Why don't local authorities buy from their local businesses?

In this article written exclusively for LFR, our man on the ground Peter French questions why local authorities aren’t buying from local businesses...

Peter says:

“For many years I have, in my spare time, worked as an event photographer.  Events can be music concerts, sporting events or any gathering where the host wants some kind of photographic record.

For the past 3 years, I have given up Sundays to photograph a sporting event hosted by the local County Council.  I don’t get paid by the Council to take pictures at these events â€" I do it because I enjoy it - and I do it voluntarily.  I recoup my costs by selling pictures to participants â€" although this does mean on occasions I operate at a loss.

The County Council is a very large sign buyer.  The sporting events I photograph also have a need for printed output and Signtec â€" alongside other local businesses â€" is well positioned to meet all the Council’s print needs.  I was under the misapprehension that my dedication to the Council and the events it stages would ensure my sign making business would be positioned right under the nose of the relevant powers that be.

How wrong could I be?  Post the latest sporting event, I was disheartened to see - on the Council's Facebook page - a picture of the Council’s brand new shiny exhibition stand promoting the sporting event I had been attending and supporting for the past few years.  Signtec didn’t even get a look in.  Talk about a kick in the teeth...

I wasn't even asked to quote for the product.  I could live with the fact that we didn’t get the gig if we were beaten fair and square by the competition â€" but we weren’t even given the chance to present what we could do.

I have four local families relying on a monthly salary cheque from Signtec.  We are a private business and a million miles away from public sector employment model where the revenue is extracted from the public and businesses by way of taxes to pay the wage bill. 

There is no guarantee that there will be enough in the coffers at the end of each month in private industry.  Sadly, you can only pay the wages if the money is in the bank. 

If organisations like the Council continue to sideline local businesses, then there won’t be enough funds to pay local people.  That is the harsh reality of today’s competitive world.

Our current former Borough Council is now in the process of rebranding as a City Council.  The entire City centre is being rebranded.  Whilst Signtec and a few of the other local signmakers have managed to catch a few crumbs from the rich man’s table, we were extremely surprised and disappointed to discover that a major sign order had gone "up North".  More so, as â€" yet again â€" we weren’t even asked to quote for the project.

As ratepayers to the City (and hefty rates they are!), it is so short sighted of the Council to not realise that it is in their interest to keep us in business.  There are enough empty retail and commercial units in this part of the world that don't provide any income to support the Council’s activities.  This in turn increases the amount the remaining businesses have to pay.  Yet another business going bust would not help the Council’s revenue stream and certainly doesn’t serve as a good advert for a City with greater ambitions.

Can I make a plea on behalf of all the small businesses -especially those in the sign and graphics arena?  If government, local authorities and major enterprises don't use their local resources, then â€" sure as eggs are eggs â€" those businesses won't be around for much longer. 

As tax and ratepayers to the local authorities, both as individuals and as business owners, I believe the Council has a duty of care to us.  At the very least, please allow local businesses to quote for local projects.  Money paid out in the local area is spent in the local area and so it becomes a greater benefit to the local community. Why can’t the Council see that??

I have never known business to be tougher than it is today and yet the actions of a local authority â€" who I'd always thought were there to help and support the community â€" seems to be putting local businesses in jeopardy.

My heartfelt plea goes out to all local authorities:  You are a big customer of signs and graphics and you will all have small businesses in your patch that need your work.  Talk to them, visit them.  Above all, give them the opportunity to quote for local work and give them a chance to survive.”

About Peter French: Peter has been working in the sign industry for 10 years having spent a lifetime in IT. Specialising in kick-starting businesses, Peter worked in many diverse business sectors.  For most of the time at Signtec he has been at the forefront of large format printing with both solvent and UV technologies.