minority business enterprise ordinance bridgeport ct

8/6/2019 Minority Business Enterprise Ordinance Bridgeport Ct

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OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

BILL FINCH

CITY OF BRIDGEPORT999 BROAD STREET BRIDGEPORT, CT 06604

(203) 576-7201 FAX 203-576-3913

MINORITY BUSINESS

ENTERPRISE ORDINANCE

MUNICIPAL CODE OF ORDINANCES

CHAPTER 3, SECTION 3.12.130


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-31-Whereas, the City CDuncil approved the Small Business EnterprisePrDgram in the Fall Df.2005 in an effort tD increase the use Df minDrity-Dwned;

w o m e n ~ o w n e d and other disadvantaged contractors in the City of Bridgeportawarding of contracts;

Whereas, the City Council approved an amendment to the SmallBusiness Enterprise PrDgram on April 3, 2006 to increase the percentageattainable goals for awarding of contracts to such contractors; and

Whereas, the City Council desires to change the name of the SmallBusiness Enterprise PrDgram, tD further increase the percentage attainablegDalspreviously established, and to make other necessa ry changes to theprogram to bet ter ensure that the program's goals and requirements can besatisfied. Now, therefore, .

BE IT ORDAINED: By the City Council of the City of Bridgeport that theBridgeport Municipal Code Df Ordinances Chapter 3 .12 Equal Opportuni tyRequirements for ContractDrs, Section 3.12.130 Small Business EnterpriseProgram, is hereby substituted in its entirety and replaced with the followingordinance: .

3.12.130 Minority Business Enterprise Program.

A. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to: Recognize the findings of the Disparity Study dated March 2005conducted at the city's request. Implement a race and gender-conscious program to correct historicdiscrimination in contracting for those groups identified in theDisparity Study; Create a sheltered market program to benefit small, Bridgeportbased businesses by providing a pool of contracts for which theycan compete on a fair basis; and Take steps to r educe or eliminate aspects of the city's bidding andcontracting processes that pDse the greatest difficulties for MinorityBusinesses and other small businesses and hinder theirparticipation, prosperity and growth.

B. Defmitions. All capitalized terms not defined in this chapter shall have themeanings assigned to them in Section 3.08.070, Purchasing procedure, unlessthe context otherwise requires."African American" means a Black American, including all personshaving origins in any ofthe BlackAfrican racial groups not of Hispanic origin."Asian American" means an Asian American, including all persons havingorigins in any of the countries of the Asian Continent, Southeast Asia, an AsianPacificAmerican and a Pacific islander.


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"American Indian" means a person having origins in any of the originalpeoples of North America and maintaining identifiable tribal affiliations throughmembership and participation or community identification.

"Business" means a business defined under ."Company"."Certified" means an MBE, WBE or DBE contractor whose. s ta tu s a s amember of a particular. minoritygtoup classification has been established,certified or accepted for participation in any minority, disadvantaged or smal lbusiness program by (a) any State of Connect icut agency or quasi-governmentalagency, (b) any other State governmental or quasi-governmental agency inanother state, and (c) any governmental or quasi-governmental agency of anycity, town, county or municipality in Connecticut or any other state, and whichCertified contractor otherwise possesses the experience, skills and resources tosatisfy a City contract and/or Contract Category."City contract" for purposes of this chapter means any contract, purchaseorder, bid, quote or selection process involving work in the nature ofconstruction (including new construction, rehabilitation, demolition andsiteworkj, architecture and engineering, professional services, non-professionalservices, or goods.

"Compliance Committee" means a committee established by theAdministrator to oversee the implementation ofthis chapter, compliance with itsprovisions, interpretations of its meaning and application, hearing andresolution of protests and complaints, and implementation of remedies andpenalties, consisting of the Administrator, a representative of the PUrchasingDepartment; a representative of the City Attorney's Office, the City Council'sLegislative Director, and a representative from any city consultant engaged forpurposes of implementation and/or compliance."Compliance reports" means those reports identified in this chapterprepared by the person or department designated or otherwise prepared at therequest of th e Administrator or his designee, including any city consultantengaged for such purpose, to track all phases of the program established by thischapter, including utilization ofMinority Contractors and Bridgeport businesses,compl iance by bidders and various participants in the implementation of orcompliance with the program, outreach efforts, protests and complaints receivedand .determined, enforcement act ions taken, Liquidated Damages assessed,debarments and disciplinary actions recommended, and such other reports asthe Administrator may deem necessary or desirable.

