CITY of Ballarat has had a procurement policy and a commitment to buying from local businesses since 2008.<\/p>\n
It is incredibly important for council to support Ballarat business said Justine Linley CEO of City of Ballarat.<\/p>\n
\u201cApart from big-ticket items such as vehicles we frequent places around Ballarat for meetings, functions and we also purchase from local organisations such as sign writers and printers,\u201d Ms Linley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEighty-five per cent of our major tenders were awarded to local businesses and contractors last year and across the city we support significant numbers of businesses at the smaller scale.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council releases an expression of interest or a tender for a panel of suppliers asking people to submit their schedule of rates and they can then be selected to go on the panel of suppliers for to two to three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur preference is definitely for local businesses, people who employ people locally and are based locally,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The municipality has around 1100 staff and 700 volunteers, the majority of whom live within Ballarat or the immediate regions.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur strongest focus is on employing local people, they have houses here, they shop and spend in the city and their kids go to schools nearby,\u201d Ms Linley said.<\/p>\n
Adam Heath, Signarama Ballarat\u2019s owner, has been doing business with the council for around five years.<\/p>\n
Although, the city is not a major client for the signage they make he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe council doesn\u2019t put all their eggs in one basket, they share the local business around and I think that is a nicer approach, rather than using only one company,\u201d Mr Heath said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not saying we wouldn\u2019t like more but if there are different departments that are already using a particular local company, and there is a relationship there, then we are not looking to break any of those relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Craig Butterworth, owner of SLC – Sound & Light Concepts, said the business he does with the council is not insignificant.<\/p>\n
As providers of event sound and lighting hire, his business has been involved with the municipality for over 20 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cHeritage Weekend is a big event that ties my business up for a week plus planning time before hand,\u201d Mr Butterworth said.<\/p>\n
SLC have gone through the compulsory competitive tender process and have become a preferred supplier to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a very niche market we play in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the biggest and longest established business [in this field in Ballarat] so therefore we are the best resourced to be able to do almost everything needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the work that involves the hire side of our business comes from the council\u2019s events department and we realistically get the lion\u2019s share of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CITY of Ballarat has had a procurement policy and a commitment to buying from local businesses since 2008. It is incredibly important for council to support Ballarat business said Justine Linley CEO of City of Ballarat. \u201cApart from big-ticket items such as vehicles we frequent places around Ballarat for meetings, functions and we also purchase […]<\/p>\n