Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-27-18 MBE/WBE MBE/WBE Utilization Board Meeting March 27, 2018 4:00 p.m. Committee Members Present: Kareemah Fowler, William Dunn, Cheryl Ashe, Jonathan Gonzalez Committee Member Absent: Jas Alexander, Meghan Buell, Dr. Janet Evelyn, Jitin Kain Others Present: Michael Schmidt, Christina Brooks, Eric Horvath, Karen White, Tim Scott(late), Kara Boyles (late) Karen White called to order the MBE/WBE Utilization Board meeting at 4:00 p.m. She stated, This will serve as an organizational meeting. It is my understanding the Board has not met for quite some time and we felt the need to reconvene to be sure we are on the same page as we set forth our goals and objectives for 2018. Individuals that have served on the Board were contacted but a number of individuals who previously served on the Board, their time of appointment has expired. That could be an issue, too,that we need to talk about. I thought we would start off with new and returning members. The last meeting was in 2015. City Clerk Kareemah Fowler stated,Yes,that is when Sam Centellas stepped down and Tony Fitts stepped down. A lot of the membership stepped down at the same time and we didn't really seek new membership. Ms. White and Ms. Fowler went through the Board's membership and discussed expiration dates and appointments. Individuals present then went around the room and introduced themselves to one another. Ms. White asked City Clerk Fowler to look through the membership of the current board and to give context to vacancies and the process of filing those vacancies. She went over that process and accounted there to be only two (2) expired appointments. Kara Boyles arrived at the meeting at 4:10 p.m. Ms. White stated, It is my recommendation to start that process as soon as possible to be sure that at the next meeting, all positions are filled. Ms. White then distributed a copy of the most current Ordinance update as it pertains to the MBE/WBE Utilization Board's duties, membership and responsibilities (available in the City Clerk's Office). She stated, Prior to the passing of this most recent amendment, we were looking at ways to enhance and advance the objectives of minority and women-owned businesses. We knew when the Ordinance initially passed, there was more needed in it. I think we need to revisit this Ordinance to be sure it is in line with the needs that still remain to be addressed. We probably need to update some of the demographics. 1 Clerk Fowler stated, The last group gave a summary of notes and I direct your attention to those (available in the City Clerk's Office). Clerk Fowler continued, There were six (6) recommendations that are considered low-hanging fruit to strengthen the Ordinance and make it better. This group was a sub-committee of this group and we went around to different Departments and stakeholders and gathered all of their thoughts. These are the six (6) recommendations that were brought up to change the Ordinance. We did not have a quorum at that meeting and subsequently could not vote on this. After that it was just not carried out. At the time, I believe then-Councilmember Valerie Schey was our liaison so there are some things up in the air as to who will be our liaison and what Committee it will fall under. This is probably the last working piece and summary of the work we did. Ms. White asked,The MBE/WBE Certification from two (2)additional agencies,that came out of a discussion from the consultant, correct? Clerk Fowler confirmed, Yes,that is correct. Ms. White continued, So if I recall correctly,they were trying to see ways in which businesses can receive certification and not go through all the process and loopholes. Clerk Fowler stated, That is kind of complex and we found that a lot of the smaller businesses did not see the benefit. It doesn't guarantee the business to do business with the City. But, if they were certified in a way that makes more sense for them, the City can contract them. There was just no way to contract with these businesses if they weren't certified. Cheryl Ashe asked, Is there any idea of what the cost is to get certified? Christina Brooks replied, It depends on the certifying agency. I've never seen any more than three hundred dollars ($300) and some are free. Clerk Fowler stated, It was also just resources in general that was an obstacle for these businesses. There were more challenges than just money. Ms. Brooks stated, Also, some of the certifying agencies required these businesses to have been running for a certain number of years, payroll statements and, to Clerk Fowler's point, if the business was a start-up and they didn't have a support network, it was quite challenging. Clerk Fowler stated, The only way we can track these businesses and they count is only if they are certified. It may not be a priority for them but it is a priority for us to be sure they are recognized. Eric Horvath stated, We ultimately need some actionable language that has goals and objectives. It means a lot to be certified. Ms. Brooks stated, We need to identify the businesses that are certified and that are not. This is about creating the environment to be a sustainable business. It is not just a matter of having a certification, it is a matter of making sure these businesses are sustained. Clerk Fowler stated, That also give them the opportunity to do work with more than just the City. 2 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 Federal, State and Local law. There are two (2) things to note out of that statement. First, the legislative intent