In a rare joint meeting between between City Commissioners, County Councilers, Board of Schools, and the City-County Cabinet of Commerce, an agreement has been made between them and all departments under each authority have pledged a “Shop Henderson First” campaign.
Under this agreement, any purchase order request submitted from any local publicly funded department or subsidiary exceeding $2,000 will be bid upon, and each bid request will be sent to the City-County Cabinet of Commerce for disbursement.
Cabinet of Commerce member businesses would then be notified of the bid request based on their membership category with the Cabinet.
The bidding process would otherwise work as normal: member businesses would submit a proposal back to the requesting government department contact by a specified deadline.
Government departments are still free to send their Request for Proposal to outside companies, however this agreement ensures local companies are given an equal opportunity to participate.
Officials estimate an approximate 7% tax collection increase each year over the next 3 years and reduce unemployment by at least .5% each year for the next 5 years as the plan helps to grow and sustain local businesses.