"Contracting Category" means contracts for construction, contracts forarchitecture and engineering, contracts for professional and non-professionalservices, and goods.

"Company" means a business enterpr ise, including a corporation,p a r t n e : r ~ h i p , joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnershipor sole proprietorship.

"Disadvantaged business enterprise" or"DBE" means an individual havinga physical impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major lifeactivities of the individual or who has a record of such an impairment that isCertified.


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"Due Diligence Criteria" for purposes of this chapter means a fair andunbiased method by which a Contracting Officer obtains informal quotes whenpermitted by Chapter 3.08.070 from Companies, including MBEs, WBEs andDBEs, such that .bias, prejudice and discretionary pract ices by a ContractingOfficer are minimized and city contracts are awarded in compliance with the

. r e q u i r e I T , l ~ n t s ofthis chapter. . . . .... ... "E'valuation credits" means,in a qualificatioilS"basedselectiOTI.cprocess, theassignment of ten (10) additional points to appl icable Target Groups whenevaluating their qualifications and/or their proposals, based upon a uniform100cpoint scoring system described in this chapter in order to arrive at a shortlist of proposers so that Target Groups are not placed at a competitivedisadvantage when competing with non-target groups."Formal" contracts means those city contracts that exceed $25,000 andare required to be publicly advertised under Section 3.08.070."Good Faith Efforts" means a Prime Contractor's obligations to reach outthrough various means and methods described in this chapter to MinorityContractors to participate as subcontractors in connection with the PrimeContractor's intention to bid for a city contract, as more particularly described inSection G(5) of this chapter. .

"Hispanic American" means a Hispanic American, including all persons ofMexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Centra l or South American, or other Spanishculture br origin, regardless of race."Industry coding" means the Contracting Officer's determination of andthe Purchasing Director's agreement with the industry classification codesassigned to a city contrac t prior to or at the time of bid to facil itate bidding,selection, implementation, compliance, monitoring and enforcementactivities."Informal" contracts means those city contracts under $25,000 that are notrequired to be publicly advertised under Section 3.08.070 of this code.

"Jobs funnel" means a community effort to provide opportunities forBridgeport residents to receive life-skills training, job training, and job placementwith building trades and Companies doing business with th e city or in the City ofBridgeport."Liquidated Damages" means monetary penalties that can be assessedagainst a Prime Contractor or a Minority Contractor for violat ion of therequirements of this chapter, as more particularly described in Section G(3) ofthis chapter."Minority business enterprise", "Minority Contractor" or "MBE" means aminority-owned business, including minority female-owned businessenterprises, the latter sometimes referred to herein as a "WMBE" that

demonstrates at least 51% percent of the ownership held by a person(s) who isa member of a racial minority group, and who exercises operational authorityover the daily affairs of the business, has the power to direct policies andmanagement, and receives beneficial interests of the business that is Certified.In some cases use of the term Minority Contractors or MBEs may includeWBEs, WMBEs and DBEs where the context requires."Outreach and marketing program" means a city program operated by theAdministrator , or his designee, including any city consultant engaged for thatpurpose, to attract and promote th e inc lusion of new and existing MinorityContractors into th e city bidding and contracting process, including solicitingbusinesses to bid for city contracts and become city contractors, advertisingcontracting opportunities especially in media outlets sensitive to.minority


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interests, hosting open houses, registration and networking events, arrangingtraining opportunities, facilitating partnering with Companies, and identifyingagencies and for-profit and not-for-profit organizations interested in fostering thecapacity and effectiveness of Minority Businesses, and the like.

