TITLE
Recommendation to request City Manager to work with the Financial Management Department to recognize businesses that are majority owned by people who identify as LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities in the City's procurement and purchasing process;
Furthermore, request City Manager to return to City Council in the next 180 days with a report showing how many LGBTBEs, DOBEs, and VOBEs have signed up on the City's PlanetBids database, information about outreach to these businesses, and how many of these businesses apply to and are awarded projects over this time-period.
DISCUSSION
DISCUSSION/BACKGROUND
As part of the City of Long Beach's economic inclusion efforts, the City has made significant progress in engaging small businesses, disadvantaged businesses, and minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBE) in the City's procurement and purchasing process. In 2011, the City began a small business certification program to encourage eligible small businesses to compete for City contracts. In 2013, the City ?established a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program to give equal opportunity to all businesses competing for federally funded contracts. The City's Long Beach Businesses First initiative also promises to offer additional support for local business owners in the City's procurement process.
But more needs to be done to include businesses that are majority owned by people who identify as LGBTQ+, veterans, and people with disabilities and to diversify the City's supplier and vendor databases on PlanetBids. Including certified business enterprises in the City's procurement outreach efforts will encourage more innovative and competitive bids and will further inspire more community members to become entrepreneurs and local business owners.
This type of supplier diversity inclusion is currently a best practice of the private sector, as well as with an ever-growing number of cities and states nationwide. For example, in 2018 and earl...
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