A new city policy that will make it easier for local dealers to bid on city vehicle purchases certainly is worth a try.

The ideal outcome will be if the city finds it can buy locally at the same or lower prices than it achieved by participating in a multicity purchasing cooperative. Even if the city ends up spending slightly more money for its vehicles, it’s worth something to keep those dollars circulating through the local economy in the form of wages and taxes paid by local dealers.

City commissioners approved a policy Tuesday night that will allow local dealers to submit bids only for the purchase of Lawrence vehicles. When bidding through the 20-city cooperative, dealers had to submit bids for much larger lots, which wasn’t always possible for Lawrence dealers.

Under the new policy, Lawrence will seek bids just for its own vehicles from dealers in Lawrence, Kansas City, Topeka and sometimes Wichita. There is no guarantee that Lawrence dealers will submit the winning bids, but it puts them on a more even footing with dealers in other cities. That should improve the chances that the city can spend its money in Lawrence where it will support local business.

If Lawrence dealers still aren’t submitting the winning bids, or if the city finds it is spending much more on vehicle purchases, officials should reconsider the policy, but buying local, without unduly penalizing local taxpayers, is a sound priority that deserves a fair trial.