MINORITY BUSINESS ADVISORY COUNCIL PRESENTS RECOMMENDATIONS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec. 20, 2007) -
Mayor Karl Dean has received a list of recommendations from the Minority Business Advisory Council, a seven-member panel convened in early November as one of several initiatives to assist the growth of small and minority-owned businesses in Nashville.
The list of recommendations includes a number of actions that can be taken immediately from the Mayor’s Office through issuing an Executive Order and direction to staff. Other recommendations will require developing legislation to change the Metro Procurement Code.
Dean said he plans to take the necessary steps to move forward on implementing the recommendations including a review by the Law and Finance departments.
“I am extremely pleased with the work of the Advisory Council. They produced a list of recommendations that are both substantive and doable, and within a relatively short timeframe,” Dean said.
“This group has also been tasked with developing a proposal for more long-reaching goals and based on the quality of their work so far, I’m looking forward to seeing the final results this Advisory Council will be able to achieve.”
Pam Martin, president of Cushion Employer Services, serves as chair of the Minority Business Advisory Council.
“Our goal was to create some ways the Metro procurement process can immediately become more accessible to small and disadvantaged businesses while Griffin & Strong continues to work diligently with the Law Department to develop an ordinance to address the full scope of recommendations in the last Disparity Study,” Martin said.
The recommendations are:
Issue an Executive Order that: 1. States the administration’s commitment to the growth and inclusion of all businesses in the Nashville market and in Metro’s procurement process. 2. Holds directors of each Metro department responsible for communicating to their employees the administration’s commitment to equity in the procurement process. 3. Establishes a position in the Mayor’s Office dedicated to this work.
Review all Metro procurements for possible procurement segmentation or unbundling to allow for smaller, more manageable projects for which small businesses can compete. Decisions with explanations will be reported to the Mayor’s Office and the Procurement Standards Board.
Modify the Metro Code pertaining to performance bonds by increasing the contract value under which a bond would be required. The current value is set for contracts expected to exceed $1,000. The amount of the increase should be determined with careful consideration to any increased risk to the Metropolitan Government.
Provide monthly reports to executive Metro departments of their small and disadvantaged business participation. The reports will be compiled by Metro’s division of Disadvantaged, Minority and Small Business Assistance.
Train procurement personnel on the importance and value of including small businesses in the procurement process.
Modify procurement regulations defining a small business to be more inclusive. Metro Government uses an incentive-based small business program in which vendors determined to be a small business receive evaluated preferences for their business status. The current standards require a business, to average at least $100,000 of work during the two most recent calendar years.
Coordinate supplier registration between Metro departments and affiliate organizations to prevent duplicated efforts by vendors seeking to do business with Metro agencies.
Coordinate supplier certification between Metro departments and affiliate organizations to reduce the requirements of businesses seeking to do business with Metro agencies.
Request boards and authorities of all Metro departments and affiliated organizations to share information regarding their small and disadvantaged business participation practices with the Minority Business Advisory Council.
For media inquiries contact:
Janel Lacy
(615) 862-6020
janel.lacy@nashville.gov