The City Charter Section 3.35 authorizes the Procurement Manager (agent) to contract for purchases under such regulations and with such exceptions as the Council may provide.
On September 21, 2020, Council recommended an addition to Procurement Policy in favor of additional preference for Independence businesses. The recommendation was to add another section to the Local Preference Ordinance (Section 8.06.003 (E) of the City Code.
There was an initial resolution recommended for passage at the January 4, 2021 Council meeting. The resolution was returned to staff for further revising.
The current resolution is for preference to go to licensed businesses operating from a physical address in the City of Independence for a minimum of six (6) months when quality, service and other terms of the purchases are equal to or better than the low bid. The local business shall be given a preference of ten percent (10%) over the low bid, provided that the difference between the low bid and the local bid does not exceed thirty thousand dollars ($30,000.00) maximum.
The local preference does not supersede the current local labor preference for Jackson County businesses. Rather, it enhances that preference for businesses located within Independence.
Upon approval of this change, the City's Procurement Policy will incorporate the change which can be found in Section 12 (D) on page five of the Policy.