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Durham staff reports marked increases in minority- and women-owned contractor participation in FY2024
Summary
City staff presented an annual update on the city's Equal Opportunity for Businesses (eVOP) program showing larger certified vendor rolls and improved participation metrics for FY2024; staff also outlined an ongoing disparity study and proposed next steps.
Durham City staff told the City Council on a presentation item that participation by certified minority- and women-owned vendors rose materially in fiscal 2024 after the city cleaned and validated contractor data and added outreach and scoring incentives to solicitations.
The presentation, billed as the annual report for the city's Equal Opportunity for Businesses policy (eVOP), summarized process changes, improvements in the city's vendor database and outcomes for FY2024. Staff said their validation effort increased the number of certified vendors from about 221 to roughly 470 by June 30, 2024, and that participation rates across several construction and service categories improved versus FY2023.
Why it matters: Council members and staff said the work aims to address persistent disparities in local contracting and to position Durham to meet goals in construction and professional services procurement. Staff also said refinements are intended to prepare for a new Oracle enterprise resource planning rollout that will improve reporting.
Staff described several program components: an eVOP scoring matrix that awards points for certified status and use of minority- and women-owned subcontractors; required outreach plans for bidders; and a 'good-faith effort' points system used on solicitations. Staff said these incentives and better data validation drove much of the measured improvement.
On measures, presenters said the city exceeded one stated target (raising a target from 8% to 17% in a category cited during the presentation) and saw increases in subcontracting dollars across most racial/ethnic categories compared with FY2023. Staff also said construction participation rose but did not meet every internal goal; one presenter said construction participation hit 7% against an 11% goal for a given category but noted significant year-over-year improvement.
Staff announced an active disparity study that will run roughly a year and is intended to determine whether there is a legally cognizable disparity that could justify programmatic goals or remedies. Staff said the study timeline calls for issuing a request for proposals in January, a Q&A period, a recommendation by May and a contract award around June.
Council reaction and next steps: Several council members praised the outreach and urged continued community engagement, including direct outreach events and translation support to lower barriers for non-English speakers. Staff asked for continued Council participation at public outreach events to build trust and encourage certification. The presenters said they will return with contract recommendations for the disparity study and continue implementing the validation and outreach steps.
Ending: The council held questions and thanked staff for the presentation; no formal vote on changes to the eVOP policy was taken during the meeting.
