Monestime leads way for County-based businesses

The Board of County Commissioners unanimously adopted a new law recently that significantly helps locally-headquartered businesses obtain County contracts.

An ordinance sponsored by Commissioner Jean Monestime, District 2, and adopted by the Board allows locally-headquartered businesses to participate in additional negotiations with the County if their bids on contracts fall within 15 percent of a non-local vendor’s lowest bid. Similarly, additional negotiations will be held for locally-headquartered businesses whose bids fall within five percent of local vendors.
Thanks to the new procurement rules, locally-headquartered businesses could compete head-to-head with outside firms in a best-and-final-offer process to obtain County work. This change to the County’s procurement process could increase the number of County contracts awarded to businesses headquartered in Miami-Dade. It could also result in cost savings for the County, according to a memo issued by the County Mayor.
This measure continues Monestime’s push to expand contracting opportunities for small and local businesses in Miami-Dade County.
“This ordinance levels the playing field between businesses headquartered in Miami-Dade County and non-local firms seeking to win County contracts,” Monestime said. “This is an added incentive for businesses to locate their headquarters in Miami-Dade County and hire locally. When our locally-headquartered businesses thrive, the entire County wins.”