The women and minority business assistance program is failing. Will the county bring it back?
Palm Beach County commissioners are demanding more information before deciding whether to renew a program designed to help minority-owned businesses obtain work on county contracts.
The Small/Minority/Women Business Enterprise program was created in 2019 after a review showed that firms owned by women and minorities may not be getting their fair share of county work. At issue was how to overcome barriers that were keeping them out of the market.
The goals were to increase the number of women- and minority-owned firms that are certified to do county contract work, boost the amount of that work and create an environment where the firms "graduate" beyond the revenue limits that qualify them for participation in the program.
Sixteen of the 21 graduating firms from the county program were white-owned. Two were owned by Asian-Americans, and three by Hispanics. No Black-owned firm graduated from 2019 through 2022, according to data presented to county commissioners at a meeting last week.
Commissioner Sara Baxter called the program "a failure," pointing to its low graduation rates. She urged her colleagues to devise a new program and shut down the existing one. But the move failed to obtain any support.
New disparity study to cost $500,000, which was not in county budget
County Administrator Verdenia Baker, though, was called on to provide detailed information by July 21, 2024. The commission will then decide whether to renew the program for two more years and whether to allocate $500,000 for a new disparity study. The money was not included in the budget, an omission that will force the county to dip into its reserve fund. Several commissioners were furious over the failure to include the appropriation in the budget.
Commissioner Maria Marino was also critical that a 200-plus page report was provided just the day before the Nov. 7 meeting. Marino complained the administration has repeatedly given voluminous reports to commissioners too late for them to be reviewed.
"This cannot happen again," she said. "This is not about this program. It is about the systemic failure by the county (staff) to provide us with information in a timely fashion."
Marino noted that the ordinance creating the business assistance program required yearly reports. This report is the first one presented during her three years on the commission, she said.
More: Palm Beach County to consider extension of women/minority business assistance program
Tonya Davis Johnson, director of the county's Office of Equal Business Opportunity, said one problem is that prime contractors making millions of dollars off county contracts are refusing to award work to businesses certified by her office.
She noted that the county cannot force them to make these hires: "They choose to do business with the businesses they choose to. That’s the challenge."
Officials agree structure and details of the program need to be fixed
Baker said the agency is striving to do better, placing part of the blame on the COVID-19 pandemic. She disagreed with Baxter's claim that the program is a failure but acknowledged that it does need improvement.
"We should have brought this to you sooner," Baker said. "I take full responsibility. It won’t happen again."
Commissioner Mack Bernard said there is a need to continue to help minority and women-owned businesses to make sure they survive but added: "We need to fix the structure."
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Is Palm Beach County's minority business assistance program failing?
