TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: Small Local Business Contracting Goals
ACTION ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving a report on the District's efforts to increase contracting participation among small, local, women and minority-owned businesses and adopting small business and local business contracting goals equal to the District's current Federal Administration triennial Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goal. [Requested by Director Williams - 4/28/2021]
Body
STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE:
Goal - Financial Stability and Resiliency
Initiative - Financial Efficiency and Revenue Maximization
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no known budgetary or fiscal impact at this time.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
As a recipient of DOT-assisted funding, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires the District to adopt and implement a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program and establish a three-year, triennial DBE goal. In addition, the District submits semi-annual reports to the FTA on the successes and challenges of meeting the established goal. The FTA's DBE Program was established to level the playing field and create a pathway in which DBE firms could fairly compete for DOT-assisted contracts.
DBE certification, among many other factors, requires that the business is at least fifty-one percent (51%) owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. The U.S. Department of Transportation ("DOT") presumes certain groups are disadvantaged, including women, Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Subcontinent Asian-Pacific Americans, or other minorities found to be disadvantaged by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Other individuals, such as persons with disabilities, may also be eligible if they establish their "social" and "economic" disadvantage and will be determined on a case-by-case basis (49 CFR ...
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