"finine Contractor". means a non-minority contractor that seeks orobtains a city contract. ."Program administratot" or "Administratot" means the city's chiefadministrative officer or his designee, including any city consultant engaged forimplemen,tationpurposes or the Compliance Committee."Project Labor Agreement" or "PLA" means one (or more) agreementssought for and arranged by the city on appropriate projects or programs such asthe new schools construct ion program to ensure the creation of tradeapprenticeships and other job. opportunities for Bridgeport residents inaccordance with the goals of this chapter."Prompt payment directive" means the city's commitment to a promptpayment process developed by the Administrator, Director of Finance and theDirector of Information Technology for (a) all Prime Contractors employingMinority Contractors as subcontractors and (b) all Minori ty Contractors toensure tha t the city pays complete invoices in a maximum of thirty (30) days ifto a Prime Contractor and a maximum of fifteen (15) days if to a MinorityContractor, except for any portions of such invoices about which there exists alegitimate dispute."Self-Perform" means that a Certified MBE, WBE or DBE contractor,whether a Prime Contractor or a subcontractor, performs 30% of the value of it swork (exclusive of materials and equipment) using it s own forces and resourcesas determined by monthly payrolls.."Sheltered market program" means a city program developed by the

Administrator or his designee, including any city consultant engaged for thatpurpose, and the Director of Purchasing that creates a pool of various citycontracts for SLBEs in Contracting Categories in which SLBEs are availablethat ensures fair competition for city contracts taking into account the relativesizes and resources of SLBEs so that SLBEs compete for city contracts againstother SLBEs of similar size and resources."Small local business enterprise" or "SLBE" means a business enterprisehaving it s principal office in Bridgeport and a business license, and either lessthan $5 million in annual sales or fewer than 20 employees."Subcontractor substitution" means a Prime Contractor's request tosubstitute or replace a Minority Contractor listed or identified prior to the time

of award and upon which the award was made, which can only beaccomplished with the Administrator 's , or his designee's, including a cityconsultant engaged for that purpose, o r the Compliance Committee's priorwritten consent after written notice from the Prime Contractor to theAdministrator, with a copy to the subcontractor, both the Prime Contractor andthe subcontractor having a right to be heard, and such a substitution must bebased on good cause shown in accordance with a process established by theAdministrator or the Compliance Committee."Target Groups" means those racial or gender groups identified in theDisparity Study that experienced historic discrimination in city contracting tosuch a degree that this chapter provides race and gender-conscious remedies


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such as set-asides, percentage attainable goals, Evaluation Credits or otherpreferences.

"Voluntary programs" mean those program activities described in thischapter and other activities implemented in the future by the Administrator orhis designee, including any .city cOnsultant engaged forth


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D. Establishment of Race and Gender-Conscious Remedies.1. "Formal Prime Contract Remedies.a. CompetitiveBids.Ari attainable goal of 30% of the aggregatedollar value ofeach Formal city contract (goal of 'i5% of the contract value

to MBEs and goal of 15% to WBEs).b. Qualifications-Based Selections, An attainable goal of 30% of

the aggregate dollar'value of a city contrac t i s estab li shed for PrimeContractor utilization of, certain Target Groups dur ing QBS processes.For purposes of this subsection, the Target Groups that should receiveEvaluation Credits are:

i. City contracts for construction professionals: MricanAmericans, Hispanic Americans, MBEs, and minorityfemale and Caucasian female minority businessenterprises.

11 City contracts for architecture and engineering professionals:Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Caucasianfemales.iii. City contracts for other 'professional services: AsianAmericans, Hispanic Americans, Caucasian females, MBEs,and minority female and Caucasian female minoritybusiness enterprises.iv. City contracts for goods and nonprofessional services:Mrican Americans, Caucasian females, MBEs, and minorityfemale and Caucasian female minority business enterprises.2. Informal Prime Contract Remedies.a. An attainable goal of 30% of the aggregate dollar value of each

Informal city contract (goal of 15% ofthe contract value to MBEs and goalof 15% to WBEs).b. Since Informal city contracts awarded to Prime Contractors are,not usually publicly advertised and tend to be awarded by individual

Contracting Officers after informal quotes are obtained, MBEs do notparticipate sufficiently in city contracts to the extent that they can buildexperience, become better equipped to provide goods and services to thecity, and circulate procurement dollars within the city's tax base. TheAdministrator and the Director of Purchasing shall implemen t DueDiligence Criteria for Contracting Officers and standardize the process foridentifying, documenting and selecting Target Groups for the award ofInformal city contracts to minimize discretionary or prohibited practices.


