Title
Authorizing the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to conduct hearings to develop more inclusive, transparent, and efficient processes and methods for the City of Philadelphia's procurement of professional services, capital programs, and commodities.
Body
WHEREAS, Every year, the City of Philadelphia consumes more than $1 billion in goods and services and manages more than $1 billion in additional investments through enterprise funds; including the airport, water and waste water operations, and an industrial land bank; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia continues to struggle with severe under-representation and under-utilization of minorities and women as contractors and subcontractors, such that only 13 of 47 identified City departments exceeded the City's 35% participation goal in Fiscal Year 2017; and
WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2017, the City achieved a mere rate of 25.96% participation by Minority, Women, Disadvantaged, and Sustainable Business Enterprises (MWDSBEs) in Public Works, and a rate of 31.9% MWDBSE participation across all City departments, according to the Office of Economic Opportunity's 2017 Annual Report; and
WHEREAS, City Council continues its public call for procurement reforms including, but not limited to, unbundling large projects into multiple smaller projects, expediting subcontractor crediting, enforcing local preference policies with an emphasis on the growth of minority and women-owned businesses, actively recruiting minorities and women in building trades, forging new pathways to union membership, developing apprenticeship opportunities, and selectively reducing bonding and insurance requirements that bar diverse workforce participation; and
WHEREAS, Mayor Jim Kenney agrees with City Council's commitment to "develop a diverse workforce that looks like Philadelphia," a City population which is 59% minority, 53% female, 20% with a criminal record, and 13% sufferi...
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