"Initial cost ... but the money stays in the community instead of 'leaking out' ... We need to look at the bigger picture."

From California, ruminations quite similar to those recently aired by New Albany at-large councilman John Gonder: "Local government has an obligation to take the extra steps to ensure that local businesses are favored over national chains ... "

online.com/news/ivp-news-iviba-and-joint-chambers-ask-supervisors-to-buy-local-20111116,0,2882982.story">IVIBA and Joint Chambers ask Supervisors to buy local, by Alejandro Davila (Imperial Valley Press)

A bid preference ordinance that would benefit locally headquartered businesses was proposed by the Imperial Valley Independent Business Alliance to the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

The bid preference would give a 5 to 10 percent preference in government contracts when a business is headquartered in the county, regardless of its size, and bids, said Paul McManus, president of IVIBA.

“We propose that you pass a resolution that would direct your purchasing department to always look for a local source first before dealing with outside vendors,” McManus said to the board.