Updates to Council on Disparity Study
The Square commercial center in downtown Lexington. Source: Carol M. Highsmith
In Tuesday’s General Government and Planning Committee, Councilmembers will hear updates on LFUCG’s implementation of the 2022 disparity study. The Disparity Study analyzed contracts and projects awarded to businesses by LFUCG, such as construction projects or professional services, to see how equitable LFUCG was in awarding contracts to women and minority-owned businesses.
The disparity study found that between July 2016 and July 2021, only 12% city’s $460 million in contracts were awarded to firms owned by women or non-white individuals — meaning 88% were awarded to firms owned by white men. The study proposed recommendations to help women and minority-owned businesses gain better access to City contracts. You can read the results of the study here.
Three of the nine recommendations have been accomplished, including:
Creating systems to pay contractors more quickly
Increasing marketing and outreach of project opportunities
Establishing goals for participation of diverse businesses for LFUCG to try and meet.
Goals that are in progress of implementation and completion include:
Increased advertisement of small contracts of $10,000 or lower.
“Unbundling” large contracts with multiple subtasks into smaller contracts to allow more small business participation.
Hiring staff to support small and diverse businesses seeking City contracts.
You can view the full presentation of these updates starting on page 93 of this packet.
The General Government and Planning Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 16th at 1pm in Council Chambers. You can attend in-person or watch live on LexTV.
