The engineering design cost of a building, for example, is about 1% to 2% of the life cycle cost of the building. If you invest wisely in that 1% to 2%, you can have life cost savings that will save taxpayer dollars. There's a tendency in some governments to want to “low bid” the engineering work.
Engineering is not a commodity; it's professional services. If you had to have your daughter's eyes examined or operated upon, you wouldn't go to the first person who came out of medical school; you would choose the person who's done it before, and you would be prepared to pay the price of the professional services that are relevant.
We're saying they should be chosen on qualifications, competence, experience, and then for that 1% and 2%, you negotiate the fee, after you've selected the most appropriate engineering firm.