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For purposes of this subsect ion, the TargetGroups are:i. City contracts for construction: Mrican Americans, Hispanic

Americans, and MBEs.ii. .. City contracts for architecture and engineering services:Hispanic Americans , Caucasian females, MBEs, aridminority femaleapd Caucasian female business enterprisf:s.iii. City contracts for professional services: Mrican Americans,Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, Caucasian females,MBEs, and minority female and Cau'casian female minoritybusiness enterprises. .

IV. City contracts for goods and nonprofessional services:Mrican Americans, Caucasian females, MBEs, and minorityfemale and Caucasian female minority business enterprises.

3. Disparity in Construction Subcontracting Remedy.a. In addition to the attainable goal of 30% of the aggregate dollar value

for Formal city contracts and the attainable goal of 30% for Informal citycontracts, a mandatory requirement of 6% of the aggregate dollar value ofFormal and Informal construction subcontracts is established for PrimeContractor utilization of Certified African American businesses who Self-Performand meet the other requirements of the bid. African-American businessesconsti tute the Target Group for purposes of this subsection.b. The Administrator or his designee, including any city consultantengaged for this purpose, and the Director of Purchasing will create aregistration system that will collect business information, construction tradeclassification, size, capacity and other characteristics for African AmericanContractors. City contracts for construction subcontracting reserved for MricanAmerican Contractors shall be based on such registry and shall be revised on anannual basis to accommodate th e registration of new African AmericanContractors in the construction trades.

c' The inability of a Prime Contractor to meet the mandatory 6% AfricanAmerican requirement of this subsection m ay be permitted only upon theAdministrator's grant of a waiver for good cause shown in accordance with thischapter. If a waiver is not granted, all or portions of the work shall be re-bid iffeasible and pract ical or the Administrator sha ll assign work in a fair andunbiased manner to Contractors previously identified and participating in theprogram created by this chapter who are Certified, Self-Perform and meet theother requirements of the bid. This mandatory requirement and a study of thegeneral utilization of Minority Contractors shall be revisited in ten (10) yearsfrom the date of the Disparity Study.


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4. Sheltered Market Program for SLBEs.a . . An attainable goal of 30% of the aggregate dollar value of city. contracts to SLBEs for city contracts determined to be appropriate for th e

city's Sheltered market program. Such attainable goal shall beimplemented without regard to the minority, female or disa(ivantaged'status of anY SLBE. The Administrator or his designee; inCluding any citycorisUltiUltengaged for such purpose, arid the' Director of Purc;hasingshall determine -in which Contracting Categories SLBEs are available tobid for city contracts and shall bid such contracts to SLBEs in a mannerthat ensures fair competition, taking into account the relative sizes ofavailable SLBEs so that SLBEs compete for such city contracts againstother SLBEs of similar size.

b. This program will enable such SLBEs to build experience,become bet ter equipped to provide goods and services to th e city, andcirculate procurement dollars within the city's tax base. In order toidentify the SLBEs interested in obtaining city contracts, th eAdministrator or his designee, inclUding any city consultant engaged forsuch purpose, and the Director of Purchasing will create a registrationsystem that will collect SLBE business information, industryClassification, size in terms of annual sales, capacity, workforce size,equipment and other characteristics. The city contracts sought to beawarded to SLBEs in the Sheltered market program shall be based uponsuch registry and shall be revised on an annual basis to accommodatethe registration of new SLBEs. All SLBEs on the registry shall receiveprocurement not ices for th e city contracts reserved for the Shelteredmarket according to each SLBE's Industry coding and according to theiravailability and their experience, skills and resources to sat is fy a Citycontract and/or Contract Category.c. SLBEs are not required to meet MBE, WBE or DBE goalsestablished by this chapter for city contracts that are not inc luded in theSheltered market program, but are nevertheless encouraged to utilizeMBE, WBE and DBE subcontractors where possible.

