Agenda

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INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE

Meeting Date:	04/10/2023
Subject: Small Business Enterprise, Outreach, and Local Program Report for July through December 2022
Submitted For:	Brian M. Balbas, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Department:	Public Works
Referral No.:	IOC 23/3 & 23/4
Referral Name:	Small Business Enterprise, Outreach, Local Bid Preference Programs
Presenter:	Cynthia Shehorn, Procurement Services Manager	Contact:	Cynthia Shehorn, 925-957-2495

Information

Referral History:

Contra Costa County values the contributions of small business and developed programs to assist in soliciting and awarding contracts to the SBE community. The Board of Supervisors adopted these programs to enable small and local businesses to compete for a share of the County's purchasing transactions.

The Board of Supervisors has set a goal of awarding at least 50% of eligible product and service dollars to small businesses. The Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Program applies to: (1) County-funded construction contracts of $100,000 or less; (2) purchasing transactions of $100,000 or less; and (3) professional/personal service contracts of $100,000 or less.

The objective of the program is to award at least 50% or more of the total eligible dollar base amounts to SBEs. A Small Business Enterprise, as defined by the California Government Code, Section 14837, Chapter 3.5 must be:

Independently owned and operated business, which is not dominant in its field of operation;
The principal office of which is located in California, the officers of which are domiciled in California, and which together with affiliates, has 100 or fewer employees;
Have average annual gross receipts of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) or less over the previous three tax years, or a manufacturer with 100 or fewer employees.

Reporting Requirements
It is the responsibility of each County department to track and compile the data for purchasing activities in order to provide a countywide report to the Board of Supervisors.

The Internal Operations Committee has responsibility for evaluating the semi-annual reports and making recommendations to the Board on program policies and reporting. The Board receives reports in six-month increments, with the last report submitted to the Board for the period ending June 2022. Attachment A constitutes the report due for the period of July 1 – December 31, 2022.

Referral Update:

The table below summarizes the attached department activity on a countywide basis.

The table below summarizes the attached department activity on a countywide basis.

July – December 2022

ACTIVITY TYPE:	Total # of ALL Contracts	Total # of SBE Contracts	SBE Percent of Total	Total Dollar Value of ALL Contracts	Total Dollar Value of SBE Contracts	SBE Percent of Total
Professional/Personal Services	404	164	40.6%	$34,375,620	$7,973,317	23.2%
Purchasing Transactions	833	392	47.1%	$12,419,318	$5,632,737	45.4%
Construction Contracts	0	0	0%	0	0	0%

While the County did not achieve the 50% goal, this information shows the County directed more than $13.5 million in qualifying transactions to SBE firms during the six-month reporting period, achieving a 23.2% award rate for professional/personal services transactions and a 45.4% award rate for purchasing transactions. There were no construction contracts reported in this period.

It is worth noting that the SBE participation goals of surrounding agencies are typically in the 20-25% range. By that measure, Contra Costa County’s reported activity is within range for professional/personal services, and well above that range for purchasing transactions. The following departments are to be commended for achieving 50% or more program compliance this reporting period:

Professional/Personal Services: Animal Services, Auditor-Controller, Conservation and Development, DOIT, District Attorney, Fire Protection District, Health Services, Library Administration, and Public Works.

Purchasing Transactions: Auditor-Controller, Conservation & Development, Clerk of the Board, and the Treasurer – Tax Collector.

Of particular note, the Auditor-Controller, Conservation and Development, DOIT, District Attorney are to be commended for achieving a 100% award rate for qualifying professional services contracts. Conservation and Development also achieved 100% in qualifying Purchasing Transactions for this period.

Department/Activity

Total # of ALL Contracts

Total # of SBE Contracts

SBE Percent of Total

Total Dollar Value of ALL Contracts

Total Dollar Value of SBE Contracts

SBE Percent of Total

Professional/Personal Svcs

Animal Services

64.3%

$870,354

$724,854

83.3%

Auditor-Controller

100%

$50,000

100%

Conservation & Development

100%

$430,963

100%

DOIT

100%

$12,000

100%

District Attorney

100%

$195,000

100%

Fire Protection District

60%

$199,800

$142,500

71.3%

Health Services

148

57.4%

$6,921,686

$4,143,323

59.9%

Library Administration

85.7%

$209,350

$148,600

71.0%

Public Works

71.4%

$393,673

$303,288

77%

Purchasing Transactions

Auditor-Controller

83.3%

$53,726

$47,555

88.5%

Conservation & Development

100%

$68,821

100%

Clerk of the Board

80%

$31,330

$30,730

98.1%

Treasurer-Tax Collector

40%

$126,577

$88,085

69.6%

E-Outreach Report
In order to encourage the use of small, local, and disadvantaged businesses, the County's E-Outreach Program requires bids and Request for Proposals greater than $10,000 to be solicited online. For this period, there were 46 bids totaling $27,293,989 that fell within the parameters of the program.

The data specific to electronic solicitations is developed and provided by the Purchasing Division of the Public Works Department, and reflects outreach to small, women-owned, minority-owned, local, disabled veteran-owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises. During this reporting period, 46 bids were conducted using the BidSync e-outreach site. Notifications were sent to 626,459 businesses, of which 14.07% are considered small, local, or disadvantaged business enterprises.

E-Outreach July 1, – December 31, 2022
Number of Solicitations	46
Total Notifications	626,459
Dollar Value	$27,293,989

BUSINESS CATEGORY		Notifications	Percentage of Total
MBE - Minority Business Enterprise		15,102	2.4%
WBE - Women Business Enterprise		13,555	2.1%
SBE - Small Business Enterprise		48,002	7.7%
LBE - Local Business Enterprise		2,066	0.3%
DVBE - Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise		430	0.07%
DBE – Disadvantaged Business Enterprise		9,125	1.5%
Total		88,280	14.07%

Local Business Preference
For opportunities exceeding $25,000, the Local Business Preference Program allows for local businesses to submit a new offer if within 5% of the lowest bidder. There were no instances of the Bid Preference utilized in this reporting period.

Dollar Value Awarded to Local and Bay Area Businesses
The dollar value of Purchase Orders issued for the period was $21,590,660. The dollar value awarded to Contra Costa County businesses was 16.6% or $3.5 million. The value awarded to other Bay Area businesses was 21.9% or $4.7 million. This represents Contra Costa County’s contribution to the local economy.

Contra Costa County	$3,589,539	16.6%
Other Bay Area Counties	$4,742,052	21.9%
Other	$13,259,069	61.4%
Total	$21,590,660	100.0%

Conclusion
The County has demonstrated continued commitment to achieving the 50% goal for participation by SBE firms in contract and purchasing activities. While the data for some departments is below this threshold, departments are showing some interest in increasing the percentage of awarded contracts. Instruction is being provided on the search features of the purchasing system, to assist in identifying businesses in the small, local, women, minority, veteran, and disadvantaged business categories.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

ACCEPT the Small Business Enterprise, Outreach, and Local Bid Preference Programs Report, reflecting departmental program data for the period July 1 through December 31, 2022.

Attachments
Attachment A: July-December 2022