It is hereby ordained and directed that the
City of Albany by this article adopts and establishes a Minority-
and women-owned Business Enterprise Program and Minority and Women
Labor Utilization Plan. The policy, standards and procedures to be
followed by the City of Albany and sanctions imposed under this article
are set forth below.
It is the policy of the City of Albany that
minority- and women-owned business enterprises shall have the maximum
opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts let by
the City and its several agencies and authorities. It is further the
policy of the City of Albany and its several agencies and authorities
that all contractors and subcontractors engaged on projects of the
City or its several agencies or authorities shall utilize minority
and women labor to the fullest extent possible. In the implementation
of this policy, the City commits itself to a goal-oriented Minority-
and women-owned Business Enterprise Program and a Minority and Women
Labor Utilization Plan as set forth below.
For the purpose of this program, the following
definitions shall govern the management and direct implementation
of program guidelines for minority- and women-owned business enterprises
(MWOBE) and the Minority and Women Labor Utilization Plan (MWLUP):
MINORITY- AND WOMEN-OWNED AND -CONTROLLED BUSINESS
An established, profit-making enterprise, firm or corporation
owned, controlled and operated with a minimum of 51% of all vested
ownership and management benefits held by citizens and/or permanent
residents who are women or a member of one of the following groups:
citizens and/or permanent residents identified as minority and defined
as such by the United States Department of Commerce, United States
Department of Labor:
A.
Black persons not of Hispanic origin: persons
having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
B.
Hispanic persons: persons of Mexican, Puerto
Rican, Cuban, Central or South American or other Spanish culture of
origin, regardless of race.
C.
Asians or Pacific islanders: persons having
origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast
Asia, the Indian Subcontinent or the Pacific islands. This area includes,
for example, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine islands and Samoa.
D.
American Indians or Alaskan natives: persons
having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and
who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or
community recognition.
The contractor must develop and submit to the
Albany MWOBE Officer, at initial bidding, a detailed schedule of MWOBE
participation, including:
A. The names of MWOBE's intended to be used as subcontractors.
B. A description of the work each is to perform.
C. The dollar value of each proposed subcontract with
an MWOBE.
D. Notice to subcontractors of their use of MWOBE's.
The contractors shall carry out this policy
in the awarding of contracts and subcontracts to minority and women
business enterprises to the fullest extent consistent with the efficient
performance of this contract and shall consider using positive efforts
to meet the applicable MWOBE participation goal. Such positive efforts
shall include but not be limited to:
A. Attendance at preconstruction meetings scheduled by
the City and its several agencies and authorities.
B. Advertising, subcontracting opportunities for MWOBE's
in minority and women trade association newsletters and minority and
women media. The bid due date and reasonable MWOBE response due date
must be specified in the advertisement. At a minimum, the publication
chosen must be distributed within reasonable proximity of the location
of the construction project. The advertisement must be for specific
subcontracts which are described in reasonable detail.
C. Notifying minority and women contractor associations
located within the City of Albany of the available subcontracting
opportunities. The notification must be by certified mail and should
be received by the addressee associations in time to permit effective
MWOBE participation. The MWOBE response due date must be specified
in the notifications. The solicitation must be for specific subcontracts,
and the work to be done must be described as accurately as possible
and in reasonable detail.
D. Where technically feasible, segmenting the work to
be subcontracted to accommodate the size and capabilities of available
minority and women subcontracting.
E. Sending solicitation letters by certified mail inviting
quotes or proposals from individual minority and women business enterprises.
The solicitation letter must reference specifically segmented portions
of work to be contracted. The portions of work must be described as
specifically and accurately as possible. Inquiries for further details
must be encouraged. The solicitation letter must be sent in a timely
manner so as to allow minority and women firms sufficient opportunity
to develop quotes or proposals for the work described. All solicitation
letters shall include the bid date and a response due date for the
information of the addressee.
F. Engaging in direct negotiations with an MWOBE whose
proposal is deemed unreasonably high and rejected for that reason.
G. Informing its MWOBE subcontractors of change orders
that may affect the MWOBE's subcontract.
Throughout the project, the contractor must:
A. Require each subcontractor under the contract to comply
with the MWOBE requirement, if necessary to achieve the MWOBE goal.
B. Inform the Albany MWOBE Officer of any changes in
its detailed schedule of MWOBE participation.
C. Maintain documentation that will demonstrate good
faith efforts to retain MWOBE 's.
D. Make good faith efforts to replace an MWOBE subcontractor
that is unable to perform successfully with another MWOBE.
E. Notify the Albany MWOBE Officer of any suspected instances
of companies fraudulently claiming MWOBE status.
F. If possible, provide any needed technical assistance
to MWOBE 's under contract.
G. If possible, aid proposed MWOBE subcontractors in
obtaining necessary bonding.
H. Design payment schedules to minimize cash-flow problems
faced by MWOBE 's.
I. Strive to attain a minority and women labor utilization
plan of 30%.
[Amended 12-7-2020 by Ord. No. 24.101.20; 4-18-2022 by Ord. No. 3.21.22]
MWOBE eligibility status shall be renewed annually.
A. Contract record. The MWOBE firm shall have performed
contracts in the trades area. Copies of such previous contracts shall
be presented to the City in the MWOBE applications materials or present
credentials of training or work history.
B. Location of business. The MWOBE firm shall maintain
a business location designated by full street address and telephone
service specific to the business requesting certification and contract
negotiations.
C. Recordkeeping.
(1) The MWOBE firm shall present financial records, including
a certified copy of the two previous years' profit and loss statement
and balance sheet.
(2) The MWOBE firm shall make available to the City of
Albany all financial bookkeeping records for review and verification
by the City, upon request. The City reserves the right to audit the
operations of the MWOBE firm for compliance verification and certification
purposes.
If the contractor cannot meet the goal, the
contractor must document to the Albany MWOBE Officer that all positive
efforts have been made to achieve it. Failure to meet the goal or
to document all positive efforts that have been made to achieve it
may result in the City invoking sanctions against the contractor,
including but not limited to:
A. Any legal or equitable remedy available to the City
for breach of contract.
B. Withholding future payments under the contract involved.
C. Disqualification of the contractor from future contracting
opportunities.
D. Cancellation of the contract and declaration of forfeiture
of performance bond.