Austin, Texas is a city that thrives based on revenue from local businesses. There are many people in the city that are self-employed. For several years now, the city has been voted as one of the top ten cities for entrepreneurs to live and work because of the positive response small businesses receive from consumers in the area.
The City of Austin has taken additional steps to reward local business owners with city construction contracts. The city will give preference to local bidders for city construction contracts. Austin mayor Lee Leffingwell led the charge. According to Statesman.com,
“Leffingwell, joined by City Council Members Mike Martinez and Randi Shade, said in a news conference that when the city needs to build something large enough to hire a private contractor, “companies with a local presence will get the contract … in cases where everything else is equal,” or nearly so.
Final details have yet to be worked out. But under the proposal, a local firm’s bid could be perhaps 5 to 10 percent higher than out-of-town bids and still be competitive, Leffingwell and Martinez said. “
This is a step in the right direction for the City of Austin. Hopefully the trend will continue and begin to include other industries.
