This Chapter shall be known as the "Town of Amherst MBE/WBE
Utilization Commitment Act."
The Town Board hereby finds, declares and determines that Town
of Amherst residents comprise a diverse workforce, consisting of many
local residents employed by businesses owned by minorities or women.
The Town Board further finds that the existing local policy concerning
MBE/WBE utilization has not been successful toward the goal of equality
of opportunity for minority-owned and women-owned businesses, as it
relates to contracts for the provision of goods and services to the
Town of Amherst.
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following terms shall
have the following meanings:
MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
A business which performs a commercially useful function,
at least 51% of which is owned by minority group members or, in the
case of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of all stock is owned
by minority group members, with such ownership certified by the Erie
County Office of Equal Employment Opportunity or by a state or federal
agency. For the purposes of this definition, "minority group members"
are citizens of the United States who are African-American, Hispanic-American,
Asian-American, and Native American (American Indian).
SUPPLIER
Any person, business, company, entity, or independent contractor
seeking to enter into contractual agreements with the Town of Amherst
or an entity acting as an agent for the Town of Amherst for the provision
of supplies, materials, equipment, insurance, professional, technical
or other consultant services, in accordance with the Town's competitive
procurement procedures, local, state and federal laws governing such
agreements.
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
A business which performs a commercially useful function,
at least 51% of which is owned by a woman or women or, in the case
of a publicly owned business, at least 51% of all stock is owned by
a woman or women, with such ownership certified by the Erie County
Office of Equal Employment Opportunity or so certified by a state
or federal agency.
The Town Board, upon written request by the supplier and subject to the authorization of the Town Board by resolution, may grant a complete or partial waiver of the provisions of §
32-4B(1)(e) where the availability of MBEs and/or WBEs in the market area of the contract is less than the 10% MBE goal and the 2% WBE goal. However, the supplier must illustrate good faith efforts in its attempts to reach the policy goals.