Freeholders: Essex County Needs To Hire More Women, Minority, Veteran-Owned Businesses

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — There are plenty of qualified and able companies owned by women, minorities and military veterans who are willing to service Essex County, Freeholder President Britnee Timberlake says.

But these businesses aren’t getting nearly the number of contracts with the county that they should, Timberlake and Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders Lebby Jones and Rufus Johnson are alleging.

According to a joint statement from the three freeholders, a review of the county’s 2014, 2015 and 2016 reports from the Office of Small Business Development and Affirmative Action revealed the total average “spend” on contracts was 33% for Small Business Enterprises (SBE), but only 6% for Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), 9% for Women Business Enterprises (WBE) and 0.16% for Veteran Owned Business Enterprises (VOBE).

‘A HAND UP, NOT A HAND OUT’

To help remedy the alleged imbalance, Timberlake, Jones and Johnson have introduced a proposed Essex County ordinance they’ve dubbed “A Hand Up, Not A Hand Out.”

“This legislation is needed because, on average, women in the USA make twenty cents less on the dollar than men… contracting more women-owned businesses can help close that gap,” Timberlake said.

“There are plenty of qualified, ready and able minority-owned companies who can do the work but face passive discriminatory policies limiting access to capital,” Timberlake added. “Furthermore, our veterans had our back, and now this law mandates we have theirs by making an effort to support their businesses. This legislation can improve such conditions and offer economic opportunity.”

According to a joint freeholder statement, the proposed law will create an affirmative action set-aside program established with quantifiable goals of increasing the MBE, WBE, and VOBE contracts “spend” and contract participation.

The law further creates a “Joint Venture” program with an emphasis on large construction contracts; this means for major construction jobs, large firms will partner with MBE, WBE, or VOBE firms to bid on contracts.

According to the law’s sponsors:

“The [ordinance would] remove historical blockades preventing MBE, WBE, and VOBE businesses from being competitive in the bid process. For example, it is difficult for many of these companies to obtain bonding as it involves having large amounts of cash on hand not committed to use. This freeholder ordinance states that the bond must be assigned to the joint venture formed and thus open access to major construction contract participation for MBE, WBE, and VOBE businesses.”

A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held at 7 p.m. on July 19 in Room 506 at the Hall of Records at 465 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Newark.

Johnson said that the law would open access to economic development opportunities for companies that have been “historically overlooked, disregarded and systematically abused.”

“The need for this ordinance has been a long time coming,” Jones said. “I am honored to participate in this effort to increase contract participation for women-owned, minority-owned and veteran-owned businesses who have long been at a disadvantage.”

According to the freeholders, the proposed law has gained the support of the Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., New Jersey State NAACP, local Essex NAACP chapters, Essex County Latino Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey African American Chamber of Commerce, National Organization for Women Essex-NJ, Guyana American Heritage, Sandji CDC, People’s Organization for Progress, clergy throughout the County, Community Leader Rebecca Dogget, veteran organizations and many more. Endorsements from the past and present electeds include: Congressman Donald Payne, Jr., State Senator Ronald L. Rice, Assembly Speaker Emeritus Sheila Y. Oliver, Assemblyman Thomas P. Giblin, Assemblywoman Cleopatra G. Tucker, former Assemblyman/Freeholder and current Essex County Democratic Chairman LeRoy J. Jones, Jr., former Assemblyman Willam Payne, East Orange Council President (Mayor-elect) Ted R. Green, South Orange Village Trustee (Councilwoman) Deborah Davis Ford, and former Essex County Freeholder Carol Y. Clark.

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Photo: Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders