75B - LOCAL BUSINESS PREFERENCE ORDINANC

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ORANGE COUNTY BUSINESS COUNCIL January 26, 2012 2 Park Plaza, Suite 100 1 Irvine, CA 92614-5904 1 P 949.476.2242 F 949.476.0443 ! www.ocbc.org Mr. Jay Trevino City of Santa Ana Planning and Building Agency 20 Civic Center Plaza, M20 Santa Ana, CA 92702 Mr. Trevino: Rtcoje 11% 14N3 AD On behalf of the Orange County Business Council (OCBC), I am writing to you regarding the City of Santa Ana's Local Preference Ordinance scheduled to be heard for the City Council's consideration on March 6, 2012. I want to commend staff for their outside the box and innovative approach to promoting economic development on a local level. Through initiatives such as OCBC's "Turning Red Tape into Red Carpet Awards", OCBC has sought to honor and recognize the hard work of local governments throughout the county who have cut through red tape to create a more business-friendly environment in Orange County As communicated to OCBC, the Santa Ana Local Preference Ordinance would establish a 4% preference for small Orange County Businesses, and a 7% preference for small Santa Ana businesses on all qualifying bids for materials, supplies, labor, equipment, or services. In addition, the local preference would only apply to all proposals/contracts between $5,000 and $100,000 where the City is not otherwise restricted from offering a preference due to funding source, the City Charter, State or Federal Law. OCBC strives to champion a vibrant and competitive economic climate, particularly when it comes to the use of taxpayer dollars in the procurement process by public agencies. As such, OCBC would be supportive of an Ordinance which would allow for the use of local preference in occasions where competitive bids and proposals are deemed to be equal and meet all requirements set forth by the City. EXHIBIT 4 THE LEADING VOICE OF BUSINESS IN ORANGE COUNTY 75B-1 0