What's local? City ponders policy changes

by Cameron Rasmusson Staff Writer
| February 10, 2012 6:00 AM

SANDPOINT — Although buying local remains a priority for city officials, frugality is just as important in this economy.

That need for balance prompted Administration Committee members to reexamine the city policy that always gives preference to local businesses when purchasing services. By retooling the resolution, they hope to grant city staff more flexibility while still ensuring that local businesses retain a key advantage.

According to some office heads, routine purchases for services and office items like printing paper are simply cheaper from outside the area.

For example, Police Chief Mark Lockwood cited one case where a out-of-town dry-cleaning business offered pick-ups, cleaning and delivery at a quarter of the cost offered by local options. He also mentioned that although police representatives have requested lower prices from local businesses to lessen the budgetary pressure, no owners have agreed to the proposal.

A possible solution, suggested by Councilman Justin Schuck, involved adding a dollar amount to the resolution, ensuring that the city still receives competitive bids for major purchases. As for more routine goods and services, he preferred that department heads have the flexibility they need to keep their offices from going over-budget.

Committee members also examined the geographic boundaries that define local purchases. Although they posed Bonner County as one possible definition for “local,” City Attorney Scot Campbell later pointed out that a region with specific boundaries could prove problematic down the road. Generalized terms like the “local economic community” or “the greater Sandpoint area” gave an idea of the region being discussed without locking city officials into explicit county lines.

City Council members first discussed the issues of the local buying policy at their January meeting. Now that the Administrative Committee has given city staff some pointers for revising the ordinance, members will return next month to make a final decision.