City staff report MWBE progress; council asks for workforce data and applies goals to Maplewood Park contracts

City purchasing and finance officials briefed council committees on Rochester’s MWBE program and participation to date, and council members requested more detailed workforce utilization metrics and project-level reporting for upcoming construction and design contracts.

The presentation, led by Timothy Howard, director of purchasing, and Kim Jones, director of finance, summarized the city’s MWBE ordinance (No. 2018-54), which sets an annual aggregate contracting goal of 30 percent for MWBE participation on city contracts over $20,000, and noted alignment with New York State Executive Law Article 15-A. The city breaks the 30 percent into goals by category (for example, 20 percent minority and 10 percent women for many contracts; a 15/15 split for public works) and requires workforce goals to be incorporated into public-works and professional-service contracts.

Howard described administrative steps: inclusion of MWBE language in solicitations, bidder-submitted utilization and workforce staffing plans, approval by the city MWBE officer, and ongoing tracking of utilization using software platforms (B2GNow for MWBE utilization and LCPTracker for workforce data). Quarterly participation figures in the presentation showed MWBE awards in recent quarters—public works construction had a sizable share of MWBE contract awards in the first quarter—but Howard acknowledged the presentation’s slides did not include project-level workforce compliance figures.

Multiple council members urged greater transparency and regular reporting of workforce utilization. Council member Patterson asked for the last five years of MWBE contract goals and workforce utilization specifically for sidewalk replacement projects; Howard said purchasing would work with departments to provide the requested data. Several members requested that workforce utilization data be added to standard transmittal materials and that the administration provide a public-facing mechanism for project-level workforce reporting (a suggestion included a QR-code link to live data).

The Maplewood Park and Maplewood Nature Center work was discussed after the presentation. Councilors were told the playground element was split from the nature-center construction because the funding streams differed (ARPA for the nature center) and that both pieces remain on track for construction with an anticipated opening in spring 2026. Council members asked that MWBE and workforce goals for the design phase be made available in writing; staff agreed to provide those numbers and to coordinate with Purchasing.

Presenters said the city does prepare an annual MWBE report that is cumulative, and staff noted they can provide detailed project-level workforce reports on request. Several council members suggested the cumulative report may mask project-level shortfalls and urged more granular disclosure to ensure MWBE workforce goals are being met across major projects.