The Office must:
report at least annually to the Mayor and the City Council on the City’s progress towards satisfying SLBE Program objectives;
formulate SLBE Program waivers, improvements, and adjustments to the GSC goal-setting methodology and other program functions;
have substantive input in the contract specification review process to ensure that contract bid specifications are not unnecessarily restrictive or unduly burdensome to small, local, minority-owned, women-owned, and other businesses;
receive and analyze external and internal information, including statistical data and anecdotal testimonies, it deems appropriate to effectively accomplish its duties;
subject to Title 4 {“Administrative Procedure Act – Regulations”} of the <cite data-path="|general">City General Provisions Article</cite>, adopt rules and regulations to carry out this chapter; and
where appropriate, make recommendations for approval of changes to established size standards for SLBE firms.
Ord. 16-595
Text Conformed 02/14/21
By authority of Ordinance 20-431, Section 5, the Director of Legislative Reference, in consultation with the Law Department, has conformed the text of item (5) of this section to refer expressly to the requirements of the recently-enacted Administrative Procedure Act that, effective January 15, 2021, governs the proposal, adoption, and publication of administrative rules and regulations.
The Chief must appoint 5 goal-setting committees to assist in the administration of the SLBE Program.
A separate committee must be established with responsibility for each of the following industry categories:architectural and engineering;
construction;
professional services;
services; and
materials, supplies, and equipment.
Each GSC is chaired by the Chief or the Chief’s designee.
The Chief determines the number of members on each GSC at the time of its establishment.
Each GSC must include representatives from the Office and from the primary contracting agencies and end-user agencies for the committee’s industry category.
The Chief must appoint the remaining members of the GSC from the City’s procurement personnel and other City departments affected by this Program.
Each GSC may meet as often as necessary to accomplish its duties, but not less than twice annually.
Ord. 16-595
For its industry category, each GSC must:establish SLBE participation goals; and
select appropriate SLBE affirmative procurement initiatives to be applied to each contract, subject to § 28-97(b).
In making its decisions, the GSC must consider:vendor availability;
industry characteristics; and
project-specific characteristics.
Each committee may also review the regulations issued to implement this chapter and provide the Chief with general advice on administering the policy and modifying the policy objectives of the SLBE Program.
Ord. 16-595
The Chief must submit an annual report to the Mayor and City Council that provides an assessment of:the progress towards achieving the goals established for awards to certified SLBE and certified Emerging SLBE firms;
both dollars awarded and expended through the SLBE Program; and
the progress towards achieving the stated Program objectives, including:enhancing competition;
establishing and building new business capacity; and
removing barriers to the utilization of available minority business enterprises, women business enterprises, and small local business enterprises on City contracts.
At least once every 2 years, the City Council must conduct a public hearing to solicit public comments on the SLBE Program.
The Board of Estimates, or its designee, must periodically review the SLBE Program to determine whether the various contracting procedures used to enhance SLBE contract participation need to be adjusted or used more or less aggressively in future years to achieve the goals stated in § 28-97 {“Purpose; Scope”} and <cite data-path="|5|§28-98">§ 28-98 {“Program objectives”} of this chapter</cite>.
Ord. 16-595
Ord. 17-068