09-03-19 MBE/WBE - Laserfiche WebLink

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MBE/WBE Utilization Board Meeting September 3rd, 2019 5:00 p.m. Board Members Present: Takesha McClane, Bilijah Williams, Dr. Janet Evelyn, Jas Alexander(late) Board Members Absent: Cheryl Ashe, Kareemah Fowler, Breanna Allen Others Present: Michael Schmidt,Christina Brooks, Karen White,Tim Scott Councilmember Karen White called to order the MBE/WBE Utilization Board meeting at 5:01 p.m. Councilmember White provided an overview of the previous board meeting. She stated, The goal is to have the amended version of the ordinance ready for first (1St) reading by the second (2nd) Council meeting in September, September 23rd, 2019, and take action at the first (1St) meeting in October, October 14th, 2019. The Clerk's Office was looking at the appointments to the board to make sure that membership is at the correct level. The Chamber of Commerce also has the opportunity to appoint one (1) member. The previous meeting also dealt with questions on the Disparity Study, when it was going to be approved, and whether it was going to be shared. Christina Brooks, Diversity Inclusion Officer for the City of South Bend with offices located on the 14th floor of the County-City Building,stated,Right now we are gathering questions that people have in terms of some of the phrasing and terminology to make sure we have a clear understanding of what's actually spelled out in the study. We'll be able to answer the questions that people in the community may have with accuracy. She continued, In 1987, there was an ordinance that had a lot of hopes and dreams attached to it. A Supreme Court Case in 1989 scared public entities into doing away with their minority and women programs. The case however, did not strike down all MBE/WBE programs. It said you can't just use the general discrimination of a population to support a program that is specific to contracting and procurement. It is subject to strict legal scrutiny and you have to have very narrowly tailored remedies for the discrimination that has to be identified through thorough analysis. In 2011, the City of South Bend's ordinance was amended, and this board was a part of that process going forward,reviewing the work that was being done in procurement and contracts for purchasing. The outcome since 1987 with race and gender-neutral measures has been minimal to say the least. We were probably tracking pretty similarly to what we're tracking currently, usually less than one percent (1%). The calculations between an annual study and this diversity report are two (2) different calculations. She went on, Under Mayor Buttigieg, we've asked the question: How can we use City resources to make sure we are doing everything we can to jumpstart the economy? My position was created in 2016 and I stepped into some ongoing conversations regarding this. Collecting data in the City is a real challenge. In 2015, we did a better job of making sure that contract and procurement data was being collected so we would have the information we need. We found that we are doing business far outside of the South Bend City limits. How many MBE/WBE businesses there are