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District reports 22% SWMB utilization at midyear; portal and outreach efforts expected to increase participation
Summary
Finance staff reported a FY25 midyear small- and woman-/minority-owned business (SWMB) utilization rate of 22% (29% if un-certified but eligible firms are counted). The committee asked for greater breakdowns of capital versus PO spend and encouraged outcome-based contracting and increased procurement portal outreach.
District procurement staff presented the FY25 midyear Small and Minority Business (SWMB) utilization report and said the district’s six‑month SWMB spend was 22% of total expenditures; including uncertified vendors that qualify but have not completed certification increases the effective share to 29%.
Daniel Prentiss told the committee the SWMB reporting requirement had been inconsistent historically and was previously an audit finding; the district’s procurement office is now fully staffed and operating a new online procurement portal (OpenGov) launched in December to increase visibility and outreach to diverse vendors. Staff said the portal already shows increased vendor interest on early solicitations and provides improved metrics on who opened solicitations and which categories attracted minority- and women-owned businesses.
Committee members asked for more granular reporting, specifically separating capital/subcontractor reporting (where SWMB participation can be reported by contractor subcontracting) from day-to-day PO and P‑card spend, where SWMB participation remained lower (around 4% in some PO categories). Staff described outreach efforts, local vendor fairs, certification encouragement, and new outcome-based contracting pilots intended to improve SWMB inclusion over the coming months.
Ending: Staff said it will provide the regular six-month SWMB report to the board and continue improving portal-driven outreach and data reporting for construction subcontractor utilization and PO-level spend.
