The city has increased the limit on personal net wealth for individuals looking to take part in the city’s procurement program aimed at hiring businesses owned by women and/or minorities. That adjustment was supported by an analysis of the local economy that found the city’s business growth is likely to have substantially increased the wealth […]
City of Austin Small and Minority Business Resources Department
The city department charged with administering Austin’s minority-and-women-owned-business procurement program. That program was first established by the Austin City Council in 1987.
Posted inBudget
Equity Action slams budget proposal as ‘throwback to the ’90s’
Some community advocates are decrying interim City Manager Jesús Garza’s budget proposal as a “throwback to the ’90s.” Garza released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 in July. The $5.5 billion budget represents what Garza calls a “Back to Basics” approach to city government that focuses on core city services and reorganizes the city’s […]
Posted inBudget
Garza says reorganization ‘will in no way diminish’ offices of Civil Rights, Equity
Interim City Manager Jesús Garza has clarified his plans for reorganizing a handful of city offices, including the Equity and Civil Rights offices, which will be located in different buildings despite being part of the newly created Community and Business Equity Department. In a memo released Monday, Garza said those two offices, as well as […]
Posted inCity Hall
Garza explains motivations behind proposed changes to Equity, Civil Rights offices
At Wednesday’s budget work session, interim City Manager Jesús Garza offered some of his rationale behind the proposed reorganization of four city offices, a change that has drawn criticism from community groups involved in equality and racial justice. During the session, City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes asked Garza to explain his reasoning behind the changes, […]
Posted inCity Hall
Commission wants to add disabled business owners to minority contracting pool
Advocates for the city’s disabled community are pushing for people with disabilities to be added to the preferred class of vendors considered for contracting opportunities as part of the Minority-Owned Business Enterprise and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise Program. At last week’s meeting of the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities, members discussed the ongoing difficulties they’ve […]
Posted inCity Council
Council may move forward with study of minority business contracting disparities
City Council will decide at its Jan. 23 meeting whether to approve a study – first requested in late 2018 – examining how well small businesses owned by women and minorities are represented in the city’s contract procurement process. The resolution will authorize the Small and Minority Business Resources Department to spend up to $1 […]
Posted inCity Hall
Contractors give input on disparity study and ordinance
All Austin-area women- and minority-owned businesses are at a disadvantage when it comes to obtaining city contracts, a recent study shows. But while African-American entrepreneurs have often been at the forefront of efforts to push for equity in contracting, some say disparities affecting this demographic have gotten worse rather than better. “The story hasn’t changed all […]
Posted inCity Hall
Disparities persist within city’s contracting
The city of Austin continues to disfavor minority- and women-owned businesses in its contracting, a 750-page study finds. Jon Wainwright, a senior vice president with NERA Economic Consulting, which authored the study, spoke to City Council’s Economic Opportunity Committee on Monday. “We examined a total of over $4 billion across more than 3,500 prime contracts […]
Posted inDevelopment
City staff identifies financial options to assist small businesses
A City Council committee this week backed a staff report recommending four financial and payment assistance options for the full Council to consider to help small business contractors and subcontractors cope with meeting City of Austin living-wage requirements. Staff recommendations include two options for making loans available to small business contractors and two ideas for […]