Council to investigate two new policies

Council hopes more local businesses and social enterprise groups will be able to win valuable council contracts through two new policies which are being researched.

A buy-local policy would potentially give extra weighting to local businesses in the tender process and a social procurement policy would see more enterprise groups creating social change or improvement. 

City treasurer Trevina Schwarz said two separate reports on the policies would be tabled by the city treasury committee.

Cr Russell Lutton said this was a move he had been trying to get on the agenda for years.

“We now have the political support, by our councillors, to get these two policies investigated,” he said.

“Businesses in Logan will now be able to compete with those bigger outside companies.

“It will be great to get to get a report on the viability of the polices.”

Cr Lutton said the polices would allow the business economy of Logan to grow.

“Just because it’s cheaper doesn’t always mean it is the best thing for our economy and that is what we are trying to recognise with the policies,” he said.

“We have enterprise businesses like Temporary Fence Hire and Access Community Services who we would be able to utilise under a social scheme already set up in Logan.”

Cr Laurie Smith said both policies would create a big benefit to the Logan economy.

“We want to be able to put ratepayers money back into our local economy,” he said.