Council panel backs enhanced bidding preference for Philly-owned businesses

Philadelphia-based companies could soon have a bigger edge when bidding for city contracts.

 

A bill just approved by a City Council committee calls for increasing from 5 to 10 percent the bonus Philadelphia companies get when bidding for city work. Supporting locally based businesses has a multiplier effect because the work translates into taxes paid to the city, said Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown.

 

“Too often, we end up in circumstances where Philadelphia’s locally based businesses don’t win the opportunity. Because there are many in Council, including me, that believe we need level the playing field and create greater opportunity for Philadelphia based businesses,” she said Tuesday. “We believe this measure pushes us in that direction.”

Jamie Gauthier of the Sustainable Business Network supports the bill.

“Multiple studies show that locally owned businesses return more than three times the amount of revenue that chains and nationals do to the local economy, Gauthier said. “Locally owned businesses are more likely to source their goods from local suppliers. They are more likely to hire locally and pay their workers a decent wage, strengthening our city’s tax and employment base.”

If the bill becomes law, supporters promise to study the benefits and costs to the city.