Council member Gulick will phone in from Miami to back buy-local ordinance

City Council member Kris Gulick and council colleague Monica Vernon have been working on a local-preference ordinance that would give some help to local businesses competing for some of the city's business.

It's an idea, too, at the top of incoming Mayor Ron Corbett's priority list, so much so, that Corbett has put it on the council agenda for Wednesday, his first council meeting as mayor.

Gulick, though, is in Florida to see the University of Iowa in the Orange Bowl.

No matter. Gulick said on Monday he will be calling into the City Council meeting from his Florida motel to help push passage of the local-preference ordinance.

Gulick said he has proposed wording for the Cedar Rapids ordinance that is similar to a Des Moines ordinance, which makes the argument that businesses located in the city may pay higher property taxes than businesses located elsewhere and so should be compensated for it. Providing a local preference in the purchase of city goods and services is a way to accomplish that.