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E. Establishment of Best Practices. For purposes of implementing the city'sprogram, the Administrator will ensure that best management practices areemployed to improve MBE, WBE and DBE access to and participation in' city'. . contracts. The following practices focus on pre-award and post-award effortsand are intended to benefit al l Minority Contractors and SLBEs interested irtcontracting with the city. Best practices include, but are not limited to, thefollowing:

1. Identification of Specific Subcontractors is Required andSubstitutions May Not be Made Without Good Cause Shown. PrimeContractors must either identify subcontractors at the time of bidsubmission or indicate that they intend to meet the goals established forsuch contract. Following receipt of a notice of intent to award, a PrimeContractor must identify such subcontractors, the dollar value of eachsubcontractor's work, and those subcontractors may not be substitutedwithout good cause being shown in accordance with this chapter. TheAdministrator will determine whether good cause has been shown for th esubstitution of the subcontractor and shall be guided by the principlesand goals of this chapter and any applicable industry s tandards in theContract Category involved.

2. Creation of a Uniform System for Posting ProcurementNotices. The Administrator or his designee, including any city consultantengaged for such purpose, the Director of Purchasing and the Director ofInformation Technology shall establish a uniform system for postingnotices of city contracts that includes posting minority contractingopportunities in the Purchasing Department, providing computer. stationsavailable to the public in the Purchasing Department for contractingopportunities, registration, placing bids, etc., placing newspaper notices,website posting, fax notification, email notification and/or anycombination the reof with other methods. Sufficient time should bepermitted between bid posting and bid opening so that Prime Contractorsare able to make good faith efforts to recruit Minority Contractorparticipation.

3. Unbundling of City Contract Opportunities into SmallerContracts Where Feasible. Where pract ical and feasible, ContractingOfficers seeking to bid city contracts should make every effort to unbundlecontracts into separate parts of th e work (including labor, materials,equipment, etc.) in a way that is practical, manageable, efficient and cost-effective, in a way that balances such concerns with the goal ofmaximizing the ability of MBEs to participate as subcontractors or asprime contractors themselves.


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4. Revising Bonding Requirements. The Administrator and theCity Attorney shall develop a policy to reduce or eliminate to the extentpractical and feasible the bonding requirements from MBEs, WBEs andDBEs for city contracts, including for example the establishment of acontingency in the budget for the work to cover the costs andconsequences of a Minority Contractor's failure to complety, that balancesthe city's concerns about job completion, risks and potential liabilities,and other legal concerns with this chapter's desire to ensure that bondingrequirements do not constitute an unreasonable obstacle to participation,including the creation of a contingency fund in the budget for particularcity contracts to cover the cost of complete and consequences resultingfrom a Minority Contractor 's failure to perform.

5. Phased Release o f Bonding and Retainage. TheAdministrator and the City Attorney shall develop a policy and procedure,when practical and feasible, to work with Prime Contractors to permitperiodic releases of an MBE's, WBE's or DBE's performance bond, wheresubcontractor bonds are required by the Prime Contractor, and to releaseretainage upon satisfactory completion of portions of such subcontractor'swork so long as the Prime Contractor is satisfied with the quality andcompletion of such work. Prime Contractors may not create retainagegreater than 5% of the value of a Minority Contractor's portion of th ework, but may create retainage up to 10% in other cases according toindustry standards and practices not in violation of law. Such policy andprocedure shall not include the periodic release of payment bonds, sincesuch bonds are created to protect the interests of other subcontractors orsub-subcontractors.

6. Adopt a Prompt Pavmen t Procedure to Assist MBEs:Prohibition of "Pay When Paid" Clauses in Certain Contracts. TheAdministrator and the Director ofFinance shall develop a prompt paymentprocedure that prioritizes payments to Minority Contractors and thePrime Contractors for whom they may be working. Such procedure shallprovide for th e payment of complete invoices to a Prime Contractor thatuti lizes Minority Contractors in a maximum of thirty (30) days afterreceipt , elimination of any "pay when paid" clause in th e PrimeContractor's contracts with Minority Contractors, and a requirement thatPrime Contractors shall pay Minority Contractors within fifteen (15) daysof the receipt of complete invoices. In all cases, payments in accordancewith this paragraph are not required within such timeframes for invoicesor portions thereof about which there exists a legitimate dispute unti lsuch dispute is resolved.


