Councillors asked to buy local

Napier City Council chief executive Wayne Jack wants to build up the capacity of the community through local procurement.

Napier Council will show its commitment to promoting the economic growth and wellbeing of its city and the wider region by sourcing local labour and using local products.

Tomorrow councillors will be asked to vote in this policy at an Extraordinary Council meeting. While this issue will be discussed tomorrow, chief executive Wayne Jack said the council already follows the principle of procuring locally.

"What we are doing is just updating our policy to reflect that."

He said the benefits of looking locally were around building the capability in the community.

"Sometimes when you can actually give a job to a local company, they build up some expertise in that area," Mr Jack said.

"It is around the social and economic benefits that come from doing procurement locally, so they can employ people they can put money back into the community."

He said the council did take into account that not all skills needed could be procured locally whenever a significant project is undertaken.

"So you look at the expertise and capability within the region," Mr Jack said.

"As much as possible we try and procure local as long as it provides that expertise and it doesn't come out at a major cost or a cost difference to the ratepayer."

According to the meeting agenda, local procurement is one method in a wider range of more substantive initiatives, where the council can support this commitment. "Council will therefore foster and encourage a viable and competitive supply market that is able to provide goods and services now and into the future, whilst ensuring the best value for money for ratepayers and service users," it reads.

"In some areas of procurement, this may mean ensuring the on-going viability of locally based suppliers."

Council will, therefore, choose to procure goods and services from locally based suppliers where the value for money offered by the locally based supplier is at least as good as suppliers based outside the region.

"There is a need to ensure an active preference, within a small financial cost, for local firms for the supply of goods and services, based on whole of life costs," the document reads.

When practical, the council will also bundle its procurement activities to offer opportunities to locally based smaller suppliers, the meeting agenda says.