LOMPOC, Calif. - Lompoc has been pushing Small Business Saturday, where shoppers are encouraged to buy from local businesses the day after Black Friday. But one small business owner says the city doesn't do enough to buy locally themselves.
"Just so you can save 5 or 10 dollars by buying out of town doesn't mean you should. You should spend that locally."
David Dial is upset with the city of Lompoc. He says the city wants people to buy locally, but they don't do it themselves. For example, Dial says the Lompoc Parks and Recreation athletic leagues buy their shirts and trophies from out of town.
"There are 3 or 4 shops in town that can do the shirts," says Dial. "One in town can do the trophies. So why not keep the tax dollars and the business local?"
Dial is one of the owners of The Shack, a local retail and paint ball supplies shop. The Shack has business from a local hospital, who buys medical scrubs from the store. Dial says they could go anywhere to buy the scrubs, but they choose to keep the money local.
"That generated lots of business for us as well as for the town, because we support other businesses in town," says Dial.
Lompoc Mayor John Linn says buying everything in town isn't possible. But he says the city makes every effort to keep the dollars local, even if that means supporting surrounding cities.
"We can't get everything in Lompoc. But we also try to buy from Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, and they in turn buy things from here," says Linn.
Mayor Linn also says the city's office supplies, for example, are bought at the Staples store off of H Street in Lompoc.
