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City approves disparity study contract with Griffin & Strong; $60,198 contingency appropriation approved
Summary
Commission approved a contract with Griffin and Strong, P.C. to conduct an updated disparity study and approved a $60,198 contingency appropriation; staff said the city may piggyback on Palm Beach County's contract to reduce cost, pending county permission.
The West Palm Beach City Commission on Jan. 6 approved a contract with Griffin and Strong, P.C. to perform an updated disparity study of city procurement and also approved a related use of general fund contingency of $60,198 to fund the analysis.
Frank Hayden, director of the Office of Small and Minority-Owned Businesses, told the commission the study will review case law, assess availability of minority- and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs) in the local marketplace, analyze private-sector contracts, review city procurement practices and recommend improvements. He said the city asked to piggyback on Palm Beach County’s contract with the same firm; that coordination could reduce cost because the county’s work would overlap with the city’s study.
Hayden said the city received two price options from the vendor depending on whether the county shares its case study information: a lower option of about $328,000 if the county’s materials can be shared and a higher option of about $360,000 if the work must be duplicated. He said the county itself is paying roughly $500,000 for its study and the city’s proposal reflects a reduced price if the county cooperates.
Commissioners asked for clarification about what can be piggybacked and which components would be duplicated. President Ward and others pressed staff on whether the city was purchasing redundant work; Hayden said the firm would examine the same regional pool of vendors and that piggybacking would avoid duplicated expense if the county is willing to share results.
Commissioner Lambert thanked staff for assembling multiple grants and noted approval for several grant-funded items on the consent calendar. Mason Tillman, the firm that conducted the prior disparity study, was cited by staff as the earlier vendor.
After discussion the commission moved and seconded approval of resolution 292-24 (agreement with Griffin & Strong) and resolution 290-24F (use of general fund contingency to fund the study). The motions carried unanimously.
Why it matters: Disparity studies inform whether a jurisdiction’s procurement practices create unfair barriers for MWBEs and often form the basis for programmatic changes, outreach or revised contracting procedures.
