City officials in Jacksonville are focusing on enhancing local business opportunities following discussions at the recent True Commission Meeting. A key highlight was the ongoing evaluation of a bill aimed at increasing small business participation in city contracts. Council members expressed interest in assessing the tangible benefits of this legislation, particularly how many additional small businesses have secured contracts since its implementation.

The bill, which has been in effect since July 2024, is designed to provide local preferences for city-funded projects, although limitations exist when state or federal funds are involved. Council members noted that while the city has saved over a million dollars in taxes due to this initiative, there is a need for more comprehensive data on small business contract awards to measure the bill's effectiveness accurately.

Director Gregory Grant from the Jacksonville Small Emerging Businesses (JSEP) program was mentioned as a key resource for this data. Council members emphasized the importance of tracking the progress of small business participation and expressed a commitment to facilitating communication with Grant to obtain the necessary information.

Additionally, there were discussions about the procurement process, with officials acknowledging the transition to a new cloud-based system that has presented challenges in data retrieval. Council members stressed the importance of fully implementing the direct purchase policy to ensure that all potential projects and purchasing opportunities are being utilized effectively.

As the city moves forward, the focus remains on maximizing local business engagement and ensuring that the benefits of the new legislation are realized within the community. The next steps will involve gathering data on small business contracts and continuing to refine procurement processes to support local economic growth.