On 6/18/04 2:55 PM, "phaedrus" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > In an effort to post something more positive and > constructive (and on a topic unrelated to smoking > bans), I submit the following: > > I understand that the City of Minneapolis currently > gives preference on bids to minority- or women-owned > businesses. > > Do we also give similar preference to locally owned > businesses followed by regionally owned businesses? > If not (and given the fact that we passed on Eureka! > Recycling, I doubt that we do), can we? > > Also, would there be support for the idea of giving > preference to worker-owned businesses followed by > businesses owned by people who have an "active > interest" in the business? (I believe that "active > interest" means that they spend at least some time > every month working with their business and is tracked > for IRS reasons) > > I believe that, if not already in place, resolutions > along these lines would benefit our city both > economically and socially. > > Thoughts?
I looked on the city website for procurement policy and only found a reference to the preference for minority or women-owned businesses. I think it would be a good idea to give preference to locally-owned businesses. Though I would suggest making it an ordinance rather than just a resolution. There are some cities that have done things along these lines and some examples are available at: http://www.newrules.org/retail/purchasing.html It's been shown that purchases from locally-owned businesses have a much greater positive impact on local economies than purchases from businesses that are not headquartered locally. One such report, by Civic Economics (www.CivicEconomics.com), that compared local merchants to chain retailers showed that for every $100 in consumer spending at a chain bookseller, the total local economic impact is only $13. The same amount spent with a local merchant yields more than three times the local economic impact. Think now about the kind of purchasing power a city has compared to in individual and it would seem apparent that such a policy could have a substantial positive impact on the local economy. Using locally-owned businesses can have other positive impacts, as this article from Saturday's Star Tribune shows: Students get an 'A' in cost-cutting http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4836272.html As a former yearbook editor at my high school, I sure wish we would have thought of this. Our yearbooks were only about $20 back then and we still had complaints about prices. I particularly enjoyed reading this quote: "Students had a hands-on experience," [yearbook adviser Mark Rizzardi] said. "They got to watch their book being printed. It was an unbelievable experience for them." Maybe if more high schools were to do something like this, it might also spur more interest in creating some additional opportunities for the summer "Step Up" youth employment program, too. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
