WATERLOO - Caterpillar can't catch a break in this John Deere town.

Members of the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 Tuesday to buy a John Deere motorgrader from Murphy Tractor and Equipment of Waterloo for the secondary roads department.

While Murphy's $205,000 bid was more than the $183,440 proposal from Altorfer Machinery Co. of Cedar Rapids, County Engineer Cathy Nicholas said Altorfer's Caterpillar model failed to meet the specifications spelled out in the bid documents.

Specifically, Nicholas said the Caterpillar was not bio-fuel compatible, did not have rear defrost, failed to have a large enough cab for a tall operator to stand and, most notably, was operated by levers rather than a steering wheel.

"The operator of the motorgrader wanted the steering wheel for plowing snow," Nicholas said.

Board members were wary of not taking the lowest bid, but were assured by Assistant County Attorney Pete Burk that they had the freedom to turn down the Caterpillar if it failed to meet specifications.

"That's a very valid reason to reject the bid," Burk said.

Caterpillar has had a difficult time getting government business in Waterloo, where John Deere is a major employer. In 2004, the Waterloo City Council made headlines by voting to buy a more expensive John Deere endloader over a Caterpillar model when KWWL-TV's parent company stepped up and paid for the difference.