The Milwaukee Common Council has formally adopted the findings and recommendations of a recent disparity study into City contracting. The study examined City contracts during the period of calendar years 2015 through 2019.
The disparity study's findings indicated that the race- and gender-neutral methods the City was implementing to try and achieve equity for minority- and woman-owned businesses (MWBEs) were insufficient for that purpose, with MWBEs receiving 8.55 percent of all prime contract dollars during the period, despite being availabile at higher rates.
Recommendations made by the study and adopted by the Common Council to remedy these disparities include, but are not limited to: setting annual participation goals for MWBE utilization, establishing a procurement non-discrimination policy which could be used to investigate cases of possible discrimination, streamline the process of applying for certification as an MWBE by the City, and analyze ways in which subcontractors can be paid more promptly by the City.
"I look forward to creating a more equitable city in whatever ways we can," said Alderman Russell W. Stamper II, the primary sponsor of the Council legislation authorizing the disparity study.
Read the press release from the Milwaukee Common Council at https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/ccCouncil/News/2023/District-15/15-Council-adopts-disparity-study.pdf.
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