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REGULAR MEETING March 9, 2020
<br /> 20-04 A RESOLUTION ON BEHALF OF THE SOUTH
<br /> BEND COMMON COUNCIL ENCOURAGING
<br /> LOCAL RESIDENTS AND THE CITY OF SOUTH
<br /> BEND TO "BUY-LOCAL" TO PARTICIPATE IN
<br /> THE MANY BENEFITS OF PURCHASING
<br /> FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES
<br /> Councilmember Lori K. Hamann,chair of the Community Relations Committee,reported that they
<br /> met this afternoon and send this bill to the full Council with a favorable recommendation.
<br /> Councilmember Lori K. Hamann, 2658 Tomahawk Trail, South Bend, IN, served as the presenter
<br /> for this bill. Councilmember Lori K. Hamann read the resolution into the record: A Resolution on
<br /> behalf of the South Bend Common Council, encouraging local residents in the City of South Bend
<br /> to `Buy-Local' to participate in the many benefits of purchasing from local businesses. Whereas,
<br /> The South Bend Common Council is proud of local-independent businesses, including local
<br /> agricultural businesses, and supports the impact those businesses have on the City's culture,
<br /> economy and character; and, Whereas, by buying local South Bend and area residents encourage
<br /> a strong sense of pride in our community; and, Whereas, buying local improves and protects the
<br /> environment because the purchasing habits, central location and smaller footprint of local
<br /> businesses results in less pollution and congestion; and, Whereas, according to The Cambridge
<br /> Journal of Regions, Economy,and Society, counties with a higher volume of local businesses have
<br /> a lower rate of mortality, obesity, and diabetes presumably due to eating foods that are
<br /> unadulterated with pesticides like organic fruits and vegetables, or free from hormone disrupting
<br /> compounds like grass-fed meats, pasture-raised eggs and dairy; and, Whereas, The Institute for
<br /> Local Self-Reliance conducted a study which determined that each one hundred dollars ($100)
<br /> spent at local independents generated forty-five dollars ($45) of secondary local spending,
<br /> compared to fourteen dollars ($14) for big-box chain stores; and, Whereas, a more recent study by
<br /> a private research firm, Civic Economics, found that the total impact(direct, indirect and induced)
<br /> on a Chicago neighborhood was sixty-eight cents ($.68) for every dollar ($1) spent at local
<br /> independents compared to forty-three cents ($.43)projected for chain competitors,meaning sixty-
<br /> eight cents ($.68) of additional local economic return ultimately generated after additional
<br /> spending cycles; and, Whereas, another study, commissioned by the American Independent
<br /> Business Alliance, found that local merchants generated twice as much sales activity per square
<br /> foot of a large chain store and nearly quadrupled the local economic return per square foot of the
<br /> chain store projections; and, Whereas, local businesses create diverse job opportunities, boost the
<br /> local economy and preserve neighborhoods; and, Whereas, purchasing from local businesses
<br /> means less travel time from the farm to table thereby reducing the energy required to transport
<br /> food by planes, trucks, and ships and reducing the nearly 250,000 tons of global warming gases
<br /> attributed to the import of foods by limiting the use of fossil fuels; and, Whereas, buying local
<br /> means the risk of foodborne illnesses is reduced because the food is fresher; and, Whereas, the
<br /> benefits of buying local result not only from the actions of residents, but also from the actions of
<br /> the City;and,Whereas,in addition to the benefits of residents buying local,purchasing local goods
<br /> and materials by the City will increase the City's self-reliance and resiliency, as well as acting as
<br /> a model for local purchasing policies that support local business development and economic
<br /> growth; and, Whereas, colleges and universities are inherently an important potential institutional
<br /> base for assisting community-based economic development in general, and civically engaged
<br /> development in particular, and by strategically focusing higher education's academic programs
<br /> and research to business practices colleges and universities can improve their core intellectual and
<br /> academic work in part by giving students and faculty real-world experience which can inform both
<br /> research and teaching. The Common Council therefore encourages participation in, and
<br /> development of, economic partnerships with these valuable anchor institutions within our
<br /> community; and, Whereas, encouraging local businesses to follow sustainable practices will
<br /> quicken their participation in high-growth sectors of the economy such as renewable energy,
<br /> recycling, green building, zero (0) waste and other sustainable businesses, which, in turn will
<br /> encourage local graduates to remain in South Bend and attract new talent to the area.
<br /> This being the time heretofore for Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents and opponents to
<br /> this bill were given an opportunity to be heard. There were none.
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