Label
Disparity Study
Department of Finance, Office of Diversity and Inclusion
Bryan Benner (x1194)
(Revised)
Title
Authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement for a disparity study; authorizing the expenditure of an amount not to exceed $350,000 from the General Fund and other approved appropriations in future years; and declaring an emergency.
Body
SUMMARY & BACKGROUND:
The City of Toledo has long-standing goals to award construction, goods and services contracts and subcontracts to minority owned businesses. One of the purposes of a disparity study is to measure how effective the city's procurement process has been in awarding contracts to minority and women owned businesses. A disparity study is calculated in the form of an index. The disparity index is a ratio of the actual utilization of minority and women owned businesses to the availability of minority and women owned firms in the marketplace.
The City of Toledo has not previously conducted a disparity study. Within Ohio Cleveland, Akron, Cincinnati and Dayton have all conducted disparity studies. The study results were utilized to develop procurement goals, policies and procedures with the goal of awarding contracts and subcontracts to minority and women owned businesses in a percentage reflective of their availability in marketplace that is legally defensible.
A disparity study is necessitated in part by the 1989 U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the case of City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson. The court decision imposed legal requirements on jurisdictions to establish a "compelling interest" to support the establishment of a minority and women owned business programs. The results of the City of Toledo disparity study will determine if compelling interest exists to provide legal support of the City's MBE and WBE program.
In August, 2020, the City competitively solicited a disparity study request for proposals and selected three vendors for virtual interviews. After evaluating the proposals and...
Click here for full text