend his time at the dais criticizing the way many Florida counties, including Manatee, handle local preference rules.