The Los Angeles Board of Public Works Wednesday unanimously voted to begin work on expanding opportunities for small and diverse businesses to compete for city contracts.
The motion instructed all of the bureaus within the Department of Public Works to evaluate their contracting opportunities to determine if they can implement a community-level contracting opportunity.
The Community-Level Contracting Program seeks to build on initiatives by Mayor Eric Garcetti to promote racial equity in city departments, procurement and contracting. The program would unbundle large contracts into smaller, more manageable packages of about $100,000 or less to give small businesses the chance to compete to do business with the city as contractors.
Eligible small businesses can also qualify for the city’s certification program offered to businesses owned by racial and ethnic minorities, women, veterans with disabilities and LGBTQ community members.
“Community-level contracting is a core component of how the city of Los Angeles is elevating and investing into our small, local and diverse business communities,” said Shannon Hoppes, Los Angeles’ chief procurement officer.
“I applaud Commissioner(s) (Jessica) Caloza, (Mike) Davis and the Bureau of Contract Administration for their leadership and commitment to diversity and equity in contracting, and I look forward to the expansion of this program into other areas of procurement throughout the city,” she said.
According to the Bureau of Public Works, contracting with the city can open doors to contracts with more public agencies, and it can be a “game changer” for small businesses. It also gives owners experience that helps grow their business and allows them to bid on larger projects in the future.
“Small businesses are the heartbeat of our economy, and we must move with urgency to implement programs such as Community-Level Contracting to create real and accessible opportunities for everyone trying to navigate the road to economic recovery,” Caloza said. “This citywide initiative will introduce small businesses to the public procurement process, provide training and guidance to grow their businesses and help build a more equitable economy for all.”
Los Angeles created a similar initiative for its Small Sidewalk Repair Program, which resulted in two-thirds of contractors for the pre-qualified on-call list being small businesses or those owned by racial or ethnic minorities, women or veterans with disabilities. Twenty-six work packages, totaling $1.84 million, have been awarded through the program.
“We remain committed to delivering programs and services that our local small business community needs to ensure a more fair and equitable procurement process,” said John L. Reamer Jr., Public Works inspector and director of the Bureau of Contract Administration. “Community-Level Contracting is one of those programs that we believe will help small businesses regain their footing, gain more experience and guide them back on the path to prosperity.”
The Bureau of Public Works will host a virtual networking opportunity for people interested in the program at 1 p.m. Thursday. It can be accessed at bit.ly/TeamWithMay20Networking.