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OCII reports strong SBE results for Jan–Jun 2018; local hiring remains below aspirational goals
Summary
OCII reported high small‑business enterprise participation in professional services and improved SBE participation in construction for Jan–Jun 2018, while local workforce hours by San Francisco residents remained below the agency’s 50% aspiration; staff and CityBuild described training and sponsorship efforts and agreed to analyze mandatory vs. good‑faith local‑hire approaches.
OCII staff presented the semiannual small‑business enterprise (SBE) and workforce report for Jan. 1–June 30, 2018, to the commission on Aug. 7, saying it showed meaningful progress in some contracting categories alongside ongoing local‑hire challenges.
Brooke Solomon, compliance staff, summarized the period: six contracts totaling slightly more than $44 million were awarded across OCII projects in the reporting window. Construction contracts for OCII‑assisted projects achieved SBE participation well above the agency’s 50% goal for some projects (nearly 56% on construction in the reporting period), and professional services SBE participation reached nearly 90% for the six‑month window and about 61.1% on an accumulated basis, Solomon said.
On workforce, OCII reported roughly 2.32 million logged work hours across active projects, of which about 402,303 hours were performed by San Francisco residents during the six‑month period. Aggregated across all active OCII projects as of June, San Francisco residents performed about 20.8% of cumulative hours; Bayview projects varied, with the Shipyard area showing higher local engagement (about 32.9% reported). Staff and CityBuild said local hiring remains a challenge because regional demand for construction labor is high and contractors compete across the Bay Area.
Speakers from the public and industry praised progress but urged more capacity building and stronger pipeline solutions. Pete Varma, president of the National Association of Minority Contractors, commended models such as the Chase Center sponsorships, and community advocate Oscar James urged attention to bonding and payroll practices so small contractors can build capacity.
Commissioners pressed staff on whether the commission could require mandatory local‑hire rather than rely on good‑faith efforts. Joshua Arce, director of CityBuild in the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said the current policy is a good‑faith standard and described successful targeted training and sponsorships that have placed disadvantaged residents into construction careers; staff agreed to prepare an analysis of the pros and cons of mandatory versus good‑faith approaches and to return with options for the commission.
The item was informational and no commission vote was required.
