OGDEN -- The city council and Mayor Matthew Godfrey are teaming up to encourage residents to shop locally this holiday season.
The council and Godfrey recently adopted a joint resolution to launch the Buy in Ogden campaign.
There are many benefits to shopping locally, the resolution says.
"Many do not realize that making a conscious effort to purchase within the city can foster local economic growth, enhance accessibility of products, make shopping areas more vibrant and less susceptible to crime, and lessen environmental impacts that come from traveling to shop," the resolution states.
The holiday season is the perfect time to roll out the Buy in Ogden campaign, said Council Chairwoman Caitlin Gochnour.
"Sales tax is a major revenue source for Ogden city, and increased revenue means more money for improved city services," she said in an e-mail to the Standard-Examiner. "And we're also supporting our friends and neighbors in their businesses and restaurants."
It's important that residents patronize Ogden businesses to bolster the local economy, Godfrey said.
"When we shop outside of our community, we are giving another community our money," he said Tuesday. "If we want to keep our taxes low, we should spend and shop in our community. It creates an economic turn of those dollars that directly benefits all of us."
The Buy in Ogden campaign is endorsed by the Ogden/Weber Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Weber-Ogden Chamber of Commerce, and Local First Ogden, an organization that encourages residents to patronize local businesses.
Suzy Dailey, owner of Grounds for Coffee in Ogden and organizer of Local First Ogden, said for each $100 spent at a local independent business, $45 remains in the local economy, compared with $14 from purchases made at national chain stores.
The difference is that smaller businesses typically purchase merchandise locally, while national chains buy from suppliers outside of the area, she said.
Ogden receives sales tax when items are purchased within the city's boundaries.
Sales tax accounts for about 25 percent of the city's general fund revenues, said John Arrington, the city's finance manager. Revenues from sales tax are used to fund municipal services such as police and fire protection and street maintenance.
In 2009, sales tax revenue in Ogden declined about 11 percent over that collected in 2008. Sales tax decline for 2010 has slowed, but there still will be less collected than last year. The specific deficit has not been determined, Arrington said.
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