The State of Minority- and Women- Owned ... - Cleveland.com

The City of Cleveland’s Cleveland Small Business, Minority Business Enterprise, and
Female Business Enterprise Program: Overview and Feedback Interviews
Purchases and Supplies may purchase directly from that firm by direct negotiation of the
purchase price.
8. Bonding Reduction Waiver Policy
In 2005, Cleveland amended the performance bond requirements for public improvement by
requirement contracts to permit the Commissioner of Purchases and Supplies, with the approval
of the Director of Finance and the Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, to waive the
performance bond requirement for contracts not to exceed $100,000; to reduce the bond to 25
percent of contracts not to exceed $250,000; and to 50 percent for contracts over $250,000.
Formerly, covered contracts estimated to exceed $50,000 had to be secured by a bond equal to at
least 25 percent of the contract price.
The bond may be reduced or waived where the City believes in its discretion that there is a low
likelihood of default, or where default would result in minimal damage to the City. Prior to any
bid, the Departmental Director may recommend to the Commissioner of Purchases and Supplies
that the City increase the requirements for a specific contract where there is good cause.
This race- and gender-neutral policy serves two purpose. First, it enhances bid competition by
making contracts awarded by the City equitably available to all qualified vendors. Second, the
City benefits financially because the cost of bonds is typically passed on to the City by
contractors.
B. Business Owner Interviews
To gather anecdotal evidence of the effectiveness of the City’s current and past M/FBE policies
and procedures in opening up opportunities for all firms, we interviewed 158 firm owners or
representatives. The following are summaries of the issues discussed. Quotations are indented
and are representative of the views expressed by multiple participants. Highly repetitive or
idiosyncratic comments were not included, and some comments have been shortened for
readability.
1. Perceptions of the Program’s Overall Effectiveness
As discussed in detail in Chapter VIII, the great majority of minorities and women reported that
the contracting affirmative action programs remain critical to ensure their full and fair access to
City of Cleveland contracts and associated subcontracts. Being certified created opportunities
that otherwise would not have been open to them. M/FBE requirements were seen as vital to the
continuing viability of their companies.
The MBE and the WBE participation that’s posted or the goals open a door for us. So I
would really recommend that we keep it. The S[mall] B[usiness] E[nterprise program]
under the Sewer District did not work for us simply because the criteria for SBE was so
high.… Now that we have opened it to MBE and WBE it seems like more opportunities
are coming.
NERA Economic Consulting 302