03-27-18 MBE/WBE - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ms. Brooks stated, A lot of this is front-loaded, too. They have to have the resources in order to do the job, not get the job and have the organization to pay you to get the resources to do the job. There is a reason behind why we would like people to at least consider this. Jonathan Gonzalez asked, Is there a clear path to getting certified that people don't know about? How could they find out? Ms. Brooks replied, Yes,we have identified sixteen(16) different certifying agencies. They are at three (3) different levels,particularly Federal, State and Local. All of their processes are online so it is easy-access. There are different support organizations and they can walk people through this process. We,the Office of Diversity and Inclusion,can also help assist people in identifying which certifying agency is a good fit for that organization. We can help them through the process. Ms. White stated, The next recommendation states, `We recommend the City/Council expand the Ordinance to include local Minority and Women-owned Businesses as well as certify MBE/WBE's capacity to do that.' The third one (1) looks at how we can go about the good-faith contract distribution. We will look to others for language but we want to be sure we are articulating that to all individuals. Mr. Horvath stated, I think it makes sense. We already have some good faith effort language and can certainly take another look at that and revamp it. As we move forward,we can make goals that are more actionable. Ms. White stated, The fourth recommendation was to approve changes in the reporting relationships with the Diversity Compliance Officer and make clear who reports to who. I feel very comfortable with how this Board works with the Administration as well as with Christina, in terms of the work we do. There are many ways this work can continue getting done and I think we will continue that conversation. Clearly, though, we recognize it is a really close partnership and relationship. With the expertise and knowledge the administration has,it can only benefit the work that we do. The ultimate goal is that Minority-owned and Women-owned Businesses receive the benefit of the work we do. The other recommendation was to change titles to be consistent of the mission, goals and position of the Diversity Compliance Officer. We have accomplished that because Christina's title has, in fact, changed. The other one (1) was recommending the appointment of the Personnel and Finance Committee Chair as the Council liaison to the MBE/WBE Utilization Board. The Chair would not be a voting member,nor would it act as Chair of the Board. They would be there solely as a resource and to support the work of the Board. Ms. Brooks stated, I just want to thank everybody for coming to the meeting today. This is a very important topic that I can safely assume that if you are here, too, it is important to you as well. It is important to the City of South Bend that we are as inclusive as possible in our procurement process. I will touch on a couple of points. I will first talk about the relationship this Board has with my office. I will then discuss the 2017 Diversity Purchasing Report, the 2018 Diversity Purchasing Plan and then some of the outreach initiatives planned for this year. So the first three (3)points that I feel are critical to the collaboration between this Board and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion comes almost directly out of the Ordinance and the Executive Order. The first is to assist in overseeing, implementing and enforcing the legislative intent commiserate with the 3