WHEREAS, Every year, the City of Philadelphia consumes more than $1 billion in goods and services and manages more than $1 billion in additional investments through enterprise funds; including the airport, water and waste water operations, and an industrial land bank; and
WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia continues to struggle with severe under-representation and under-utilization of minorities and women as contractors and subcontractors, such that only 13 of 47 identified City departments exceeded the City’s 35% participation goal in Fiscal Year 2017; and
WHEREAS, In Fiscal Year 2017, the City achieved a mere rate of 25.96% participation by Minority, Women, Disadvantaged, and Sustainable Business Enterprises (MWDSBEs) in Public Works, and a rate of 31.9% MWDBSE participation across all City departments, according to the Office of Economic Opportunity’s 2017 Annual Report; and
WHEREAS, City Council continues its public call for 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 agrees with City Council’s commitment to “develop a diverse workforce that looks like Philadelphia,” a City population which is 59% minority, 53% female, 20% with a criminal record, and 13% suffering deep poverty; and
WHEREAS, The success of the Administration’s proposed Rebuild project has generated much public scrutiny by operating beyond the City’s normal procurement standards and processes; and
WHEREAS, City Council cannot wait until after the Rebuild program to insist on internal, institutional reforms, to ensure the diversity of our capital program and enterprise investments; and
WHEREAS, The Administration and City Council must function as responsible stewards of taxpayer-funded projects to ensure diverse, transparent, and efficient outcomes that benefit all our neighborhoods; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities are authorized to hold joint hearings to examine the City of Philadelphia’s processes and methods for procuring professional services, capital programs, and commodities, and to thereby recommend more inclusive, transparent, and efficient qualifying processes that maximize opportunities for minorities, women, re-entering citizens, veterans, and job-seekers across Philadelphia’s vibrant workforce.
End