Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
City staff outline supplier‑diversity work, disparity study and bonding/insurance hurdles
Summary
Legal and procurement staff described a state disparity study, potential race-and-gender-neutral tools and legal scrutiny around supplier-diversity programs, and discussed bonding and insurance as barriers for smaller contractors.
City of Bend legal and procurement staff told the Procurement Subcommittee they are tracking a state disparity study and working groups that examine barriers to diversifying the supplier pool, including bonding and insurance requirements and prompt-payment practices.
Mike Riley, an attorney, led the legal overview and said scrutiny of supplier-diversity programs has grown even though the underlying law remains the same. “The law hasn't really changed, but the scrutiny around it, the litigation saying that these programs are unconstitutional and unlawful, that has certainly increased,” Riley said. He explained that federal programs (he cited the U.S.…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
