Nashua business owners could win more contracts from the city thanks to a local preference ordinance the Board of Alderman will consider this week.
The proposal would work kind of like a handicap in sports. Nashua businesses competing for city contracts would see bids lowered by three or five percent, depending on the size of the contract. So if an outside company and a Nashua business both bid $1,000, the city would look at the local bid as if it were $950. Alderman Ken Siegel put forth the ordinance. He says he tried to make the adjustment low, to keep the market competitive.
But he says, “There’s an ability to deal with local merchants on a one-to-one basis. Many of them are known personally by us. Problems can get resolved very quickly. And historically, local vendors have stepped up to the plate, often in time when non-local vendors have messed up orders and there was a time-critical factor to getting things resolved.”
The ordinance would exclude city contracts with state or federal funding. The Nashua Telegraph reports Mayor Donnalee Lozeau is concerned about legal challenges. The aldermen’s Finance Committee unanimously passed the ordinance last week. The full board will take it up Tuesday night.