of the Ordinance and secondly the legal compliance. We need to make sure what we are doing is in compliance with all three(3)levels of government.The second point is to review and make recommendations to the City's Inclusive Procurement Plan during the Annual Review of Effectiveness to eliminate barriers of participation.The third point is just any other collaborative opportunities that become apparent as we review the plan and as things unfold. Tim Scott arrived at the meeting at 4:33 p.m. Ms.Brooks continued,I would next like to give a quick overview of the 2017 Diversity Purchasing Report. Last year,the City spent a little over$101 million in procurement and we did that through 5,715 purchase orders. That is pretty average. Annually, we hover right around 5,000 and 7,500 purchase orders in a given year. So out of that$101 million, $773,120, or,point seven six percent (.76%) were awarded to MBEs. $1.122 million, or one point zero one percent (1.01%) were awarded to WBEs. So, together, that total is about $1.895 million. That was up from last year by point zero six percent (.06%) over last ye . You can definitely tell by those numbers we have some work to do. Out of that amount,we utilized 1,349 vendors and, of those vendors, four(4) of them were Minority-owned businesses, or point two percent (.2%). Twenty (20) were Women- owned businesses. To specify,these are certified Minority-owned and Women-owned businesses. We did find that in the review of the last fiscal year that there are some Minority-owned businesses that are not certified. Even with those uncertified businesses, the numbers are still small. So, that is kind of the starting point for us to improve in the next twelve(12)months. We hope to see some change there. Ms. Brooks went on, In order to accomplish that, there are a couple of things that are involved in the 2018 Diversity Purchasing Plan that include training and outreach, a newsletter, a vendor handbook which is basically an inclusive procurement process. It is an external guide to help people better understand how to do business with the City. An internal process was set in place as well. We wanted to simply it for City buyers and we are in the process of trying to pool some simple tools together for people to understand the process internally, as well. We are looking at having a Departmental Procurement forecast. The Department of Public Works just had an Annual Contractors event where they talked about all the existing projects they have queued. They also talked about future projects that are coming up. I'm happy to say that the attendance for this year's program was amazing. It was almost four (4) times what it was last year. They actually had to move locations because of the number of attendees. It was more gender and ethnically diverse than I had seen before. Ms. White asked, And what do you think contributed to that increase? Mr. Horvath replied, There are still some challenges, especially on the bidding side of things. There are reasons we have certain steps that businesses have to take. It may be red tape and there is certainly some stuff that could be taken down as it may be a barrier for entry. However some of it is financial, some of it is filling out forms, and it is just a lot to look at especially on the bidding side of things. 4 Ms. Brooks stated, We had a lot of good conversation at that event. There were some larger firms that had expressed interest in mentoring small start-up Minority-owned and Women-owned businesses. I was elated from that meeting. There are a few more things to note. We would like to expand the list of certifying agencies, which I have already touched on. We need to find a natural match for businesses. Finally, I would like to talk about the disparity study. It is really in-line with making sure we are in compliance for State and Federal guidelines. We will really be taking a look at the 2015, 2016 and 2017 fiscal years. We will assess a couple of different things. We look to define what a reasonable market-place is based on where we have done business and who we have done business with. Are MBE/WBEs available and are they providing the services that the City is need of? We will be looking at that and will also,throughout this process, make sure we are being transparent and inclusive with the community. We will be conducting one (1) on one (1) focus groups and surveys. We will also be inviting vendors to participate in those surveys to get their impression of doing business in the City to see what the barriers are. We want to hear directly from them what they feel are the challenges so we can address them. We think this process will take about fifteen (15) months to complete and we are really looking forward to starting this process. We think we have identified one (1) of the best organizations in the Country to help us with this study and it will start very quickly. We think it will start in April. Ms. Ashe asked, When you gave the numbers of twenty (20) and four(4), how many of those are St. Joseph County? Ms. Brooks replied, The majority of the MBEs are from the City but we have some as far away as California. For WBEs,they are a little more spread out. So,we have some coming from California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and the rest are from Indiana. Ms. Ashe followed up, Are the majority of those from the South Bend area? Ms. Brooks replied, I would say yes and there are a couple from Indianapolis. Mr. Gonzalez asked, Is there a way to be more involved with helping out with everything? We have two (2) businesses here and I'm