Authorizing the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to conduct hearings to examine the inclusiveness, transparency and efficiency of the City of Philadelphia's processes for the procurement of professional services, capital programs and commodities.

WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia consumes more than $1 billion in goods and services every year; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Construction Industry Diversity found that Philadelphia has forgone substantial economic gains due to the severe under-representation and under-utilization of minorities and women as contractors and subcontractors and thereby recommended that the City adopt a plan for diversity inclusion including building trades goals of 32% minority participation and 7% female participation; and

WHEREAS, In 2015, the City achieved a mere rate of 25% participation by Minority, Women, Disadvantaged and Sustainable Business Enterprises (M/W/D/SBEs) in Public Works and a rate of 30% M/W/DBSE participation across all City Departments, according to the Office of Economic Opportunity’s 2015 Annual Report; and

WHEREAS, City Council has expressed continued commitment to procurement reforms including, but not limited to, unbundling large projects into multiple smaller projects, expediting subcontractor crediting, enforcing local preference policies with an emphasis on the growth of minority and women-owned businesses, actively recruiting minorities and women in building trades, forging new pathways to union membership, developing apprenticeship opportunities, and selectively reducing bonding and insurance requirements that bar diverse workforce participation; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Jim Kenney has expressed that he shares City Council’s commitment to “develop a diverse workforce that looks like Philadelphia,” by reforming significant flaws in current procurement processes that lack transparency, accessibility, efficiency and inclusiveness; and

WHEREAS, The Office of Economic Opportunity has pledged to double M/W/D/SBE participation, yet only plans to increase the value of M/W/D/SBE contracts by 6% over the next 2 years and by 23% over the next 6 years; and

WHEREAS, The success of the Administration’s proposed $9.7 billion capital program, plus an additional $600 million in borrowing and other funds towards the Rebuilding Community Infrastructure Program, relies on the swift and efficient implementation of procurement reform by the Mayor, the Office of Economic Opportunity and this City Council, as well as by unions, contractors, workers and business owners throughout Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, The Administration’s proposed $500 million increase in combined aggregate Airport and Water budgets over the next 5 years similarly requires the development of a diverse workforce that reflects our City’s population, of which 59% are minorities, 53% are women, 20% have a criminal record and 13% suffer deep poverty; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development is authorized to hold hearings to examine the City of Philadelphia’s processes and methods for procuring professional services, capital programs, and commodities and to thereby recommend more fair and efficient qualifying processes that maximize opportunities for minorities, women, re-entering citizens, veterans and job-seekers across Philadelphia’s vibrant workforce.

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