On the surface it sounds like such a good idea. Why wouldn’t the city of Vancouver embrace a new policy to give an edge to Vancouver-based businesses competing for government contracts?
But some of the county’s largest contractors are worried about the ripple effects of an obscure ordinance revision that comes before Vancouver City Council on Monday.
If the idea were widely adopted, it could ultimately hurt these local companies rather than help them.
State law prohibits cities from giving the hometown bidder an advantage just for being local. Vancouver’s proposal aims to get around that restriction. It would let the city consider sales tax and other revenue that a contract would generate. Give the contract to a local company, and Vancouver’s tax collections go up more than with a nonlocal contract.
Small companies, such as Servpro of east and west Vancouver, could benefit. It’s been years since Servpro owner Dave Boswell has been called to help with a city storm drain or sewer cleanup. He worries that he’s at a disadvantage when competing with Portland companies.
But Vancouver-based businesses that do a lot of work outside Clark County feel differently.
“If you only work here, it might be good for you,” said Jeff Deringer, vice president at Vancouver-based Nutter Corp.
“We do a lot of business in Portland and Cowlitz County. If this idea spreads to other agencies, we may end up losing work in Portland or Longview because of it.”
The company’s regional contracts generate the revenue that fund its local contributions — and pay the salaries of 200 employees.
“If we just worked in Clark County, we couldn’t do Dozer Days, we couldn’t do a lot of our community stuff,” Deringer said.
Defended by Leavitt
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt defends the city ordinance changes.
“In the end, the pros and cons should balance,” Leavitt said in an e-mail. “Companies like Nutter should have better opportunities to garner work right here in their hometown, further benefiting their employees and our local economy.”
Leavitt also pointed out other policy changes that bigger businesses are likely to embrace.
If approved, the city’s new procurement rules will streamline the bid process and make it easier for small companies to qualify for the city’s small works roster. The new rules will also let Vancouver officials ban law-breaking companies from bidding on city contracts.
“It sounds like they’re trying to do a good thing for local business,” Deringer said. “I’m for streamlining the process, but I also like open competition. People come up here and bid against us all the time. We do our best to protect our home turf, but we also go on their turf and make bids too.”
These changes, part of an overhaul of the city’s procurement policy, will be before the City Council at its 6 p.m. Monday meeting. Council will hold a public hearing on the plans on Aug. 2.
Courtney Sherwood is The Columbian’s business and features editor. Reach her at 360-735-4561 or courtney.sherwood@columbian.com.
