Calling on the Director of Finance to fully comply with the provisions of Chapter 17-1503(1)(a) of The Philadelphia Code, pursuant to Section 6-109 of the Home Rule Charter, and submit to City Council a revised up-to-date listing of Minority, Women and Disabled Owned Business Enterprises (M/W/DSBEs) qualified to contract with the City; and urging the Director of Finance to do so in accordance with steps outlined herein and submit said revised listing no later than forty-five days from the recorded date of passage.

Whereas, The Director of Finance submitted a proposed up-to-date listing of M/W/DSBEs to City Council, with a cover letter dated April 20, 2007, reporting that listing to be the “MBEC Directory” – consisting of sixty-eight pages (38 two-sided 8.5” x 14”sheets) of company names arranged alphabetically, contact information and locations by street address, city and state; and

Whereas, The submitted listing and the cover letter offer no explanation regarding the steps taken to compile or to “ensure completeness of the list” as provided for in Chapter 17-1503(1)(a) of The Philadelphia Code, and refers the reader to the MBEC Directory website to conduct an online search for information which should be a part of the submitted material; and

Whereas, The submitted listing is presented in a format that could only be used to confirm that a particular company is actually on the list and to obtain what is reported to be current contact information – and Council wishes to set forth additional steps the Director of Finance shall take “to expand the reach of said listing” by submitting a revised up-to-date listing, in accordance with Chapter 17-1503(1)(a) of The Philadelphia Code; and

Whereas, The revised listing should be accompanied by a document that provides a comprehensive explanation of the steps taken to “ensure completeness of the list” that would include, but not necessarily be limited to: outreach targets and process; referral and recruitment sources; history of and projections for expansion; a profile of the certification or qualification process, policy and timeframe; number of M/W/DBEs currently in process; provisions for reciprocity with other certifying agencies, governmental jurisdictions or sectors; a comparative analysis of the number of M/W/DSBEs listed versus the number of M/W/DSBEs actually existing in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area/Region; and other information that Council may find necessary in this regard and communicates to Director of Finance; and

Whereas, The revised listing format and presentation should provide for regular and task specific directory functions that would include, but not necessarily be limited to: both electronic and hard copy submittal; binding; content summary; table of contents; index; sections and/or tabulation that would facilitate cross-referencing by certification or qualification status, commodity code, commodity category, industry type and by supplier diversity, etc.; and other functions that Council may find necessary in this regard and communicates to the Director of Finance; and

Whereas, The Director of Finance should arrange to meet and communicate immediately and regularly with the Office of the City Council President and the Chair of Council’s Commerce and Economic Development Committee - in order to “ensure completeness” of the revised list and to assure all necessary additional steps are taken to sufficiently “expand the reach of said [revised] listing” as provided for in Chapter 1503(1)(a) of The Philadelphia Code; and so that the Director of Finance may be apprised of any further compliance related requirements; now therefore

Resolved, by the Council of the City of Philadelphia, That City Council calls on the Director of Finance to fully comply with the provisions of Chapter 17 - 1503(1)(a) of The Philadelphia Code, pursuant to Section 6-109 of the Home Rule Charter, and submit to City Council a revised up-to-date listing of Minority, Women and Disabled Owned Business Enterprises (M/W/DSBEs) qualified to contract with the City; and urging the Director of Finance to do so in accordance with steps outlined herein and submit said revised listing no later than forty-five days from the recorded date of passage.

Further Resolved, That the Director of Finance shall be notified of and presented with a certified copy of this Resolution immediately following its passage, and that Council urges the Director of Finance, upon such notification, begins without delay to act in accordance with all steps outlined herein.

End