Director Of WPB Office of Equal Opportunity Addresses What Can Be Done To Level Playing Field

From the City of West Palm Beach:

November 3, 2020

By Frank Hayden, Director, City of West Palm Beach Office of Equal Opportunity

When it comes to the issue of racial equity and leveling a historically imbalanced playing field, there are several answers to the question “What can I do?”

Leaders in the areas of business, academics, lending institutions, nonprofits and government can all do something to encourage racial equity. Even the smallest of actions leads to something greater. For those who are still unaware of the good they can do, here are five ways you or your organization can be on the better side of this movement:

• Develop a baseline for inclusiveness. Palm Beach County, the School District of Palm Beach County, and the City of West Palm Beach conducted disparity studies within the last five years to determine the statistical gap between dollars procured by non-minority-owned firms versus minority-owned firms. With timely data, each agency was able to create a baseline for improvement and set goals for the intentional inclusion of minority-owned firms in receiving more opportunities to earn municipal dollars.
• Identify and remove the obstacles to doing business. In 2020, the City of West Palm Beach partnered with local lending institutions to create the Small Business Financial Support Consortium. By working closely and specifically with minority-owned businesses, participating banks are able to provide lending capital that enables these organizations to take on larger contracts which, in turn, increases their capacity for growth and hiring.
• Provide critical training and education. Most entrepreneurs are experts at their craft but not necessarily at the administration of running an enterprise. Recognizing this, the City of West Palm Beach’s Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) joined forces with Turner Construction to offer programs for minority business owners to learn accounting, estimating, and how to become bonded in order to compete on municipal bids.
• Create sheltered market programs. When smaller companies compete against their peers - rather than much larger corporations - for municipal contracts, the outcome is more equitable. By creating these opportunities through Sheltered Market bids, municipalities encourage greater minority participation in their procurement processes. Simply put, business owners “play” if they have a better chance of winning.
• Track the spend. If your company or municipality has a strategy for intentional inclusiveness, how is it being tracked? Do you know where there are gains, losses or stagnation? The City of West Palm Beach’s OEO is charged with this responsibility and found that the City has spent approximately $11M with small businesses this fiscal year.

Minority-owned firms have made tremendous contributions to Palm Beach County and to the state of Florida. They are the backbone of the County and the State. The business community and all who benefit from it need to actively create opportunities so these enterprises can thrive. More minority dollars translates into more jobs, a larger tax base and greater economic prosperity. Let’s get to work!

This press release was produced by the City of West Palm Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.