04-11-11 Council Agenda & Packet

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Substitute Bill No. 86-10 Ordinance No. AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA,AMENDING CHAPTER 14.5 OF THE SOUTHBEAW MUNICIPAL CODE ADDRESSING MINORITY AND WOMEN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE DIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT In 1987, the City Administration and the Common Council worked for months researching, discussing and hosting public meetings, and specifically sought input from the Mayor's Minority Affairs Council to develop local regulations addressing employment opportunities. 2nd District Council Member Eugenia Braboy sponsored a proposed ordinance which the Common Council passed in order to "address equal opportunity for minorities and women with regard to employment and bidding for City contracts". Those regulations became Ordinance No. 7811-87 and were codified into the South Bend Municipal Code as Article 1 of Chapter 14.5. In 1989, the United States Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision in City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., 488 U.S. 469 (1989) that state and local regulations which included preference would be subject to a "strict scrutiny standard".whereby a "compelling interest" must be shown and such standards must be "narrowly tailored"to address the overall purposes of the regulations. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision in Adarand Construction, Inc. v. Pena, 515 U.S. 200 (1995) that remedying past discrimination may in some circumstances constitute a "compelling interest" sufficient to justify race-based measures. The Court did not address the constitutionality of programs which are aimed at advancing non-remedial objectives such as promoting diversity and inclusion. Programs which provide opportunity for minority-owned and women-owned businesses who wish to participate in the governmental contracting process have been implemented in Evansville, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. Research reveals that the State of Indiana's implementation of the Minority and Women's Business Enterprises (MBVE/WBE) Program, has a component where it is regularly reviewed and evaluated, with the focus being the effectiveness of their program with regard to state contracts. In the interest of improving overall participation and opportunities in South Bend and having regulations which are consistent with governing statutes and judicial opinions, the following ordinance is proposed to amend the 1987 regulations currently codified in the South Bend Municipal Code. The ordinance institutes local programs which are similar to others operating in the State of Indiana today. This ordinance is aimed to maximize participation and opportunities in South Bend by facilitating networking, outreach, communication, education, training, internal accountability and employment opportunities for qualified MBE and WBE. It is designed to be a pro-active, fair and a reasonable mechanism,which is believed to be reasonable, and in the best interest of our city.