Small Business Today Magazine AUG 2014 SIVER STONE EVENTS | Page 16

EDITORIALFEATURE

City of Houston’s

“Hire Houston First” Program
By Annise D. Parker, Mayor of the City of Houston

T

he City of Houston spends billions of
dollars to maintain and improve the
City’s infrastructure and also provide
vital public services. Ensuring that local companies, the life blood of our economy, have the opportunity to compete for
city contracts has been a priority of my
administration.
In the fall of 2011, my administration
implemented “Hire Houston First”, a local
preference program that provides contracting opportunities for home-grown
businesses. There is a domino impact on
the local economy that far exceeds the
direct benefits experienced by the companies that are winning city contracts. It
keeps your tax dollars working locally to
generate jobs and pay for the purchase of
goods and services.
There are currently more than 1,300
Hire Houston First designated companies.
This is your opportunity to get answers
to some of your questions about the program.

What does “Hire Houston First”
mean?

In order to qualify, companies must meet
at least one of two requirements:
• The company must be headquartered within Houston’s corporate
city limits or within the 10 local counties of Harris, Brazoria, Chambers,
Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery, Waller, Austin, and San Jacinto. OR
• The company must have 20 percent
or more of its workforce and a substantial part of its operations within
the city limits or the ten counties.

There are currently more
than 1,300 Hire Houston
First designated companies. This is your opportunity to get answers to
some of your questions
about the program.
How is “Hire Houston First” implemented in
the City of Houston’s procurement process?

Generally, “Hire Houston First” allows the
award of a contract under $100,000 to a
local firm if the local firm’s price is within five percent of the lowest bid from a
company that is not designated as a “Hire
Houston First” company. For contracts exceeding $100,000, there can be no more
than a three percent difference between
the non-designated “Hire Houston First”
company’s bid and the next highest offer
from a “Hire Houston First” vendor.

Has the Program Been Successful?

Last month, the City of Houston’s Office
of Business Opportunity released the “Hire
Houston First Progress Report” which details the program’s success during the reporting period of October 2011 through
December 2013.
It was assumed that the designation
would be necessary to give local companies
a fair opportunity during the procurement
process, but we have found that Houston
companies are competitive without using
their “Hire Houston First” designation.

Highlights from the report include:

• More than $1 billion dollars of City
business has been awarded to “Hire
Houston First” firms.

14 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ AUGUST 2014 ]

• More than 1,300 companies have been
designated as “Hire Houston First”, of
which 424 have won city contracts.
• “Hire Houston First” companies support approximately 20,000 jobs in the
Houston region.
• More than 50 “Hire Houston First”
firms had never before secured a
contract before their “Hire Houston
First” designation.
• These companies collectively employ
nearly 20,000 employees right here in
Houston.
To view the full report, visit www.houstontx.gov/obo and click on the “OBO Reports” tab.

Should I Apply?

Even if you are not currently doing business
with the City or have no plans to do so, you
can apply and become a “Hire Houston
First” designated company. Visit www.houstontx.gov/obo and click on “Hire Houston
First”. The application is free and can be
completed online. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of