Created: 7/28/2009 3:29:12 PM 
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- More than 3,000 people will help build the new Duval County Courthouse over the next three years.
One of those hoping to work out there is David Harris. He is an electrician with ten years of experience.
"I'm looking for work right now," says Harris, who was recently laid off. He is on the hunt for a new job. But he says when he tried to get one out at the Courthouse site, he ran out of luck.
"They're out of town contractors bringing their own people in. I don't think that's fair for our tax dollars to be spent that way."
Harris is just one of many complaining that not enough local companies have been contracted out on the big project.
Many gathered at Hemming Plaza Tuesday afternoon to protest. "They're not hiring Jacksonville employees. They won't even take my resume. It's my tax dollars building this courthouse. It's really upsetting," says Harris.
But the City says nearly 60% of the business is local. Out of the $114 million spent on the job so far, $67 million of it has gone to local prime and sub-contractors.
"Ideally, we would love for all of our work to go to local companies, but we have to look at a number of factors such as qualifications...and cost," says Misty Skipper, the Mayor's Press Secretary.Skipper says in a number of the bids, no one local even made an offer to do the work. "What we saw out of the 23 major bid packages, seven of those had no response from any local company. So, we were not able to award it to a local company."
Skipper says there is still $36 million in bids still to be awarded. The projects are for painting and landscaping. Skipper says the hope is to award $20 million of that $36 million to local companies.
The Courthouse is expected to be complete in the summer of 2012.
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