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7. Adoption of Protest Procedures. The, Administrator and theCity Attorney shall develop protest pro"cedures when Contractors, whetherPrime Contractors or Minority Contractors , or other persons wish tochallenge a bid, contract award, grant or denial of awaiver, release of.retainage, and other complaints that may arise in the interpretation,implementation, monitoring and compliance activities of this chapter, andsuch procedures may be similar to th e bid protest procedures adopted bythe Board of Public Purchases pursuant to Section 3.08.070 of this code.Such protests shall be heard and determined by th e ComplianceCommittee.8. Collection of Monthly Records; Preparation of ComplianceReports on a Regular Basis. In order to determine the program's level ofsuccess and to. address any problems that may result in th eimplementation of the program described in this chapter, monthly recordswill be available for review in the Department of Purchasing, and theAdministrator or his designee, including any city consultant engaged forsuch purpose, shall prepare quarterly utilization reports at the end of themonths .0fOctober, January , April and July in each fiscal year forsubmission to the Mayor and the Legislative Director of the city council.Such compliance reports sha ll inc lude repor ts on Minority Contractoravailability and utilization, employment ofMinority Contractors, creationof apprenticeships and employment opportunities for Bridgeportresidents on projects covered by Project Labor Agreements, nature andresults of bid protects, instances of non-compliance by PrimeContractors, Minority Contractors, city employees and others involved inth e program.9. Establishment of Outreach and Marketing Program. TheAdministrator or his designee, including any city consultant engaged forsuch purpose , shall develop an outreach and marketing program thatincludes developing a tag line and print materials for an outreachcampaign, creating procedures for dis tr ibut ing forecasts of contractingopportunities, developing arrangements with public and private agenciesand organizations to dis sem inate information about the programdescribed in thi s chapter, and conducting periodic prograin monitoringand evaluation as required by this chapter. This program will create aresource listing existing and new Minority Contractors that contains theContracting Category, minority group affiliation, Target Groupmembership, experience, resources, size, equipment and other relevantinformation for each. Such program will also inc lude a notificationprocess to ensure that Minority Contractors and Target Group membersobtain a timely notification designed to reach them, and sufficient timeand opportunity to submit bids, quotes, qualifications or proposals toPrime Contractors who plan to bid for city contracts.


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c. Notwithstanding anything contained in this paragraph 10 to thecontrary, i f the bid or proposal requests quotes for base work and quotes foralternate additions or deductions, all bids must be analyzed on a fair andequitable basis without manipulation of the base bid and the alternate bids insuch a way that makes the calculation of the low bid suspect or questionableinviolation of the principles ofthis chapter.

11. Uniform Scoring System For OBS Processes. The Administratorand the City Attorney will develop a uniform lOa-point system for use inquaIifications-based selection processes. Target Groups determined inaccordance with this chapter for the Contracting Category involvedwill be entitledto an additional 10 points above the score that they receive as a result of the 100point system in determining whether they are part ofthe short list of contractorsarrived at for purposes ofmaking a final selection. The final selection shall thenbe made in the ordinary course ofmaking a quaIifications-based selection..12. Adoption of Due Diligence Criteria For Informal Bids. In bids forInformal contracts, the Administrator and the Purchasing Director shall developDue Diligence Criteria for Contracting Officers so that Informal contracts areawarded in a fair and unbiased method. Contrac ting Officers may onlymake recommendations to the Purchasing Department for the award ofan Informal contract in order to minimize discretionary practices and toensure that the goals of encouraging awards to Minority Contractors andSLBEs in accordance with this chapter.


