High Point committee hears update on city’s MWBE disparity study

High Point Mayor Pro Tem Michael Holmes presided over a July 17 meeting of the Tech Committee on Transparency, Engagement and Communication where staff provided an update on the city’s minority- and women-owned-business (MWBE) disparity study and related program work.

Cynthia, the city’s MWBE coordinator, told the committee the city contracted Griffin and Strong to conduct the study and that consultants are finishing data cleanup after a January–June data collection phase. “A disparity study is a tool and a mechanism … to analyze our utilization and our spend for a period of time,” Cynthia said, describing the study as a 5–7 year snapshot that examines race and gender utilization and potential barriers.

The consultant’s work includes legal analysis, department interviews and private-sector and anecdotal interviews; Cynthia said the steering committee has reviewed a draft chapter and that consultants will next perform market, utilization-threshold and regression analyses before presenting recommendations. She said the consultant’s final presentation to council is expected in spring 2025.

Outreach is ongoing: Cynthia said the city’s business survey is open through Aug. 2 and is being promoted via an email blast to roughly 12,000 contacts, social media and the city’s disparity-study web page. The city will hold two virtual public meetings (an evening session and a lunchtime session) so more business owners can participate; registrants receive a Zoom link. “We’ve been sending out the email blast that goes out every week,” she said.

Staff described several near-term program improvements. Cynthia said she has reviewed solicitation documents and now participates in more pre-bid and pre-proposal events to identify MWBE firms and promote goals. She gave counts of recent activity — 17 solicitations between May 8 and June 30 and roughly 72–74 solicitations during the July–June fiscal year — and said the city expanded solicitation posting windows beyond a minimum 10 days to typically about 21 days and up to a month for complex procurements so MWBEs have time to organize.

Cynthia also flagged gaps in subcontractor tracking and reporting. “What it does is that percentages that you have received in the past have not included some utilization,” she said, explaining the city’s financial system lacks an automated mechanism to track subcontractor dollars and that change orders can alter MWBE participation without clear documentation. She noted that state reporting requires disclosure of overall project spend for some filings and that differences in reporting audiences can produce different utilization figures.

Staff are developing an internal MWBE training module and said they have engaged in community outreach — 12 events over the past 14 months, including expos, panels and presentations — and regional partnerships with Guilford County, local schools and chambers. Cynthia also described a practical barrier the study captures: a minority prime contractor could not secure supplier credit for materials, so the agency purchased the carpet and the contractor was paid for installation so the firm could perform the contract.

Bobby Fitzjohn, the city’s financial services director, introduced the coordinator’s presentation, and council members asked questions about the study timeline, market area, and how outreach lists were built. Cynthia said vendor data came from the city database (about 8,000 vendors), the North Carolina State Hub Office, Department of Labor and Census sources. She said consultants excluded out-of-state and international firms from the market analysis.

Next steps: the business survey closes Aug. 2; consultants will analyze survey and focus-group input, complete regression and impact analyses, and prepare draft findings and recommendations for the steering committee before a council presentation targeted for spring 2025. With no other business, Mayor Pro Tem Holmes adjourned the committee.