Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Office of Economic Business Policy has proposed an ordinance that would give local businesses preference when bidding on government contracts, the city announced. The Local Preference Ordinance, which is being supported by Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Bernard Parks, is being introduced to the City Council today. The ordinance would provide local businesses an 8 percent preference in their bids and proposals for the contracts by giving them lower bidding prices and higher evaluation points compared to other bidders. The ordinance would provide the preferential treatment during the “low bid contracts” process and the “request for proposals” process. The city currently spends about 84 percent of its procurement dollars with businesses located outside of the city, causing only $180 million to go to local businesses out of the $1.1 million allocated for government contracts. “At a time of sky-high unemployment in this city, we cannot afford to send our taxpayers’ money to out-of-state businesses,” said Krekorian, who is vice-chair of the Jobs and Business Development Committee. “The city should make its purchases in a way that helps local businesses create local jobs, and that’s what this ordinance will do.” To be eligible for a local preference, a business must have filed and maintained a Business Tax Registration Certificate for the prior six months, occupy a building space in the geographic area required by the city charter, and have 50 percent full-time employees working in the geographical area required by the city charter at least 60 percent of the time. A study estimated that a local preference policy would generate about 10,000 new jobs with no cost to the city.
Ordinance Would Give Bidding Preference to Local Businesses