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-43-F. Priority of Federal and State Minority Business Award Criteria. Often,with regard to federal and state funding of loans and grants, such governmentsrequire their own criteria and goals for awarding contracts to MBEs, WBEs andDBEs when federal or s ta te dollars, respectively, are used to procure the goods orservices desired. Recipients of federal and state funds are often required toimplement measures to ensure equitable minority contracting whether adisparity was found or not. Therefore, notwithstanding anything contained inthis chapter to the contrary, any requirements of federal or state governmentsrelating to the award of contracts to SBEs, MBEs, WBEs, MWBEs or DBEs shallgovern over any inconsistent provision of this chapter.G. Compliance: Good Faith Efforts: Penalties: Miscellaneous.1. Compliance with and good faith adherence to the requirementsof thi s chapter by Prime Contractors, Minority Contractors, city officialsand employees, and others involved in the city contracting process ismandatory, except where otherwise provided or permitted by thischapter.2. No scheme, strategy, ruse, artifice, collaboration, passthroughor other device to make it appear that compliance with this chapter hasbeen achieved or to avoid compliance with this chapter is permitted.3. Any Prime Contractor, Minority Contractor or other Companyinvolved in city contracting that violates this chapter, avoids, or attemptsto avoid the implementation of this chapter or any of its requirements,goals, principles or practices, including implementation plans that maybe adopted , sha ll be subject to debarment under the provis ions ofChapter 3 .08.090 of this Code. The Administrator or his designee,including any city consultant engaged for such purpose, or the

Compliance Committee, with the advice of th e City Attorney, may directthat payment to Prime Contractors or Minority Businesses involved in acity contract be withheld until any violation of this chapter has beencorrected, or may deduct any monetary penalty from any monies that th ecity owes to such contractor, without the city incurring any additionalcost, charge, interest or other fee from the Company committing th eviolation. The city may also impose and collect liquidated damages in theamount of $200/day for each day that a violation has been commit tedand continues ("Liquidated Damages"), unless the Company proves andthe Administrator finds that mitigating or extenuating circumstances toexist, in which case such Liquidated Damages maybe reduced in theAdministrator's discretion. Such Liquidated Damages may be imposedbecause of the difficulty and expense of attempting to quantify the valueand assess the damage done to the program adopted under this chapter,and all Companies submitted bids or proposals for city contracts shal l bedeemed to unders tand and accept the imposition of Liquidated Damagesfor violations of this chapter. The Administrator shall use LiquidatedDamages that are collected to fund outreach and educational effortsunder this chapter.


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4. Any city employee deemed by the Administrator or hisdesignee, including any city consultant engaged for such purpose, or theCompliance Committee, with the advice of the City Attorney, to have.violated this chapter in an inten tional or grossly negligent manner orwho has avoided or attempted to avoid, or to have assisted or encourageda Company to avoid or attempt to avoid, the implementation of thischapter or any of i ts requirements, goals, principles or practices,including implementation plans adopted, .shall be recommended forprogressive disciplinary action within such employee's department Md ifnecessary with th e involvement of the city Department of LaborRelations, subject to the terms of any collective bargaining agreementthat applies.5. Mandatory Good Faith Efforts: Waivers: Exceptions. A PrimeContractorhas the burden to demonstrate at the time ofreceiptofa notice ofintentto award a city contract, and before the contract is awarded, that it is committed toand will be able to achieve the goals and requirements ofthis chapter. If, however,the Prime Contractor believes that it cannot achieve the goals and requirements of. this chapter, it must demonstrate that it has (al completed good faith effort No. Ibelow and has met at least two (2) of good faith efforts Nos. 2 through 7 identifiedbelow (collectively, "Good Faith Efforts") to the reasonable satisfaction of theAdministrator or his designee, including any city consultant engaged forsuch purpose, or the Compliance Committee in order to just:iJY a waiver oftherequirements ofthis chapter involved in the particular situation. Good FaithEfforts are: No. 1 - City Website and Newspaper Notice. Publish a noticeseeking subcontractors on the City's purchasing website and anadvertisement (one column inch minimum) in the Saturday edition of theConnecticut Post, in the public notices section, entitled "Bridgeport

Minority Contracting Opportunity" in bold lettering describing the type ortypes ofwork, services, equipment, goods or supplies beingsought, and thename, address and telephone number of the Prime Contractor's contactpersonhavingknowledge ofthe subcontracting work being sought within areasonable time prior to the time of submission of each bid, quotation orproposal..No. 2--Written notices to business associations or agencies. ThePrime Contractor shall send written notices to at least two (2) busiriessassociations or development agencies, profit ornon-profit, that represent orare associated with the interests of Minority Contractors and whodisseminate bid opportunities and other information to MinorityContractors, so long as such notices are sentwithin a reasonable timepriorto the deadline for th e submission ofeach bid, quotation or proposal. Suchnotices shall describe the types of work, services, equipment, goods orsupplies being sought, and the name, address and telephone number ofthe Prime Contractor's contact person having .knowledge of thesubcontractingwork being sought. The Prime Contractor shallmake everyreasonable effort to respond to th e inquiries and information requests ofMinority Contractors within a reasonable time prior to the time ofsubmission ofeach bid, quotation or proposal.


