by Nicole Bradford
“Buy local” is a positive campaign for communities, but it’s not so easy for government, Pearland city staff explained during a recent discussion on how the city selects contractors and vendors.
“There are local businesses in Pearland that are not on buy boards,” Pearland City Council member Mona Chavarria said during the February 17 presentation.
Cities use cooperatives or bidding processes to find contractors, a requirement that ensures quality work and prevents overspending, according to special projects administrator Joel Hardy.
“(Procurement requirements) protect us, they protect the taxpayer’s dollars and make sure we’re dealing with an entity that can jump through the hoops, if you will,” he said. “Anybody can join the buy board.”
For local businesses that do compete for city contracts, giving preference to them is not as easy as it may seem, he said.
“The law actually stipulates there has to be a percentage nexus in the lowest bids — close enough for us to make the choice between two entities. We apologize for that, but that’s the world we live in.”
