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OCII workshop shows modest SBE gains, persistent local‑hire challenges
Summary
OCII staff reported SBE credit at 48.9% and actual participation at 44.1% for Jan–Jun 2017, with professional services exceeding goals and construction slightly below. Commissioners and public commenters pressed for clearer payment tracking, disaggregated supplier data and stronger outreach to small and minority contractors.
OCII staff presented a semiannual workshop on Small Business Enterprise (SBE) participation and local‑hire performance covering January through June 2017, reporting modest improvements in several categories but ongoing challenges in construction local hire and SBE participation.
Staff said the agency’s overall SBE credit for the reporting period was 48.9 percent while actual SBE participation tallied 44.1 percent. Professional services exceeded the agency’s 50 percent SBE goal, with staff reporting roughly 69.5 percent SBE participation in that category; construction participation was described as lower, near the high 30s to mid‑40s depending on counting method. OCII credits joint ventures and associations where a small business performs a commercially useful function (typically defined as 35 percent of work and proceeds).
Brooke (OCII staff) and contract compliance supervisors described outreach efforts, Elation Systems tracking for certified payroll and hours monitoring, and CityBuild’s role in workforce compliance. CityBuild’s Ken Nim said contractors logged 1,270,000 work hours during the six‑month period, of which 271,075 hours were performed by San Francisco residents; accumulated totals across projects were also presented with area breakdowns such as Bayview (25 percent local hours) and the Shipyard (35 percent).
Public commenters and small‑business representatives urged additional transparency and enforcement. Nick Colina, a third‑generation structural steel business owner, asked what happens to developers that fail to meet participation goals and suggested stronger bonding or procurement remedies. Pete Varma of the National Association of Minority Contractors requested separate reporting for suppliers versus construction and clearer payment‑tracking to show whether subcontractors receive due payments. OCII staff said collecting monthly payment data from private developers is administratively difficult but that they continue to assess electronic solutions and to pursue payment information at project closeout.
Developer representatives from Lennar, 5Point and Clark Construction described outreach and compliance meetings, including pre‑bid events and subcontractor prequalification, and several public comments highlighted CityBuild training programs that have led to hires on large projects such as the Chase Center.
Commissioners asked for follow‑up reporting on topics including (1) disaggregated supplier versus construction SBE dollars, (2) breakdown of awards by firm count and repeat winners, (3) more granular workforce unemployment and participation by neighborhood, and (4) monthly payment collection feasibility for private projects. Staff agreed to provide additional detail in future reports.