not even certified. How can we be more involved and what are the challenges? I've been doing business with the Near Northwest and even that was challenging in terms of having all I need to do business. Ms. Brooks replied, I'm glad you want to help because many hands make light work. I will be more than happy to have you come in and walk through what it takes to pool this information together. As we move throughout the disparity study process, it will be completely transparent. We will have a website completely devoted to that and we will be able to see the process of the study in real time. You will be able to contact the people working on the project. So, yes, we can definitely follow up and would love your assistance. Tim Scott stated, This is good. I read the report and thought it was good. I think it would be good to see Jonathan certified because it will be people like you who are the ones able to say to other people what it takes to get certified. I run purchasing for a WBE company that caters to the auto industry. So it takes a while to grow but we have helped other vendors start up. We have had three (3) help develop. Sharing that information goes a long way. Going through the process will help 5 you and help you to help others. We need to know where we are to know where we can go. Is there anything on the Council side that we can do? Ms. White stated, We went through the recommendations before you arrived. We want to update the Ordinance. One (1) of the recommendations also was to look at the definition of`good faith.' As we look at the committee structure, I think it is important we have people that will work on updating that Ordinance and working with the Administration. We also have those who will want to work with Christina in certain areas. We need to look at the structure and membership once we have full membership of the Utilization Board. We also discussed the current list of members before you arrived at the meeting. We need to advertise those vacancies and fill them before our next meeting. The Chamber has been contacted and we are waiting to hear back from them. Once we are at full strength, we then need to appoint a Chair and a secretary. That Chair needs to work closely with the Chair of the Personnel and Finance Committee as well as the Administration to make sure the processes and procedures are in line with open door law and things of that nature. We also need to be sure our relationship with Christina and her Office is very clear as well. Michael Schmidt left the meeting at 4:51 p.m. Mr. Scott replied, The definition of MBE/WBE has certainly changed. The automotive industry recognizes twenty-six(26)different certified Minority groups that you can do business with.Those groups include veterans, Native Americans and the whole gambit. It is good to know about those things. Let's make amendments to that Ordinance and start that conversation. Dr. Kara Boyles stated, The one (1) thing I wanted to mention about the disparity study is the distinguishing between procurement on the purchasing side of the City and the Public Works bidding process. The two (2) are different under Indiana Code and it is important to know that because that percentage is going to be different based on the populations available to do the work versus the need. Those are two (2) different things. Those numbers sound really bad but putting it into perspective, we are getting better. Ms. Brooks stated, The disparity study will specifically focus on contracts or agreements of $50,000 or more. It is narrowly tailored to look at that swatch of agreements the City has done. Clerk Fowler asked, Is that criteria coming from someone or is that the companies' criteria? Is it our criteria? Ms. Brooks replied, The $50,000 threshold was something that came from our Administration as a recommendation to make sure that it was a broad enough look at how we are doing business. We may be able to use this information to inform other decisions in the City. Mr. Scott asked, Did you look at$50,000 and less to see what that would identify? Ms. Brooks replied, The reason we are looking at the top end of that spectrum is because when we looked at spend amounts below that, while the number of vendors and purchase orders is much higher,the total amounts are very low. So you may be looking at, for all of those purchase orders, impacting only $500,000 that was spent. We are talking about$101 million total. 6 Mr. Scott stated,My only thought to that is the small businesses.That is really with DCI in helping and concentrating on the small businesses. I was just wondering if looking at only$50,000 or more would exclude our data of the actual MBEs and WBEs we do business with. Dr. Boyles stated, I am also wondering how the disparity study ties into the data from the point of view of when MBEs and WBEs doing apart of a project, they are usually a sub-contractor so the PO is not written for them. How is that encompassed? Ms. White stated, That is one (1) area we need to have further conversation on especially as we move forward with the disparity study. We need to be sure we are all on the same page with that. This is an organizational meeting. Ms. White then opened the floor to an informal discussion of members' schedules to figure out a best time to meet. She stated, In the past, the Board would meet once a month. We will send out an email to figure out the best day and time. Ms. White adjourned the MBE/WBE Utilization Board meeting at 5:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, rax", _4W-6e Karen L. White, Councilmember-At-Large t I II 7