Taylorsville plans to 'buy American' with stimulus money

Several Salt Lake Valley municipalities have pledged to "buy American" with their allotments of federal stimulus funding.

Taylorsville on Tuesday joined cities like Salt Lake, West Valley and Murray in approving a resolution calling American products the key to economic recovery.

The Taylorsville resolution was pushed by Utah Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley. She also has made presentations to Kearns Township and plans to visit Magna encouraging local hiring and purchasing.

"I am interested because it's Utah first, with me," Mayne said. "My district has a lot of unemployment, lost insurance, jobs eliminated or downsized, and so this is just my way to encourage those communities that my people live in to give us a hand."

So far, the resolutions have not been binding. They fall in line with bid practices already used by many cities that favor local companies.

The resolution was crafted by the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

— Rebecca Palmer