Local & Sustainable Purchasing Changes

From time to time we hear rumblings of discontent when the City of Tacoma awards a contract to a company that’s not from around here. For example, when it was announced in 2011 that the contract for upgrading the City’s website would go to a Canadian company, we heard more than a few voices wondering why the City couldn’t give local companies an edge in the selection process. Setting aside the specifics of that bidding process, the major obstacle to giving an advantage to local companies has been that the City’s purchasing policies haven’t included locality in their language.

An ordinance scheduled for a first reading this week would change that. The ordinance would amend the section of the TMC relating to the Purchasing Policy Manual to ensure the inclusion and consideration of locality and sustainability factors in the evaluation and award of City contracts. The changes would allow for the consideration of locality in contract awards when a specific, identifiable purpose could be served by contracting with a local firm, and would allow for the consideration of sustainability criteria where appropriate.

U. Ensuring the City’s specification documents shall, where appropriate, include locality criteria. Locality criteria contained in the specification documents shall be designed to elicit respondents who demonstrate knowledge and understanding of factors unique to the relevant locality. Such factors might include, but are not limited to, culture; customs; history; and the natural, built, and economic environment of the relevant locality. A respondent’s ability to satisfy such criteria shall be considered when determining the lowest and best responsible bidder.

V. Ensuring the City’s specification documents shall, where appropriate, include criteria designed to demonstrate a respondent’s ability to advance the City of Tacoma’s Sustainable Procurement Policy contained in the Purchasing Policy Manual. A respondent’s ability to satisfy such criteria shall be considered when determining the lowest and best responsible bidder.

So, though the local bidder might not be the lowest, this change would give local companies a bit of a boost in some situations. Is this a good thing for local companies? Is it a good thing for Tacoma?

… by the way, whatever did happen to that City website upgrade … ?