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-45-No. 3--Searching Available Databases and Lists of MinoritvContractors. The Prime Contractor shall take steps to identifY MinorityContractors in the Contracting Category doing the type ofwork sought inconnection with the city contract from lists available from the PurchasingDepartment, on the city's purchasingwebsite or other int=et websites, or

at other locations.No. 4--0btaining Ouotes FromAvailableMinoritvContractors. ThePrime Contractor shall obtain written quotes from Minority Contractorsthat we rejected for good cause because of cost, quality, experience,availability, responsibility, resources, equipment, lack or inadequacy ofbonding or insurance, and the like.

No. 5--Attempts to Enter Into Joint Ventures or OtherArrangements with Minority Contractors. The Prime Contractor.shalldemonstrate its attempts to enter into joint ventures or other businessarrangements with Minority Contractors not in violation of this chapter toperform portions of the work, to supplymaterials, and the like, and shalldocument all actions taken in that regard, including, where appropriate,the reasons fo t the failure or rejectionof such efforts.

No. 6--PlacingAdvertisements in Minority Business Media Outlets.The Prime Contractor shall advertise in media outlets associated with orlikely to reach Minority Contractors at least 2 times within a reasonabletiine prior to the date for submission ofthe bid, quotation or proposal forthe city contract involved that includes a reasonable time for MinorityContractors to provides quotes.No. 7--Other Efforts Particular to the Bid. The Administrator mayapprove other good faith efforts tha t can be made in connection with aparticular bid.

6. Exemptions; Waivers.a. The following procurements are exempt from th eapplication of this chapter:i. Qualified Purchases, Emergency Purchases, orpurchases from federal, State, regional or other cooperativebidding arrangements.ii. Bids that are otherwise exempted fromcompetitive bidding or procurement requirements under thecity's purchasing ordinance or city charter, for example, theselection of bond underWriters for the sale of city generalobligation bonds.b. When a Prime Contractor is unable to meet at least

50% of th e goal established for a particular city contract, theAdministrator or his designee, including any consultant engagedfor that purpose, or the Compliance Committee, may grant awaiver if the Prime Contractor can demonstrate either that:


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i. Its workforce includes 30% Bridgeport residents;ii. It will hire -only Bridgeport residents for jobs thePrime Contractor identifies will be created as a result ofthe city contract; oriii. That it has a good record of hiring minoritycontractors in the 2-yearperiod prior to the city bid buthas been unable to utilize minority contractors for thecity contract for good cause shown.. -c. Other work for which the Administrator determines

that there are no Minority Contractors registered, available orqualified to bid on such work.d. Any waiver request and al l supportingdocumentation and must be submitted to and accepted by theAdministrator prior to the contract being awarded.7. Prohibition Against Double-Counting. Minority Contractor

participation in a-city contract may not be dOUble-counted in calculatingwhether the percentage goal has been met. If, -for example, a MinorityContractor is also a minority female contractor, in calculating th e PrimeContractor's compliance with - the attainable goal, th e MinorityContractor's portion of the contract may be calculated only in t erms ofthe aggregate value of its portion of th e contract work as a percentage ofthe total contract work. -

8. Implementation Timetable. The Administrator has discretionto determine the applicability of this chapteI: to city contracts that areclose to being awarded and those that will be awarded soon after passagefor pUI:poses of feasibility and practicality.

This chapter shall be effective upon publication.

APPROVED BY THE APPROVED BY MAYOR PUBLISHED INBRIDGEPORT CITY JOHN M. FABRIZI CONNECTICUTCOUNCIL ON: ON: POSTON:July 2,2007 July 2,2007 July 19, 2007ATTEST: ATTEST: ATTEST:

FLEETA C. HUDSON JOHN M. FABRIZI FLEETA C. HUDSONCITY CLERK MAYOR CITY CLERK

minority business enterprise ordinance bridgeport ct

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