City Officials Urge Fast Track on Disparity Study, Point to Early Gains in Procurement Pilot

Pittsburgh — City officials urged council to act on the Pittsburgh Regional Disparity Study and procurement modernization measures, describing the study as legally required and presenting early results from a procurement pilot that increased disadvantaged-business participation on a city project.

Deputy Chief Felicity Williams said the disparity study — the first in more than 20 years — is being conducted by MGT with local subcontractors and includes an economic impact analysis of supplier and business diversity programs. Williams said the study is not simply academic: “This is the foundation, the legal foundation to support our business diversity programs,” she said, and noted the city code requires this restorative study every five years.

Williams warned that failure to complete a robust study and implement its recommendations could “put our region's programs at real risk of elimination,” citing heightened scrutiny at the federal level.

To prepare for implementation, staff described a procurement modernization team launched in 2023 that has centralized standards, created a review-and-selection administrative policy for solicitations, expanded post-award compliance monitoring and improved disadvantaged-business evaluation on bid invitations. Williams and budget staff said some of those changes may justify code updates to embed protections and standards into municipal law.

Officials displayed early metrics from the Brighton Heights Healthy Active Living Center pilot: overall DBE participation of 34%, the general-contractor contract showed 18.2% MBE/WBE participation, plumbing and HVAC work achieved 25% MBE/WBE, and the electric contract was awarded with a 100% DBE spread across MBE, WBE and VOSB firms. Williams called these “exciting early results.”

“Once this study is complete, the city will need to begin corrective actions to address identified accessibility barriers,” Williams added in the broader context of procurement and inclusion work tied to other initiatives such as the ADA transition plan.

Councilmembers asked about next steps for codifying changes into city code and whether an executive session was appropriate to discuss sensitive vendor or legal strategy. Staff said they have coordinated weekly with the law department and recommended early legislative action to protect economic inclusion programs from legal challenges.

What happens next: Staff said the disparity study will include public engagement opportunities and is scheduled to conclude in 2026; council and administration will need to decide what code changes and budget allocations to adopt to implement the study’s recommendations.