The recommendation followed a report made by QLDC Engineering Services general manager Mark Kunath regarding the council's capital expenditure programme.
Mr Kunath said with the economic environment likely to remain uncertain for "some time", an appraisal of the benefits of work being done "locally" was initiated.
"It found that for every $5 million of capital expenditure, 50 other jobs in the community were supported by the multiplier effect of this expenditure.
"Put another way, if $5 million of expenditure is cut from the programme, or most of the money is not spent in our communities, this could lead to 50 jobs being put at risk."
To gain maximum value for the district's communities, as much of the council's capital expenditure as possible should be undertaken with suppliers that were local, he said.
"The difficulty comes in defining `local' and also not wanting to stop external competition which can bring financial benefits."
The council's procurement policy sought to ensure the best value purchase was made and it was suggested the policy be amended to support buying local for infrastructure construction and consulting projects "where competition exists".
Cr Vanessa van Uden said the committee had an obligation to "at least investigate" the option and see if it made sense to provide some provision for investment back into the community.
However, the committee needed to be aware that occasionally local contractors were more expensive and under the procurement policy, the council was obliged to take the best tender price.
Mr Kunath said a West Coast-based contractor tendered for a job and missed out because it was $1 more expensive than another contractor. If it had dropped the price by $1, the council would have been obliged to give the tender to the West Coast contractor, which may have had little benefits in terms of the multiplier effect into the district.
Cr Lyal Cocks said it was important to support the locals given the current economic climate.
The committee recommended the existing procurement policy be reviewed. The results of that review will be reported back in the coming months.
