03-28-11 Council Agenda & Packet

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shall be given to minority business enterprises located in St. Joseph County. For the purpose of this subsection, an "unreasonable price" is a price above competitive levels which cannot be attributed to the minority business enterprise's attempt to cover costs inflated by the present effect of disadvantage or discrimination. (2) For the purpose of this subsection, determination of the "lowest and best bid" shall 'include an evaluation of such factors as the nature of the supplies or services sought, prices of similar products in the relevant market area, minority employment levels achieved by the prospective contracting entities, location of business offices, general conditions in the market area, minority participation in the marketplace and such other factors as may be deemed relevant. Sec.14.5 -9 Time Requirements and Procedure for Noncompliance (1) Whenever the Diversity Compliance Officer determines a contractor to be in violation of a provision of this chapter, he shall issue a written finding setting forth such determination and the basis of his decision, together with notice to the contractor of the right to object to the finding. Such written finding shall be served upon the contractor by certified mail at such contractor's last known address. Any contractor taking exception to a finding of the Diversity Compliance Officer first shall attempt to reconcile the situation with the Diversity Compliance ''Officer. A good faith attempt to achieve informal reconciliation is a prerequisite to the contractor filing a written objection with the City Manager. (2) If, after attempting to reconcile the violation by informal means, the situation is not alleviated, a contractor may file a written objection with the City Manager within fifteen days of the receipt by the contractor of the Diversity Compliance Officer's written finding. Thereupon, the Diversity Compliance Officer shall, within seven days, forward to the City Manager all materials relating to the determination which is appealed, together with recommendations of appropriate remedial action to be taken. The contractor may file a request for a hearing before the City Manager when filing the written objection. (3) If the Diversity Compliance Officer finds a contractor to be in violation of this chapter and no reconciliation is attempted by the contractor within fifteen days of the receipt by the contractor of the written finding, the Diversity Compliance Officer shall forthwith forward his finding to the City Manager along with any recommendation of appropriate remedial action to be taken, (4) Under the direction of and upon authorization from the City Manager, the Diversity Compliance Officer shall determine when a violation of this section exists and when the attempts at reconciliation taken by the contractor will not reasonably alleviate the situation. (5) If the contractor objects to the decision of the City Manager or Consulting Firm, the contractor must next pursue the appeal process set forth in 49 CFR 23.55. Any person or organization with information indicating unjust participation by an enterprise or individuals under this program, or who believes that the DBE and W/MBE participation is being improperly applied, should file a written complaint with the City Manager which shall contain a detailed statement in writing of the basis of the complaint.(Ord. No. 7811 -87, § 1)