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City of Asheville to embark on disparity study

Next month, a consulting firm hired by the City of Asheville will begin studying whether minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) are being shut out of city contracting.

As part of their efforts, the city's consultants will examine city contracting data, hold public meetings, and conduct surveys of city contractors and local MWBEs.

According the city's statistics for 2015, only 2.7 percent of city contracts were awarded to MWBEs, with some businesses faring better than others. African-American firms received the smallest slice of city contracts, earning just $5,400 of the $66 million spent by the city in 2015.

Women-owned companies, on the other hand, did better - winning $1.4 million in contracts that year.